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Tag: textile

Labour kicks against lift of ban on textile materials

• Warns of impending job losses

Textile workers have called on President Muhammadu Buhari to reverse the recent lifting of ban on textile materials.

Acting under the aegis of National Union of Textile, Garment and Tailoring Workers of Nigeria (NUTGTWN), they said the decision to lift the ban on textile materials would lead to massive job loss.

The General Secretary of the union and Deputy President of the Joe Ajaero-led faction of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Mr. Issa Aremu, who spoke with reporters in Lagos, said the decision to remove the ban on textile materials remained illegal because it did not follow due process.

Aremu regretted that the decision to lift the ban remained counterproductive to government’s efforts in promoting the growth of local industry, saying the latest decision would sound a death knell for the textile sector.

Aremu stated that the decision to relax the ban on the importation of textiles into the country was not in the interest of the masses, adding that the first test of Buhari’s ‘Change Initiative’, would be to reverse the decision.

“Lifting the ban is illegal as it did not follow due process. Before the ban came into force, there were lots of discussions with all the stakeholders. Recall that the ban was put in place so that African prints can have comparative advantage because we have the capacity to produce locally as well as huge market,” he said.

He lamented that the textile sector, which had been the leading employer of labour is now operating in the shadow of its old self with over 20 companies shut down.

The Labour leader said former President Olusegun Obasanjo, after deliberations with the stakeholders, decided to put the ban in place, adding that the policy was equally retained by late President Musa Yar’adua and to some level, Goodluck Jonathan.

“The same process it took to put the ban in place is the same process we expect the government to take into consideration to lift the ban. It cannot be done casually. All the stakeholders must be called for deliberation”, he stated.

Aremu said the Federal Government should give the sector the kind of support given to local cement manufacturers, which has made them to thrive through the total ban on importation of cement.

“We are not afraid of competition, if it’s done in good faith. If importers of textile materials pay the right duties and come in with quality products, our local industry can compete favourably with them. But a situation where they come in with inferior products through the back doors and saturate the market, thereby making it impossible for the local industry to break even is not good for our economy,” he argued.

While calling for better funding of the Customs in order to combat smugglers, whom he said now have more sophisticated weapons, the textile union scribe said seized goods should be burnt as they often find their way back to the local markets.

He also charged the state governments to look inward to grow their economies through agriculture and industrialisation as it was the case in the 60s and 70s, rather than going cap in hands begging for bail-out from the Federal Government.

July 3, 2015
Hope for textile revival

Textile workers hope that the incoming administration of General Muhammadu Buhari will revive the collapsed industry, reports TONY AKOWE

Even before his administration takes off, President-elect Gen. Muhammadu Buhari is acutely aware that the country needs a new lease of life. Workers in the comatose textile industry are hopeful that the General’s government will inject new blood into their factories and get them working again.

Gen. Buhari himself was not oblivious of what lay before him.

“We know some big companies that employed a lot of Nigerians and gave them training facilities that have closed down… The important thing in a country with a huge population of youths with more than 60 per cent of them under the age of 30 who are unemployed is to create job opportunities. You need these institutions to give jobs and training to Nigerians. Things just have to change.”

The textile industry used to perform that task. Not anymore.

In Kaduna, only the United Textiles Plc is operating skeletal services. After several years of closure, the company came back to life, operating minimally after receiving grants from the textile revival fund. Vice President Mohammed Namadi Sambo launched the rebirth of the industry at an electorate ceremony in Kaduna in 2010.

Issa Aremu, General Secretary of the National Union of Textile, Garment and Tailoring Workers of Nigeria said he believed that Buhari would revive the sector. Aremu challenged the incoming government to put in place policies that will see the industrial sector in the country bounce back to life again, while retaining and building on those policies of the Jonathan government that encourage good labour market.

He said, “General Muhammadu Buhari’s victory must usher in new innovative policy changes that must ensure prosperity in place of existing mass poverty. We however suggest that there must be continuity of some good labour market and industrial policies of Jonathan’s administration, such as freedom of association, right to unionisation, unfettered collective bargaining and the new National Industrial Revolution Plan (NIRP) and the national cotton, textile and garment policy, among others”.

Aremu lamented that in 2014, the performance of the textile sector was very low.

“The performance of the Nigerian textile industry remained at a low ebb in 2014 due to lack of an enabling environment and inconsistency in government policy,” he said. “Key problems affecting the industry include persistent electricity supply crisis, inadequate raw materials, government’s inability to regulate imports, high cost of production inputs, unrestrained importation of fake counterfeit and substandard textiles from China, low patronage of made in Nigeria textiles, security challenges, high interest rate and recent devaluation of the naira. The capacity utilisation in the industry remains below 50% and growth has been stagnant since 2012. The government had talked about a new textile policy in February 2013 [but] there has been no progress. Unless effective steps are taken by the government to revive the industry, gains achieved in 2010 will be lost, resulting in job losses, thus aggravating the unemployment situation. In 2015, we demand for patriotic industrial policies through direct mass actions to protect domestic industry. It is time we grow the non-oil sector”.

He assured that the union will partner with the incoming administration to take necessary steps to revive the ailing industries in Kaduna State especially the textile industry with a view of creating jobs for the mass of unemployed youths in the state.

However, many families who rely on the proceeds from the textile industries in Kaduna to earn a living are also hoping that life will come back to the industries again. Workers of the closed factories and their families as well as others who trade on one item or the other around the close factories are looking forward to the Buhari government collaborating with the Nasir El-Rufai government in the state to breadth life into the industries. Many of those who lost their job due to closure of the industries and had to resort to commercial motorcycle business for their survival were dealt a big blow in 2014 when the Kaduna State government banned Okada operation.

