The long-standing clamour for the mass patronage of made-in-Nigeria products is gathering fresh momentum. To the delight of domestic producers, the Federal Government recently announced that it would tweak the Public Procurement Act to enforce public sector patronage of locally produced goods while stepping up measures to persuade Nigerians to key in to the move. Success, however, will be guaranteed only by an adroit mix of well-crafted and faithfully-implemented policies.
The rhetoric is not new; but backing it with some concrete action as the current government has done will be a departure from the past. Senior administration figures have been advocating the Buy Nigeria policy, among them Mines and Steel Development Minister, Kayode Fayemi, who urged Nigerians to join the government’s ongoing efforts to promote self-sufficiency, reduce the high import bill and create jobs through opting for local goods. Similar advocacy had been mounted by the Minister of Budget and National Planning, Udo Udoma, who said this objective informed the decision to commence the implementation of the National Industrial Revolution Plan. But it was Lai Mohammed, the Minister of Information, Culture and Tourism, whose revelation that the PPA was being reviewed to statutorily increase and enforce the patronage of Nigerian goods and services in the public service that demonstrated official seriousness.
Before then, the Nigerian Army had last year placed orders for 50,000 pairs of boots from producers in Aba, Abia State, a major boost for a fledgling industrial hub whose promise as the “Taiwan of Nigeria” has eluded fulfilment decades after it won the sobriquet. And last month, government moved further to order 5,000 conference bags for use by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, also from Aba.
These may be mere drops, but if the government plays its part and Nigerians overcome their self-defeating lust for foreign goods, an ocean of made-in-Nigeria products beckons. All ministers and heads of departments and agencies should immediately follow the Army and ICPC examples even before the Act is amended. But much more needs to be done to guarantee success.
Yet, the benefits are obvious. First, our prohibitive import-dependency will reduce. While Audu Ogbeh, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, put annual food import bill at $20 billion, the National Bureau of Statistics said Nigeria imported N18.82 trillion worth of goods in 2016 despite the ongoing recession. Increased production will boost GDP and reduce the current 31-million strong army of jobless Nigerians; conserve our dwindled foreign reserves and strengthen the naira; stimulate SMEs and start-ups and boost exports.
Apart from mustering the political will to implement the Buy Nigeria policy in the public service, the government should see through the 60-day National Action Plan for Ease of Doing business launched last month by the Vice-President, Yemi Osinbajo, that involves policy measures to improve the business operating environment.
The objectives of the three-year Economic Recovery and Growth Plan it unveiled last week should be supplemented by policies to dramatically increase productive activities in the agriculture, mining, steel, manufacturing and construction sectors. Our irrational import bill of over N2 trillion per year on refined petroleum products will disappear faster with the immediate privatisation of all state-owned refineries, depots and pipelines than the dubious, failure-assured stubborn insistence on holding on to them. We will not reap from their value as source of raw materials unless private investors take charge.
We need consistency and intelligent coordination of all key economic sectors. Discipline and personal example are crucial: the President and his ministers should patronise Nigerian textiles instead of appearing always in public in expensive foreign lace and brocade materials, some of which are under import prohibition. Former President Jerry Rawlings’ personal example in Ghana popularised Kente, Woodin and Akosombo brands worldwide and today that country’s textile industry is thriving. Undeterred by early issues of quality, India’s leaders stuck for decades with their home-made textiles and two-wheel, three-wheel and passenger automobiles while developing its steel industry to become one of the world’s biggest. Today, it has the world’s second largest textile manufacturing capacity and exported $13.4 billion worth of automobiles in the 2015/16 fiscal year, including the Tata range.
If the federal and state governments, like Anambra State and the Nigerian Air Force have done with Innoson, patronise local vehicle assemblers, the billions of naira spent on vehicle acquisition each year would stimulate the local economy. All tiers of government should be compelled by law to buy basic products made in Nigeria where they are available. Furniture and other household products, apparel and non-security materials should as much as possible be sourced from local producers.
Regulatory agencies like the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control and Standards Organisation of Nigeria should be reformed and strengthened to ensure the quality of domestic products and enhance global competitiveness. Rampant inefficiency and corruption in the Nigerian Customs Service may yet sabotage local recovery efforts; the agency requires urgent reforming to curb smuggling, which has sounded the death knell of many local industries.
The government should remain focussed and pursue this project with an iron will.
