…As IndustriAll Global holds rally today

Stories by Bimbola Oyesola, 08033246177

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The lndustriAll Global Union has said African nations should copy China’s industrialisation drive to grow, and not through the uncritical importation of finished products.
It said China’s industrialisation drive, which has within 20 years moved over 250 million people out of poverty through manufacturing and industrialisation, when followed, would make the Sustainable Development Goal 2030, especially SDG 9, dealing with industry and innovation with industrialisation, possible.
Vice president of the global union, Issa Aremu, said Africa must make what it consumes, otherwise it would be consumed by the rest of the world.
Aremu stated this over the weekend at the Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Center, Abuja, during the opening of the 2017 Africa Industrialisation Day (AID) Policy Dialogue, with the theme “African Industrial Development: A Pre-condition for Effective and Sustainable Continental Free Trade Area’.’
The programme was organised by Industriall Global Union, Nigeria Council, in conjunction with Fredrich Ebert Stiftung (FES).
Aremu said: “Nigeria’s current budget is N7.3 trillion. The question is, are we to link this relatively high budget to patronise made-in-Nigeria or refuel Chinese or Indian economies as we have been unacceptably doing through importation of their goods and services?
“Manufacturing, scandalously, contributes less than 3 per cent of GDP compared to the 1970s, when manufacturing contributed as much as 30 per cent.
“This is no thanks to massive factory closure caused by energy cost and prohibitive production costs.
“With almost 200 million people, a quarter of Africa’s population (every fourth African is a Nigerian and by look every African is a Nigerian!). The fate of Africa with respect to development depends on Nigeria’s economic performance or lack of it and l think we can use this 2017 budget to turn the economy around. I am happy that a factory in Umuahia is now producing military boots for soldiers and that alone has provided over 3,000 jobs for Nigerians.
“This explains why our campaign for beneficiation takes root here. Industriall Global Union tasks us to struggle for strong industrial policies that advance social, economic and environmental sustainability.”
He stressed that there could be no industrialisation without electrification and though government wants to take over any insolvent distibution company, organised labour would not support it if it would waste public fund as in the case on privatisation of PHCN.
Aremu said: ‘It was just announced that the Power Sector Recovery Programme recently developed by the federal government and the World Bank to revive Nigerias ailing power sector, has come up with an action plan for the sweeping restructuring of the 11 electricity distribution companies (Discos) that would enable government to take over any Disco found to be insolvent.
“Government should apologise to the NUEE for returning to the warning that Nigeria was not ripe for privatisation. While we await the action plan, government should listen to organised labour.”