Musa Yakubu who lost his job in one of the textiles companies in Kaduna when it closed down said he was finding life difficult.

He told The Nation: “We are finding it extremely difficult to cope in the harsh economic condition of the county. As a man, I have to struggle to find what I can do. We involve ourselves in all kinds of menial jobs at construction sites. My wife roasts corn on a daily basis. Sometimes, I assist people on the farm and get paid. I was operating Okada when there is nothing I can do, but that had to stop when the state government banned okada. Some of us could not afford to buy tricycles and the ones the government bought did not get to many of us. Now, I do anything that can bring some legitimate money. I have four children; two are out of school because I cannot fund their education. The remaining two are in primary and secondary school, and I am struggling to pay their school fees. Accommodation has been the worst.

“The landlord has threatened to eject me. I want the company to be reopened so that we can be paid our entitlements.”

The Obasanjo administration launched the Textile Revival Fund as well as the cotton rebirth programme as part of government’s measures to ensure the revival of the sector. The Jonathan government gave life to the programme when Vice-President Namadi Sambo formally launched the fund at the UNT Plc premises in Kaduna. Sambo said at the occasion that the Nigerian government regarded the revival of the textile industries as a topmost priority, identifying obstacles leading to the collapse of the sector as the collapse of critical infrastructure, such as power, roads, water, etc resulting in the high cost of doing business for the manufacturing sector and the lack of price competitiveness of Nigeria’s manufactured products; gross under-capitalisation in the face of costly new technologies; lack of long fibre and use of contaminated cotton which combined to generate very low yarn count and quality; lack of other necessary local inputs largely derived from petrochemicals due to the hitherto epileptic performance of the country’s refineries; competition from smuggled fabrics which displaced Nigeria’s exports to the West African market.

He also said at the occasion that: “These as identified were responsible for the collapse of the textile industry in Kaduna, which in its glorious days was reputed as one of the major textile production hubs and perhaps the only existing cluster of textile manufacturers in Africa.

This was a cluster that accounted for well over 70 percent of the working population of Kaduna in the 1980s and 90s… Our Founding Father of this industrial success had the vision of a similar textile industrial complex to that of the Manchester of the United Kingdom. The foregoing problems of the textile industry informed the approval by the Federal for the Federal Ministry of Finance to raise and disburse through Bank of Industry (BOI) the N100 billion Cotton, Textile and Garment Development Fund through a bond issued by the Debt Management Office (DMO). The Fund is meant for on-lending by BOI for the expansion, refurbishing, resuscitation and modernisation/re-tooling of existing textiles, ginning and all other assorted cotton industries as well as the cultivation of cotton.

We have pursued and have had to set up committees at both state and Federal levels to come up with practical recommendations that can address these identified challenges. These committees made far-reaching recommendations and followed them with concrete steps aimed at addressing them. We then identified with the challenges of Power and approved the siting of the 215mw thermal power plant to address the challenge of constant power supply.”

April 21, 2015
Textile workers urge Buhari to reactivate industries

National Union of Textile Garment and Tailoring Workers of Nigeria (NUTGTWN) has urged the president-elect, Gen Muhammadu Buhari (rtd) to prioritise the rejuvenation of comatose textile industries in the country when he takes over the affairs of the nation.

Speaking with reporters yesterday in Kaduna, its Secretary –General, Comrade Issa Aremu reminded Gen Buhari that it was part of his campaign promises toresuscitate dead textile industries across the country if voted into power.

Aremu also tasked the president-elect to ensure that smuggling and counterfeiting of textile materials into the country were halted, adding that if such socio-economic activities were allowed to thrive, it would rub on his good image.

He said: “We were encouraged during Gen Buhari’s campaign that he has resolved to revive textile and garment industry as part of his party’s overall strategy to re-industrialise the county and create mass employment for the millions of unemployed.

“We recall that in the 70s and up to early 80s, (when General Buhari and his patriotic team were in power) Nigeria was the largest producer of different range of textile, garment and carpet products surpassed in production only by Egypt and South Africa. We are willing to partner with his administration to reinvent this sector which has propelled newly industrialised countries in recent times such as China, India, Balgadesh and Indonesia among others.

He said: “Twenty-six out of the 36 states grow cotton of both long and short stable lengths; in addition as an oil-producing country, Nigeria boasts of a large polyester base.

“Combined with the 170 million population rich in fashion and clothing and huge labour force of some 70 million potential workers, Nigeria has the potential of producing 1.2 billion meters of cloth per annum. When we factor the ECOWAS (economic Community of West African States) sub-regional market, Nigeria is a natural textile destination point in the world.

“The major threat to the realisation of the great potential of Nigeria in textile production is high influx of counterfeit and smuggled goods. The real acid test of Gen Buhari’s incoming administration’s anti-corruption is how he frontally fight smuggling.

“Over 90 per cent of Nigeria’s huge market size is dominated by smuggled and counterfeit goods, killing local companies in Kano, Kaduna, Lagos, Guzau, Aba and Port Harcourt, and millions of direct and indirect associated local jobs. In addition smuggling denies the government the much needed revenue in unpaid custom duties. While private sector is the engine of growth, it is the government that must “oil” this engine, failing which it will crash as it has with the textile industry.”

