Former president, Obasanjo tells FG to ban Chinese Adire, train local producers

In order to protect the local adire fabric market from impending “bastardization” by the Chinese, former president Olusegun Obasanjo has urged the Federal Government to prohibit the importation of Chinese adire into the nation.

Obasanjo implored the government to exert every effort in shielding the nation’s indigenous adire production from Chinese imports, as well as everything else that may be made there.

Read Also: House of reps invite Cardoso, others to discuss lifting of FX restrictions on 43 items

During the pre-conference session of “Canada Trade Mission ’24” in Abeokuta, the state capital, on Monday, the esteemed statesman made an appeal during his opening speech. He bemoaned the lack of availability of clothing materials, which were previously sourced from Kano, Kaduna, and Ado-Ekiti.

In addition to Mrs. Oluwatosin Oloko, Permanent Secretary of the Ogun State Ministry of Culture & Tourism, and Realtor Babatunde Adeyemo of the Pelican Valley, the program was organized by Solteque Nigeria Ltd.

Therefore, in order to provide local manufacturers with the raw materials needed to produce Adire, Obasanjo made a plea to the FG to revitalize the country’s textile sector.

Additionally, he argued in favor of the creation of official training facilities where individuals could acquire the skills necessary to create Adire and receive certification upon completion of their studies.

He expressed his gratitude to the traditional rulers in attendance, saying, “You have demonstrated that you are true guardians of culture. Some claim that if not because we don’t value what we have, then China wants to bastardize our Adire product. I wish to thank Ogun State government for Oja Itoku’s initiative regarding the Adire market. If there are no Adire sellers in the market, it is good yet insufficient.

“There is nothing like it anymore; the clothing used to be purchased in Kano, Kaduna, and Ado-Ekiti, Nigeria, is used in the creation of Adire. Where would we acquire the garments to create Adire if we wanted to? As sellers, manufacturers, and advocates of Adire, it is imperative that we work together. There isn’t much the government can do for us. Let us humbly request that the government prioritize revitalizing the textile industry as its top priority.

The second is a structured training facility where individuals can acquire the skills necessary to create Adire and obtain certification upon completion of their studies. We implore the authorities to use every effort to safeguard our domestic Adire production, preventing the Chinese from obtaining it and using it to substandardly manipulate it against us.

Additionally, Dr. Babatunde Adeyemo, the Chief Executive Officer of Pelican Valley Nigeria Limited, spoke. He focused on the potential of the real estate industry to draw in foreign investors, enhance the country’s foreign exchange earnings, increase Ogun State’s Internally Generated Revenue base through direct assessment taxes on investors, and create wealth and jobs for both current and future generations.

“I would like to present you with the opportunity in real estate investment,” Adeyemo stated. Here’s your chance to see someone who has made profitable real estate investments and wants to share their story to inspire and educate others. God not only provided us the chance to become well-known in Ogun, Nigeria, and around the world, but also allowed me the honor to launch a real estate company with a small initial investment.

“This event is being organized by one of our clients. His return to Nigeria was facilitated by our friendship; following his purchase of land and construction of a home in our estate, he was persuaded to return. In order to assist his people, not only himself, he founded a business and took the initiative to organize this event.

He claims that we have succeeded in returning more than 400 Nigerians living abroad to their homeland. Almost one hundred individuals have purchased land from us, all from within his own camp in Manitoba.

He added that although we want to export Adire, we are unsure if real estate is one of the more explorable areas. Real estate is something that people can use and export to further develop Ogun State and Nigeria as a whole.