For the umpteenth time, President Muhammadu Buhari stated the intention of his administration revive the once bubbling textile industry in Nigeria to “create as many jobs as possible.”
Though the president and several chieftains of this administration have stated so, it underscores the importance of the textile sector to the creation of and provision of employment opportunities.In fact, the death of this sector which used to provide employment to millions of Nigerians, forced by the numerous anti-national policies of previous administrations and failure of other administrations to revive it, makes one wonder if Nigeria is truly serious in its effort to tackle mass employment, especially among its youth.
However, there is hope that this sector will be brought back to life soon. This week, the president, at a meeting with the National Executive Council of the National Union of Textile, Garment and Tailoring Workers (NUTGTW) led by its president Comrade John Adaji at the State House in Abuja, lamented the state of textile industry, especially in the North, which, he said, gave rise to crimes.
The president said his administration promotes policies that will support local industries such as import restrictions and introduced programmes that provides affordable and accessible capital to both large and cottage industries.
The administration, the president said, also introduced Executive Orders that encourages the procurement of Made in Nigeria goods and services.The president said the administration would continue to support policies and programmes in the years ahead.
Of course, the need to support such policies cannot be underestimated. Nigeria was once the largest textile producing country in Africa. In the 1970s and early 1980s, the country has over 180 textile mills that employed over 450,000 people.
Regrettably, the fortunes of the sector has dwindled, as Nigeria currently has only 25 functional textile factories, with about 10,000 workforce while it spends about $4 billion annually, on imported textiles and ready-made clothing. Smuggling of textile goods is also estimated to have cost the nation over $2.2 billion.
In the meantime, the country relies on import to satisfy is textile needs and, in the process, export jobs at a time multitude of education institutions produce graduates who cannot find jobs and resort to criminal activities.Thus, like the president said, this administration must not allow Nigeria to return to the days of exporting jobs through the importation of food and clothing items which can be produced locally.
There is no doubt that the textile and garmenting sector has the potential to create millions of jobs and it should, therefore, remain one of the priority sectors for the present administration.
In this respect, the president should be commended for his directive to all personnel of public uniformed institutions such as the military, police, para-military organisations including the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) to use locally produced garments.
In the same vein, the statement made by the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Godwin Emefiele that the apex bank will gather data and investigate the accounts of individuals and corporate entities involved in smuggling and dumping of textile materials in Nigeria with a view to blacklisting them, is also commendable.
Banks, however, must be barred by the CBN from conducting any business with companies and individuals involved in illegal textile importation to enable local textile manufacturers sustain and promote their business. On the persistent conflicts in North-West…
Now, indeed, is not the best of times for people living in Nigeria because of the seemingly concocted security challenges that the country face.
Of course, the state of insecurity in the country appears to be created by some selfish individuals to satisfy their material interest, among other interests. Little or no wonder, therefore, that President Muhammadu Buhari said the currentinsecurity challenge in North-west zone was created to divert attention of mainly the government from its duty of enlightening the citizens of the selfish and illegal activities of some powerful individuals and provision of infrastructure.
The president spoke when he received members of North-east Alliance for Buhari 2019 at the Presidential Villa in Abuja. He said: “When the North-east became too tough, they created a diversion in the North-west but this country is big enough and resourceful to defend its territorial integrity and we will continue to do our best.’’
Regrettably, many rural communities in the North-west have been reduced to rubble while the fatal and socio-economic consequences of banditry and other forms of crime in the region call for declaration of a state of emergency.
In February 2018, bandits, said to be numbering about 600 invaded Zurmi local government of Zamfara state in a caravan of 200 motorcycles, killing 39 people. Of course, the same scenario goes on in many other parts of the North-west, with people, on many occasions, losing their lives to bandits’ attacks and in the process of kidnap.
Often, bandits dispatch letters to villagers to notify them of imminent attacks and demand villagers to pay illegal levies otherwise they would be wiped out.
In some places in the zone, men sleep on tree tops at night to keep vigil, farmers no longer go to farm out of fear of being killed and travellers are routinely ambushed.
Though the president said his administration would continue to work hard to stabilise the country, apparently, more needs to be done for people in the North-west to believe in what authorities say.
It is obvious that the military is over-stretched with personnel’s presence in over 30 states, performing the statutory duties of the police who are, themselves short in numbers, under-equipped and not incentivised.
Thus, other than measures put in place by the government, local policing, aided by technology and effective land border control, is needed to facilitate security in vulnerable parts of the country, especially the North-west. Investing in technology for employment generation
The impact of technology in modern life is unmeasurable, we use technology in different ways and sometimes the way we implement various technologies do more damage than good. But, in most cases, technology is used for good reasons.
Thus, President Muhammadu Buhari said channelling more investments in Nigeria’s technological sector, and opening up space for creativity and innovation with digital skills would play a significant role in providing jobs for youths and growing the economy.
The president, who received Letters of Credence from the Ambassador of Portugal to Nigeria, Luis Filipe Ribeiro Da Silva Barros, at the State House, said the wave of technological growth across the globe provides more opportunities for development for countries, especially for the economies willing to retool and build capacities in areas of need.
“Technology has come to stay and, as a country, we are exploring opportunities for advancement,” the president said because we use technology on a daily basis to accomplish specific tasks or interests. Modern technology at times may replace previously used technology due to its increased benefits or newfound popularity.
Technology advances continue to transform the business world. The fallout from these changes is often unexpected. When cellphones began, they offered an alternative to land lines and, in countries like Nigeria, created millions of employment opportunities.
Decades later, phones replaced cameras for many people and are the primary tool for accessing the internet through which many youths now earn their living.In fact, technology has contributed to creation of employment for years and hit a fever pitch in the 21st century. Today, with the use of technology, it’s simple to start a business while at home.
It is, therefore, this type of employment opportunities provided by technological that Nigeria must seek to explore and boost in order to help the numerous unemployed youths find employment.
