Patronize ‘Made-in-Nigeria’ products to grow economy – FG

The National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI), a Federal Government agency, has urged Nigerians to support and promote ‘Made-in-Nigeria’ goods and services to foster sustainable economic development in the country.
NASENI emphasized that increased patronage of locally made products would strengthen and invigorate the nation’s economy.
During a Strategic Focus Group Meeting on ‘Made-in-Nigeria’ products in Abeokuta, which brought together stakeholders from Ogun State, Babajide Sawyerr from NASENI’s Lagos office explained that the meeting was part of the agency’s mandate to stimulate economic growth by encouraging the purchase of Nigerian-made goods.
Sawyerr expressed concern over the low demand for locally produced products, noting that this has negatively impacted the economy. He also pointed out that the reduced demand for ‘Made-in-Nigeria’ goods is contributing to rising unemployment, as jobs are being outsourced to countries that manufacture the goods imported into Nigeria.
Speaking on the purpose of the focus group meeting, Sawyerr said, “it was scheduled to bring in all stakeholders, the manufacturers, the academia, the SMEs, the big players in the industry and see how we can all work together to boost the productivity of ‘Made-in-Nigerian’ products and how we can also enhance the patronage.”
“This meeting provides an opportunity to know what the challenges are while we also take such issues away as feedback and then see how to work out the solution for such challenges.”
To achieve this goal, he said NASENI is collaborating with various industries and empowering skilled labour. The agency is also visiting firms and signing Memoranda of Understanding (MOU) with industries to strengthen local manufacturing and drive technological innovation.
Sawyerr said, “NASENI is engaging focus groups to gather information from stakeholders on how we can come in properly to promote and encourage the use of our products and services. We are collaborating with various industries and empowering skilled labour to drive technological innovation and boost local production.
“My message for Nigerians is to please patronize made in Nigeria products. We are visiting firms, signing MOUs with industries, and empowering skilled labour.”
On her part, the Head of Product and Marketing Department, Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), Hadiza Kashiat said that the bane of ‘Made-in-Nigerian’ goods is the wrong perception.
Kashiat explained that “as Nigerians, we have to change our perception. We must look inward and know that this is our country. A lot of made-in-Nigerian products are good, given the many of our products that are going out of the country.
She argued that most of the locally made products being rejected by Nigerians are more durable and of better quality than imported products, adding that the nation’s economy will not grow if Nigerians continue to reject them.
“A lot of our products are being rebranded in another country’s name after leaving the country. For instance, Nigerian lubricants are one of the best in the world.
“We have our ginger. Malaysia is still coming to export palm oil out of our country because of the quality, which means we have good quality products. That means we have to check how we take and look at the products produced in our country”.
“We can’t keep saying we don’t want Nigerian made yet; we want our economy to grow. China did not grow by abandoning what it produced. In fact, China at a time locked its economy to become what it is today”.
“We also have to lock our economy and patronize what we produce to make our economy buoyant and encourage those we feel are not yet up there in terms of the standard.”
Also speaking, Mr. Ibrahim Idris from the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines, and Agriculture (NACCIMA) listed the high cost of energy, volatility of the forex, lack of proper funding for universities to undertake qualitative research, and production of substandard goods as factors slowing down the country’s industrial growth.