He said all nations want to employ their youths, produce goods and services, overcome poverty and underdevelopment. To this extent, he said every nation protects its own industry, whether the industry is in ‘infancy’ or ‘adult-hood’adding that Nigeria cannot be different under Gen Buhari’s administration which has commendably raised expectations to fight unemployment and grow the economy.

April 9, 2015
From vibrant textile industries to ghost towns

In the past, textile companies were major employers of labour. All efforts to revive the ailing sectors have tried but yet to achieve the desired results, making many wonder if the good old days will ever return, writes Ibrahim Mammaga

Industrialists note that Nigeria had one of the best textile industries in the world with more than 180 functional factories in the early 1980s.

They recall that the textile industry in Nigeria then was vibrant and it used to be the second largest in Africa, after Egypt, providing more than 800,000 direct and five million indirect jobs for Nigerians.

They observe that at that time, multi-purpose textile machines such as shuttles, knitting, spindles, among others, improved productivity in the textile sector and ensured good quality of products.

Mr Oladele Hunsu, the President, Nigeria Union of Textile and Garment Workers of Nigeria (NUTGWN), said that textile factories such as United Nigerian Textile Ltd., Aswani Textile Mill, Afprint Plc, Asaba Textile Mill, Edo Textile Mill, among others, were the pride of the sector at that moment.

Analysts, however, note that the fortunes of the sector began to dwindle in 1994 due to political crises and the lack of political will to implement some policies which could enhance productivity in the sector.

They opine that the situation was worsened by lifting of the ban on importation of textile goods in 1997, massive smuggling of foreign textile products into the country and increased taxes and levies imposed on the industries.

They observe further that these developments led to the closure of various textile industries, including Afprint Plc, Aba Textile Mill, Asaba Textile Mill, Specomill, Unitex, Supertex, Royal Spinners, NTM and Oodua Textile Mill.

The analysts recall that the popular Aswani Textile Mill was forced to transmute into Chellarams Plc — dealing in nylon and bicycles — while Afprint Plc in Lagos became Kewalram Nigeria Ltd. and started selling cars.

Statistics from the Manufacturers’ Association of Nigeria (MAN) indicate that as of 2007, not more than 30 textile industries across the country were functioning with less than 30,000 workers.

The statistics also reveal that the nine textile mills in Kaduna were closed down by the end of 2007and their workers were thrown into the labour market.

Expressing concern about the situation, the members of NUTGWN recently raised alarm that the closure of the industries had compelled many of the big players in the industry to change their businesses.

Lending credence to this, statistics from MAN state that the capacity utilisation profile of the nation’s textile industry has declined by 9.5 per cent between 2011 and 2013.

The statistics state that “the capacity utilisation dipped to 50.8 per cent in 2012 from 54.5 per cent recorded in 2011, in spite of the Federal Government’s N100 billion intervention funds to the sector.

“Also, the sector’s capacity utilisation further dropped to 44.9 per cent in 2013, indicating a cumulative depreciation of 9.5 per cent during the period.’’

Describing the trend as worrisome, NUTGWN admits that although the Federal Government has made several efforts at revamping the sector, multiple interventions are needed to fully revitalise the sector.

Hunsu, the president of the association, therefore, urged the concerned authorities to implement existing economic policies, aimed at guarding against smuggling of foreign fabrics into the country.

He said the nation incurred an annual loss of N75 billion due to the smuggling of textile products into the country, insisting that smuggled products accounted for 90 per cent of the textile products in the Nigerian market.

According to him, although the Federal Government has made concerted efforts to revive the industry through the N100 Cotton and Textile Intervention Fund in 2009, few companies have been able to access the funds.

Beyond the intervention, Mr Olanrewaju Jaiyeola, the President, National Textile Manufacturers’ Association of Nigeria (NTMAN), urged the Federal Government to adopt a protectionist policy for the textile sector so as to provoke its revival.

He said the lack of funds was not the only problem plaguing the textile industry, insisting that a well-implemented, manufacturers-friendly policy would turn the sector around.

Sharing similar sentiments, Dr John Osemede, the Director-General, Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA), solicited a proactive measure to guard against the importation of textile products.

Alhaji Ali Madugu, the National Vice President of MAN, corroborated his view, insisting that the major challenges facing the industry were importation of foreign fabrics to the country and smuggling of Nigerian textile products to other countries.

In his view, Alhaji Aliyu Bello, the Company Secretary of Funtua Textile Ltd., one of the few surviving textile factories in Nigeria, said that multiple taxations by the federal, state and local governments were some of the challenges facing the sector.

However, Mr Bimbo Ashiru, the Commissioner for Commerce in Ogun, attributed the closure of the two textile mills in the state to lack of funds and importation of foreign fabrics.

He said bthe mills — Shokas Lace Factory in Ijebu-Igbo and Austro Embroidery Mill in Aiyepe — could not easily source for foreign exchange to import some of the needed materials from Austria before their closure more than a decade ago.

Ashiru said attempt by the firms to bring the prices of their products down affected the quality of the products, adding this, therefore, affected the people’s patronage of the products.

“The cost of importing materials for production was unfortunately on the high side, compared to the prices of imported textile materials,’’ he added.

Irrespective of the myriad challenges facing the sector, Mr Andy Edobor, the President, Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture in Edo, underscored the need to initiate pragmatic efforts to revive the textile industry, as part of the country’s economic diversification plans.

All the same, Mr Navdeep Sodhi, a textile consultant, stressed that Nigeria would need a minimum of N205 billion to revamp the sector.

