As manufacturers from the North West region converged on Kaduna, a public affairs analyst, Mohammed Garba, said there is no need for Nigerian citizens to (japa) migrate out of the country to seek greener pastures.
Garba, a former lecturer at Kaduna Polytechnic, said Nigeria is no doubt the global economic capital, but what the country needs to do to take its rightful pride of place is to focus on manufacturing.
Speaking as the guest lecturer during the Public Session of the Annual General Meeting of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Kaduna Branch, Garba said that manufacturing is the solution to Nigeria’s problems.
He said, “We must give serious attention to the manufacturing sector and make deliberate policies to support the industry. Otherwise, Nigeria will return to the primitive age, where we produced nothing.
“The reason we have Boko Haram in the North East and banditry in the North West is because we have an army of youths who are not busy in the manufacturing plants. So, the solution to these myriad challenges of poverty, unemployment and insecurity is manufacturing.
“As it is, Nigeria is the global economic capital, and there is no reason for any Nigerian to japa anywhere. We must pay attention to the manufacturing sector to make it work. How do we do this? The American government gave a whopping $ 16 billion grant and loans to the American manufacturing sector, and we need to do something similar to ours,” he said.
In his address to the AGM, Kaduna State Governor Uba Sani, who was represented by the deputy chief of staff, Barr. James Kanyip said the state government recognises the importance of a thriving manufacturing sector to the economy and is committed to creating an enabling environment that supports the growth and success of the industry.
The governor said, “Our administration is focused on improving infrastructure, ensuring a stable and business-friendly environment, and implementing policies that facilitate ease of doing business.
“Kaduna Investment Promotion Agency, KADIPA, is always on hand to assist and facilitate the take-off of businesses in Kaduna State, from land acquisition, documentation, and all necessary paperwork that investors may desire.
“We are also dedicated to enhancing security and investing in the development of skilled labour to meet the needs of the manufacturing industry in Kaduna State. We believe that these efforts will benefit manufacturers and contribute to the overall economic prosperity of Kaduna State and Nigeria as a whole,” he said.
Earlier in his address, the chairman of the South East Kaduna Branch, Mr Raymond Anyanwu, highlighted the challenges facing the manufacturing sector in Nigeria, saying that most companies are fighting for survival instead of creating jobs and making profits.
“Some of the significant challenges facing manufacturers in recent times include the instability, inaccessibility and high cost of the foreign exchange rate to purchase raw materials and spare parts, as well as difficulty in accessing credit facilities from financial institutions owing to numerous and some near impossible conditions, and high interest rates.
“Others are lack of government patronage, a high electricity cost, and unreliability. The new tariff approved by NERC for the discos has caused significant discomfort for members as the cost of production has at least doubled for most manufacturers, and the outages continue to cause losses of raw materials and man-hour.