Producers of local fabrics seek Buhari, Sanwo-Olu’s help

Ademola Aderemi

Ogun State government recently added value to some locally-made fabrics with an initiative aimed at enhancing local production and boosting the state’s fabric market. 

The initiative, tagged, ‘Adire digital marketing,’ was to encourage local producers of Adire, setting standard and opening a window of opportunities for stakeholders in the sector. 

Part of the initiative, the reporter learnt, was the adoption of the use of local fabrics known as Adire/Kampala as school uniforms for secondary school students in the state.

Applauding the initiative, chairman, Kampala Sector of the National Union of Textile Garments Tailoring Workers of Nigeria (NUTGTWN), Comrade Ibrahim Adebayo Lawal, said the state governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun, has done well by adopting the use of Adire and Kampala as school uniforms for secondary schools in the state. He said the initiative would boost the sale of locally made fabrics and open business opportunities to all local producers in the state and beyond. 

Lawal, also known as Agbara-Asa, urged other state governors in the South-West to take a cue from Ogun State’s new digital marketing strategy to boost local production of Adire and Kampala fabrics in their respective states. 

The Lagos State chairman of the Kampala producers expressed concern that the Federal government was yet to identify and explore the marketing prospects in the textile industry.

“All  over the world, the production of Adire and Kampala fabrics has improved greatly with  international approach and standard, and the market is always available at the international level, so there is need for the federal and state governments to encourage and boost local production of the fabrics,” he said.

Speaking on the various challenges encountered in producing the local fabrics, Lawal said the cost of material for Adire and Kampala productions has skyrocketed, with every material becoming too high and out of reach of local producers. He urged the Federal Government to embrace the use of Adire and Kampala at local functions, saying the locally- made fabrics can be produced in large quantities and in various designs to meet local and international demands. 

He also reiterated the need for the governments at all levels to empower producers of these local fabrics by making available short and long term loan facilities to producers of local textiles. 

He appealed to Governor Babajide Sanwo-olu to provide a permanent site for Adire producers in the state. He said it was unfortunate that all the manufacturers of Adire in Lagos state daily struggle for space, even as they work under difficult conditions. 

“I am very optimistic that with government’s enhanced support, Adire/Kampala producers in Lagos can have the capacity and marketing prospects  to transform the moribund textile sector to a global market economy,” he said.