Sodhi, the Managing Consultant of Gherzi Sub-Sahara, an international textile consulting firm, said that with this amount, the local textile industry would be able to capture more than 40 per cent of the Nigerian market by 2015.

“Today, the market share of the industry is only 15 per cent because of the poor state of the sector. The key issue for the industry was the lack of funds; if you are looking for money, it is not just there,’’ he said.

Sodhi said the government’s intervention was just to subsidise interest rates on loans or compensate for the interest rates so that the cost of obtaining the funds would not be too cumbersome.

Nevertheless, stakeholders believe that any effort to revive the textile industry will somewhat be futile unless there is an improvement in the power situation in the country, while bank loans become accessible to entrepreneurs at a low interest rate.

Besides, the stakeholders call on the government to curtail the smuggling of foreign fabrics, improve the patronage of local materials and sensitise the citizens to the importance of patronising locally produced fabrics.

Above all, they underscore the need for the government to demonstrate the political will to implement sound policies which can provoke the revival of textile plants and ensure the sustainable growth of the textile sector.

•Mammaga is of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)

October 6, 2014
N100b textile fund: How solution became problem

Despite the challenge of unbridled importation of cheap and substandard textile materials and the infrastructural deficit in the country, the Federal Government went ahead disbursing the N100b Cotton, Textile and Garment (CTG) Revival Fund. Stakeholders say the government may have put the cart before the horse thus nailing the coffin of the ailing textile industry, reports Assist. Editor CHIKODI OKEREOCHA.

It a generous interest rate of six per cent and a repayment period of five years, operators in the textile industry ought to be falling over themselves to access the N100 billion Cotton, Textile, and Garment (CTG) Revival Fund. But this has not been the case. Rather than scramble for the loan, most textile companies are said to be avoiding it like plague. Only about 20 textile firms have so far accessed the loan, according to the Director General, Nigeria Textile Manufacturers Association (NTMA), Mr. Jaiyeola Olarewaju. He also disclosed that very few cotton and garment firms have taken the loan, which sought to revitalise the CTG industry along the entire value chain, including textile, cotton, and garment production.

Olarewaju told The Nation that the fund introduced in 2010, and currently managed by Bank of Industry (BoI), recorded some noticeable improvements in the fortunes of the CTG industry such as the re-opening of United Nigeria Textiles Limited in Kaduna, and Arewa Textiles, which indicated interest to come back. Besides, the industry, he said, recorded relatively less factory closures and redundancies, as some of the 20 textile companies who took the loan deployed it either as working capital or used it to refurbish their machines.

Olarewaju however, expressed regrets that those who took the loan got their fingers burnt when they discovered, shortly after accessing the loan, that over 80 per cent of the market has been taken over by cheap imports from Asian countries. According to him, the influx of foreign textiles into the country made locally produced textiles less competitive, as they are often costlier than imported or smuggled ones. The result, he said, was that other companies yet to access the loan chose to avoid it. Most of them became afraid that they may not be able to repay the loan considering the prevailing unfriendly operating environment particularly with regards to lack of infrastructure.

As far as the textile firms are concerned, government put the wrong foot forward when it failed to first reduce smuggling and address the more fundamental challenge of lack of infrastructure particularly power supply before coming out with the bailout fund. Because of Nigeria’s huge infrastructure deficit particularly, inadequate and unreliable electricity supply, manufacturers, including textile companies, are forced to rely on generators at huge cost, resulting in rising cost of production.

Cost of manufacturing textiles in Nigeria is considered too high partly because of high energy cost. For instance, the price of gas was increased by 15 per cent from January 2014 and price of black oil, which is an important input in the production process, remains high due to scarcity. In textile production, companies either use gas or black oil. But in a state like Kaduna, there is complete absence of gas. What is found is black oil, which is often in low quantity. Besides, the insecurity situation in the country especially in the Northeast made nonsense of the intervention fund, as most textile companies in that part of the country could not operate.

“We are stagnated now; the problem goes beyond money,” says President, National Union of Textile, Garment and Tailoring Workers of Nigeria (NUTGTWN), Comrade Oladele Hunsu. Hunsu toldThe Nation that although, there was a significant improvement in the industry, as 1, 500 jobs have been saved through the intervention, efforts to put the industry back on track have been frustrated by government’s policy inconsistency. He said before the introduction of the fund, government had banned the importation of textiles into the country, which was why operators hailed the initiative and also embraced it. He however, lamented that the same government pulled the rug off the feet of operators when it again unbanned the importation of textiles, thus opening the floodgate for cheaper textiles to come in from Asia.

Comrade Hunsu lamented that the situation is regrettable considering the fact that the real sector rather than the service sector remains the real growth diver. He said the textile industry is the second largest employer of labour after government, which is why government must put necessary measures and policies in place to salvage the industry. His position was in line with the communiqué issued at the end of a three-day workshop for union organisers and self-employed tailors and small scale garment makers organised recently by his union in collaboration with Friedrich Ebert Stiftung in Ilorin, Kwara State.

The communiqué noted, for instance, that the performance of the Nigerian textile industry remained at low ebb in the first half of 2014 due to lack of an enabling environment and inconsistency in government policy. NUTGTWN observed that there are 25 textile mills employing about 24,000 workers, while capacity utilisation in the industry remains below 50 per cent, with growth remaining stagnant since 2012. The communiqué noted that government had talked about a new textile policy in February 2013, but regretted that there has been no progress. It therefore, argued that unless government takes effective steps to revive the industry, gains achieved in 2010 when the revival fund came on stream would be lost, resulting in job losses, which would aggravate the unemployment situation.

