By Michael Adesanya /Abeokuta
Worried by the infiltration of foreign-made cheap Adire into the nation’s fabrics market, the federal government has disclosed its readiness to support locally produced fabric,
The government also assured on the creation of an industrial hub across the country to further boost revenue generation for market women.
The Minister for Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Dr. Betta Edu made this known on Saturday during her visitation to Adire Mall at Itoku and Asero market in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital.
She also assured the market women of government’s plan to ensure the Adire fabric becomes known around the world, adding that there is need for government to ban importation of foreign Adire products.
Her words: “First, you must be able to push local production to meet the demand. Local production must be enhanced at all cost to meet the demand. When local products are enhanced, subsided and supported by government, it will automatically eliminate whatever fluntuate coming in to the market.
“We don’t want to be selling fake Adire, made in China Adire brought into Nigeria. What we want are local ones made by our people to create jobs. It will build micro and macro economy and it will help Nigeria to be more of the manufacturing country rather than an importing country.
“These are the things that are affecting the exchange rates and other indexes in Nigeria. Government will provide that subsidy for the people, so we take the fuel subsidy off the fuel, we will provide it for the Adire makers so that they can provide local Adire that will be used and exported out of the country.
“I was so happy yesterday when the governor and his team, commissioners, said they are going to create hubs in Abuja where the original Adire would be sold. This is taking Abeokuta, Ogun State to the world, and these hubs can be created even at embassies in other countries around the world where we can export Adire.
“This is original one, not the fake which is imitated and brought in. For us if we support the local manufacturers, subsidize this for them, bring more people into this to meet the demand, it will automatically eliminate the ones that coming in to country.
“We are here today in Ogun State basically, we want to see those areas we can support persons who are poor and be alleviated out of poverty and to get for of livelihood and skills that will help them strive and sustain families and of course come out of poverty.
“We have identified about five things with governor yesterday we can do almost immediately that will really touch lives in Ogun State and this will be able to cover about 100 persons in Ogun State. Part of what we identified yesterday was the ADIRE creation which is really very typical to Ogun people; it is kind of their identify and what they are known to do very well.
‘Adire has both the local production and modern production. We’ve been in the market to pick up some of the fabrics, interact with the market people and Iyaloja all are here with us. We try to find out the what does it really take to get one of this products, how much do they cost interns of product and final product on how they do cost in the market.
“This cloth I am handling is N15,200, we have some the N25,000, N75,000 in the shops. We have come here to see how it is locally made, the part of the process, dying stage, the drying and all of these stages that finally get to beautiful fabrics that will sell and export.
“We are planning to come and start the training, create new cluster for Adire in two other senatorial districts where it did not exist before. After that training, we will do a fashion show of Adire just to launch them out and ensure that they now get the new customers that will support them.
“Adire is precious fabrics all over the world, people recognize and identify with it, so we can build the local production and ensure that more and more people get some of the livelihood, new skills and be able to make money for themselves and their families.
The men and market women in the State, thanked the Minister for visiting their domain.
“Remember the president has targeted the next 42 months to lift 50 millions Nigerians out of poverty. These are the ways we intend to do it”, she said.
