NAN-ELS-4
Partnership
By Vezi Isike
Lagos, Jan. 22, 2018(NAN) Tochi Njokwu, a fast-rising fashion designer, on Monday advised government to partner stakeholders in the fashion industry by resuscitating the moribund textile factories and building new ones.
She said this would aid the local production of textile raw materials and provide employment opportunities for teeming Nigerians.
Njokwu told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos that the persistent hike in cost of raw materials was beginning to tout the growth of the sector.
According to her, the dwindling state of the economy has made practitioners settle for cheap quality goods in order to aid patronage in long run.
She said that the economy was big enough to accommodate the production, local patronage and export of excess materials to neighbouring countries and beyond.
“The fashion industry has been deficient over a long period of time because the government has not seen the need to aid and establish the sector.
“ Nigerian fashion practitioners are capable of using a large chunk of whatever we decide to produce because we have the population.
“Excess from what we produce can be exported to other nations for sale, as well.
“Unfortunately, importers of raw materials gain more monies by importing low quality goods for huge sums.
“ They are beginning to amass fortunes from their trade, when the major people that do designs and sew, find it difficult to sustain their businesses, ” she said.
The designer called on practitioners to collaborate with themselves and with government in order to curb the ills that had been bedeviling the progress of the fashion industry.
“Some practitioners have decided to stand alone in the sector rather than share thoughts with others on best practices and on how they can get financial aids from government.
“If we do not fight for the growth of fashion, we will lose our business to neighbouring countries soon enough,’’ she said. (NAN)
VOI/PAD
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Edited by Peter Dada