One of the effective steps the union is canvassing to breathe life into the comatose textile industry is to immediately checkmate the influx of smuggled goods, which the union insistsoccupy over 90 per cent of the market. “It is estimated that Nigeria ‘imports’ N300 billion worth of textiles and garments annually, most of which are illegally imported without paying any duties and taxes. The total amount of revenue loss on account of Customs duty and Value Added Tax (VAT) on this volume is estimated at N75 billion. Such rampant evasion of taxes lost to smuggling when the government is running from pillar to post to mobilise revenue should be an eye opener,” the communiqué read.

The communiqué further noted that the huge backlog of Negotiable Duty Credit certificates (NDCCs) accumulated over last two yearsunder the Export Expansion Grant (EEG) has thrown the CTG industry into serious financial crisis, which the N100 billion funds has so far failed to resolve. “This has been caused by an arbitrary suspension imposed by the Federal Ministry of Finance on utilisation of the certificates, issued by the same ministry, for duty payment. Textile manufacturers who exported their goods by factoring the grant in their price are facing a severe liquidity crisis,” the union observed.

However, textile companies are not the only ones lamenting over liquidity crisis induced by the backlog of unutilised NDCC. Earlier, manufacturers under their umbrella association, Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) had cried out that the same issue had virtually paralysed their operations and simultaneously affected their image as reliable international partners. MAN said the shoddy implementation of the EEG, a Federal Government’s incentive introduced to help manufacturers for export compete favourably with their counterparts in the international market, created continued reluctance in the acceptance of NDCC for duty payment since 2010.

The Nation learnt that under the EEG, benefitting exporters are entitled to some claims based on the value of export proceeds received, duly certified by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), while the approved claims are paid to them by government through the use of a negotiable instrument known as the NDCC, which entitles the exporter to offset part or whole of subsequent Customs and Excise duties payable to the government.

But members of MAN and NUTGTWN have been expressing concern over the administration of the EEG scheme, which they say created challenges for their members who are actively involved in the export business. They associations therefore, called for timely policy pronouncement on rendering the backlog of unutilised NDCC by the Federal Government. “This will go a long way to stem the frustrations of majority of the genuine exporters who are desirous of growing their businesses and creating value addition in the economy. It will also address the issue of leakages in government revenue and bring sanity into the administration of the scheme,” MAN argued, for instance.

In the case of textile companies, the liquidity crisis caused by the backlog of NDCCs made it extremely difficult for them to pay the interests on the loan from BOI due to low capacity utilisation. The tenure of the loan matures in 2016. Already, the textile companies, in the communiqué, jointly signed by Hunsu and General Secretary of NUTGTWN, Comrade Issa Aremu,appealed to BOI to extend the repayment period of the loan by 10 years. They also requested flexibility to redeem the EEG certificates in lieu of loan instalment.

These, NUTGTWN noted, became necessary due partly to the havoc wreaked on the industry by smuggling and partly due to lack of patronage of made in Nigeria textiles as a result of lack of effective policy enforcement. The union observed that most government ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) such as police, customs, immigration and army still prefer to use imported fabrics rather than those locally made.

While emphasising that there is need for some sort of protection for the CTG industry, Hunsu told The Nation that Nigeria should borrow a leaf from developed countries of the world including some African countries that have been highly supportive of their textile industry to improve their competitiveness. He cited the United States of America, which he said dished out a whopping $75 million to bail out General Motors. Also, while Ghana has three large textile mills and allows import of all raw materials, dyes & chemicals and spare parts at zero per cent duty, Kenya continues to be a hub for readymade garment exports.

Curiously, while textile manufacturers are groaning that the N100 billion CTG revival fund has not significantly improved their lot, BOI’s records appear to paint a picture of an industry on its way to recovery. For instance, BOI says that over 60 per cent of the fund has been committed to 52 companies in the CTG industry as at March, 2013. The bank cited the re-opening of United Nigeria Textiles Limited in Kaduna as one of the numerous positive impacts of the scheme.

BoI also said that a mid-term evaluation of the CTG industry commissioned by BOI/UNIDO to evaluate the impact of the scheme reveals that over 8,070 jobs had been saved through the intervention, while capacity utilisation for most beneficiaries increased from below 40 per cent to about 61 per cent. Besides, over 50 per cent of those making losses has started reporting profits.

But the textile companies are not swayed by BOI’s statistics. While saying that “BOI must be commended for the way it has so far managed the fund, Hunsu however, pointed out that the figures churned out by the bank indicating the success of the fund do not reflect the reality on ground. He said while only about 1, 500 jobs have been saved through the intervention, capacity utilisation remained very low. He reiterated that financing is just one out of the numerous challenges facing the textile industry in particular and manufacturing industries in general.

The textile industry was once the bride of the nation’s industrial sector. In its heyday, around the1980s, the textile market was acknowledged as third largest in Africa, with over 160 vibrant textile mills and over 500,000 direct and indirect jobs. By 1985, the number of textile mills had increased to about 180, engaging about one million workers. The country’s textile capacity accounted for 60 per cent in West Africa.

However, the fortunes of the industry started nose-diving in early 1994 when most of the textile firms started caving in under the weight of smuggling, unstable business and political climate, and high production costs due to poor infrastructure. By 1995, government, according to experts, plunged the industry into deeper crisis when it pushed the country into the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

The WTO adopted Agreements on Textile and Clothing, which states that all quotas on textile and clothing will be removed among WTO member countries. For Nigeria whose industrial base was considered as very weak, the agreement was seen by many as a fundamental error, as it opened the floodgate for the importation of inferior and cheap textiles in Nigeria.

September 25, 2014
Itinerant tailors: Going, going…

Nneka Nwaneri writes on the dwindling fortunes of tailors in the face of completion from second hand clothes

THE Nigerian textile industry is facing a major setback. There is a major crisis over patronage of second hand clothes.

In the past, second hand clothes were a major means by which an average Nigerian could address his clothing needs. Cheap, affordable and good quality based on grade. Once they are washed, starched and ironed, no one could ever tell that such clothes when worn are not new.

Apart from the fact that it met people’s clothing needs, it also served as a means of livelihood for local tailors. Those who bought these second-hand clothes, otherwise known as tokunbo that were not their sizes would have to shape them to their sizes.

There was once a time when the sale of tokunbo brand clothes provided a vibrant market which anyone with the right kinds of good and at a cheaper price was always swift with sales.

Whatever the colours and sizes, they were acceptable and cheap to afford. Thus, it created a viable market for both the traders who make a living out of it and those who mend the clothes to fit the wearers.

Those were two businesses that always thrived until china branded clothes dominated the Nigerian market. It was double chaos for both those who sold the clothes and those who repaired it for the end users. It came like a boom. Tailors are lamenting and traders have been forced out of the market. Many had to leave for their villages.

It served as a regular source of income from that but now; there is a major threat today for both the tailors and the sales personnel of okirika clothes. More people are patronising imported clothes from China.

They come very colourful and at very low prices with the latest trends and fashion as it breaks.

The question now is why Nigerians are the migrating from the second hand clothes to the Chinese imports.

China made clothes is very cheap, affordable and clean. Though the standard of the fabric might not be as high a quality as that of the tokunbo clothes, they are new and more also trendy with the latest in fashion.

They capture the latest fashion trend and people buy them to identify with others without having to deal with the psychological bias of second handed clothes. For them, they are wearing new clothes and that is the major attraction.

It is now almost leading to the collapse of the business, leaving tailors a hard time because they are losing the income it generates for them.

In the Lagos metropolis, the street tailoring business, is now dominated by northerners who migrated to the South-western states in search of greener pastures.

Whereas, other men from the Eastern part of the country and Ghanaians, who were called Obioma then, had sooner than later taken to other means of survival such as Keke Maruwa and okada business. Others who could not cope with the terrain simply left for their native homes and countries.

The Nation caught up with one of the early Igbo tailors who have refused to leave the business of sewing. Mr. David Okoro has been in the profession for over thirty years. Since no one beckons on him for patronage, he devised a means of announcing his presence in the neighbourhood. His chants arouse the attention of the community as well as the curiosity of children who are outside playing after school hours.

His job: to amend clothes and cut others to the individual’s size, making small and big clothes wearable. He began the business after he came into Lagos city in search of greener pastures. Tailoring was the first business he was introduced to, and has over the years picked interest in it as a means of livelihood.

“I have been managing it and it has been helping me. It is with sewing that i have built my house, married and trained my children. I even used it to help my brothers and sisters in need. “

Okoro, whose children will soon be through with secondary school education added that he has found it difficult to change the business as age is no longer on his side. He has since then not found it easy to do other jobs for fear of not succeeding in it. There were some others who began the sewing business with him but along the line were lucky you go into the okada business were lucky to see those who gave them bikes to manage and bring back returns.

Making ends meet

For him, the job seems menial but fetches him enough to cater for his wife and five children. Though happy with the trend and changes that have been associated with new things, he is not happy that the heavy iron machines he and others carry about are not water friendly and are limited to working more during the dry season.

“Most times during the rainy season, we have to stay indoors to preserve the machine. During the dry season, we are beaten by the scorching sun. This machine is heavy to carry about. It is iron but as a child of God, I come out each morning and pray, I ask God to give me just enough to feed my family and that he has always done by giving me a distinct handiwork,” he noted.

Explaining how he has been able to use slogans effectively to announce his presence, he told The Nation of how his customers in his catchment areas know he has arrived there. His remix of the chorus of the song by Baba Frayo E Go Dey Pose, announces he presence in one area.

He is known for different slogans for different streets. In other communities, he is named Hello; Ebeano, which was coined from the akpoche cloth that reigned sometime ago while others call him Baba Iyabo, the Yoruba translation for his daughter’s name which is called Ezinne in the Igbo Language.

As a daily routine, his struggle begins from 9am till 5pm after which he goes to church. Okoro is neither intimidated by the number of northern tailors that patrol the streets on a daily basis. He described them as people who are just fortunate to come to the city, but have no training or experience in tailoring.

“They don’t know half what I know in the tailoring business. Having done this for thirty years, they don’t affect me because my work is distinct from theirs. I shape clothes to fit individuals and add materials to clothes to make them comfortable to wear. Whatever amendment it is, I calm down and do it well so it is befitting to the owner. Even when they charge N30 per cloth, I charge N100 because I know the kind of value I can give to the owners of the cloth. There is always a difference in the two jobs. Afterall, they neither pay house rents, electricity bills nor cater for a family.”

Okoro’s work gives him joy and his being able to accommodate all manners of people has endeared them to look forward to seeing him again.

For him, Okirika clothes are made of original stuff that lasts, because it does not fade.

“There are some original tokunbo that is better than new clothes. As for me, I prefer the tokunbo to all these new clothes hanging about the town.”

For Miss Chizoba Ozowara, a teacher in one of the primary schools around, none is preferable as they are almost one and the same thing. Because of the common nature of China clothes, she stands at a fix when The Nation engaged her to know her view.

“China clothes are too rampant, everybody is wearing same kind of clothes. No matter how many new ones you buy, you will still see someone who is wearing same thing as you do, even pepper sellers and I hate such. Just for that reason, I would rather go for a second new, the ones we call first grade or I go for a brand new one that costs between N10, 000-N15, 000. It seems expensive but I don’t mind so far I wear it and in the whole world we are only about 10 of us that have it.”

May 25, 2014
Textile industry to be revitalised, says Accord candidate

The governorship candidate of Accord in Ekiti State, Barrister Kole Ajayi has promised that his government if elected into power, will revitalise the textile industry located in Ado-Ekiti to boost the industrial development of the state.

Speaking on a radio Nigeria live programme tagged ‘Needs of Ekiti’, the scientist turned lawyer lamented the conversion of the much cherished textile factory into a shopping mall.

He said the first step to be taken by his government to facilitate the revitalisation would be to encourage Ekiti farmers to go into mass cotton plantation which he said thrives well on Ekiti soil.

The LP candiate added that the revitalisation of the industry would go a long way to tackle the high level of unemployment in Ekiti state.

Ajayi further revealed that as at 1996 when the factory was operating below 40% capacity, the staff strength was about 4000, adding that the industrial package across Ekiti state would be based on public-private initiative for better efficiency with the state government having the highest equity.

He affirmed that industries would be facilitated in each local government and such will be sourcing their raw materials from the prevailing agricultural product in such areas.

May 8, 2014
‘Textile grants create 25,000 jobs’

About 25,000 jobs have been created in the last few months through the Textile and Garment Intervention Fund, the General Manager, Operation, Bank of Industry (BoI) Joseph Babatunde has said.

He told The Nation that about 52 textile firms that were closed for many years have been revived through the grants, adding that these firms were able to meet the bank’s requirements to access the facility.

He said the revival scheme has started yielding results as it has revived some other jobs that were lost as a result of the closure. “So far, 52 firms have benefited from the fund and this has gone a long way in revitalising some of the textile firms that had closed down,” he said.

Babatunde said over 60 per cent of the N100billion Textile Revival Fund being managed by the bank has been disbursed, raising the hope that the once vibrant sector will soon bounce back.

He said the scope of the fund has also been extended to cover manufacturing in the sector, including garments, cotton production, spinning, processing and printing, adding that the fund has also sustained some textile businesses which otherwise would have been closed by now.

On how the funds could be accessed by operators, he said: “You don’t need insider connection. The entrepreneur should have a well-packaged bankable proposal before seeking funding from the bank. The bank insists on collateral for big loans because the money is not free. It belongs to Nigerians. And if you don’t pay back, we will use the collateral to recover the loan.”

He said the industry is bouncing back, adding that Nigeria, like other African countries, is facing challenges of infrastructure deficit.

“By the time we address the challenges of infrastructure such as power and transportation, you will see the rate at which we will be moving.

“The railways have started, and government is also addressing power, so in a no distance future, we will start seeing the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) fully back in place and moving.

“Majority of the SMEs face challenges in their quest to secure loans for their businesses because many of them approach the bank not equipped with the necessary information required to enable them secure the loans while others do not know the mandate and limit of the bank,” he said.

On the recapitalisation of the bank, he confirmed that the Federal Government has given approval for its recapitalisation.

September 2, 2013
N100b textile bailout fund fails to lift industry

The textile industry was once a thriving sector, producing at over 63 per cent of installed capacity and meeting the demands of the country and those in the West African sub-region. At its peak, it had 175 functional mills that employed over 800,000 workers. Today, the story is abysmally different. Only 25 mills are working with 24,000 workers. To reverse the trend, the Federal Government injected N100 billion into the sector, under a Textile and Garment Development Fund to assist primary producers, textile manufacturers and other operators. However, the future of the industry is as bleak as that of yesteryears Okwy Iroegbu-Chikezie reports.

At a time, the textile industry was considered the easiest place to get a job. It was the sector that employed the most with about 800,000 workers.

Realising the sector’s place in job creation, the Federal Government in 2009 proposed a N70billion lifeline for it. The amount was later raised to N100billion.

The N100billion Textile and Garment Development Intervention fund raised hope of the sector’s revival. The late President Musa Yar’Adua, who announced the scheme in 2009, described it as the most comprehensive for reviving a sector that was once the second highest employer after the government.

A fundamental feature of the scheme was that it covered the cotton and garment production value chain, which had not been accorded attention and yet was the most lucrative segment of the chain.

Justifying the scheme, the government noted that in the 1980s, the sector generated turnovers of about $9 billion from 175 mills, employing more than 700,000 and accounting for 25 per cent of manufacturing value-addition.

It regretted that by 2008, the country barely had 24 mills, employing no fewer than 25,000 workers, and accounting for about five per cent of manufacturing value-addition.

It said based on its assessment and those of leading firms in the industry and some development partners, the cotton, textile and garment industry stands out as a potential growth area of the economy that could propel the country towards achieving the Vision 20:2020 and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

The expectations that greeted the intervention fund, evaporated almost immediately the scheme took-off. A motley of challenges still dug the sector, erazing the gains recorded under the scheme.

Stiff competition remains the order of the day. Although fabrics dot the markets and high-brow shops, none of them is of local extraction. They are all imported stuffs. Most of the local manufacturers have gone under due to unhealthy operating environment occasioned by poor infrastructure, multiple levies and multiplicity of regulatory agencies. The few indigenous manufacturing companies exist only in name.

The hope of restoring the job potential in the sector remains a pipe dream, while the economy remains a feedstock for foreign firms, thus creating jobs for other nations who find the market a veritable ground for the dumpming of their of products.

Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment Dr. Samuel Ortom told The Nation that the government is committed to the revival of the sector, saying that was what led to the setting up of a committee to take a fresh look at the textile sector. He said the committee would soon present its findings to the Economic Management Team and the Federal Executive Council (FEC).

He said: “The sector has the capacity to provide four million jobs. We have met with all stakeholders in the sector, including the Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs). Our target is to produce high quality locally manufactured textiles and discourage the importation of cheap and substandard textiles.”

He said it is part of the government industrial revolution plan of the administration where ailing industries are revived and new ones established.

Ortom said part of the bigger picture is the provision of infrastructure, such as the on going road construction across the nation, electricity and the modernisation of the railways.

He said his ministry is running a campaign on the patronage of made-in – indigenous goods, especially textiles, exemplified with most of the cabinet ministers wearing it on public outings. He said the government has also improved on its rating and ease of doing business from 127 and 137 in 2011 to 115 and 131.

Ortom said as a result of deliberate government’s policy, over 17 million medium and small scale industries, employing 34 million people are thriving. He underscored Federal Government’s commitment to boost the textile industry by also encouraging local cotton farmers and the petrochemical industries.

Stakeholders, who spoke to The Nation, argued that as good as the bailout might be, the failure of the Ministry to provide evidence of how the massive fund infusion has so far aided the recovery of the industry raises serious doubts about the government’s strategy, to date.

The Central Bank of Nigeria said the Federal Government dished out bailout worth N500 billion in 2010 to the manufacturing sector, including the textile sub-sector, but that no appreciable result has been recorded so far by operators, igniting doubts if indeed the funds injected into the sector got to those who need it most.

The Director-General, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) Muda Yusuf said the problem of the industry is a reflection of the problem of the industrial sector.

He said: “The manufacturing sector has very serious issues of competitiveness arising from the high cost of production arising from the challenge of poor power generation, logistics and funding. These three principal factors have made the textile industry uncompetitive. We are in a global world and if your cost of production is about 50 per cent higher than the cost of production elsewhere, then your chances of survival will be very limited.”

Yusuf said the various government interventions on the sector, such as the textile intervention fund worth billions of naira and campaigns for people to wear made- in- Nigeria textile but unfortunately because of the competitiveness problem, the local industry cannot cope.

He said there is a huge market for African fabrics, but almost 80 per cent, or more are smuggled into this country from the neighbouring countries, so that is the tragedy of the industry and the lesson is that when you have such problems, it is not enough to throw money at these problems like the kind of intervention fund that the government has thrown in.

He noted that the fundamental issue is that the sector itself has to be competitive which can only be achieved by removing obstacles to competitiveness. He frowned at the high cost of diesel and the epileptic power situation which is ‘killing local industries.

He said: “The other tragedy is that many of the textile firms are also running on obsolete technology which cannot meet the enterprise.”

On the implications of the high cost of production in the sector, he maintained that it has become cheaper for people to smuggle textile or even import from China or other Asian countries, adding that almost 80 per cent of the African fabric in the markets are smuggled and this a major tragedy of the economy.

The irony of the nation, he said, was that it has a large domestic market with very weak domestic production capacity.

According to him, most of what we consume locally are not produced by us because of our taste for imported products and weak government policies and agencies in addition to our porous borders that support smuggling.

He said: “What is happening with the manufacturing industries is happening with the downstream sector too. Almost 100 per cent of the fuel that we consume is imported yet we are an oil producing country; it is a major tragedy. The opportunities are there for jobs to be created but because we don’t have what it takes to produce competitively. We are not in a position to take advantage of the opportunities that the economy provides for our people.

‘’Nigerians are very enterprising given the right environment we can do a lot to transform this economy. But the environment has not been very conducive and that is why we have this kind of challenge that we have that the whole economy has been flooded with foreign products.’’

He argued that when the citizens have issues with their pockets, the first thing they think about is what they can afford not what they like; so we have a situation where that is the general mind-set making it possible for people to bring in cheap things that sell fast, he added. He urged government to patronise locally produced textiles.

He said: “For instance if we have a situation where there is a legislation that uniforms of men of the Armed Forces, Police, Immigration, the Prison Service, the Custom, Quarantine, the Civil Defence Corps, nurses and doctors and who wear uniforms in this country will be made from locally produced textile materials; that alone will be enough to keep our textile industry busy throughout the year.’’

August 29, 2013
Textile workers condole with Tinubu

The General-Secretary of the National Union of Textile Garment and Tailoring Workers of Nigeria, Comrade Issa Aremu, has said the death of Alhaja Abibat Mogaji would affect trade union activism.

Presenting a condolence letter to the National Leader of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, he said the labour movement would miss the selfless service of the Iyaloja-General.

Said he: “Mama was a successful entrepreneur. As the President-General of the Association of Nigerian Market Women and Men, Mama was a truly comrade-mother.”

Comrade Aremu said given her efforts to ensure a fair bargain for the consumers and the public, labour has lost someone that made government live up to its responsibilities.

His words: “Her organising capacity and ability to engage working women in the retail and wholesale business earned them a fair bargain.”

Asiwaju Tinubu thanked members of the textile industry for their support and prayed that God would guide the labour movement.

June 18, 2013