Nigerians’ preference for imported goods may abort the nation’s dream of becoming self-reliant, Anna Okon writes
Growth in the manufacturing sector shrank by 19.2 per cent in the fourth quarter of last year, according to recent data published by the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria. In addition to the unbearable cost of production, some manufacturers have attributed the poor growth in the sector to consumers’ lack of confidence in locally produced items and their preference for imported products.
Sometime last year, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, complained about traders affixing foreign labels to bags containing local rice. The minister said marketers were giving the excuse that if the product carried local labels, Nigerians would not buy them.
Last week, a Lagos-based Chinese manufacturer told our correspondent that marketers instructed him to print “made in Japan” on the cartons of his products. He said they told him that Nigerians would refuse to patronise them if the products had Nigerian labels on them.
Most manufacturers have lamented the devastating effect the preference for imported items is having on the local manufacturing industry.
One of them, Ronald Ofegbu, said, “Nigerians are obsessed with imported items. This is the reason why we spend huge sums of money importing everything, even simple items like toothpicks and matches that we manufacture locally.
Most Nigerian consumers just love products with foreign labels.”
Also, at a recent security seminar, Securex 2015, participants commented on the country’s penchant for importing security measures, noting that it was a very unhealthy method of fighting insecurity in Nigeria.
Speaking at the seminar, the administrator of Occupational Safety and Health Association, a non-profit organization, Mr. Emmanuel Uwalaka, said it was improper to spend huge sums of money on importation of closed circuit television cameras and security gadgets from the United States for Nigerian security operations. He stated that in spite of the large sums invested in CCTV cameras for the Federal Capital Territory, those cameras had not been very effective in capturing vital footages that could be relied upon for security purposes because the importers did not take basic factors into consideration, such as the environment and the nature of the equipment.
He said, “We can’t use the security measures of the West to solve Nigeria’s security problems. For instance, people don’t plant bombs underneath their cars in Nigeria but everywhere you go, you see people using scanning machines underneath people’s cars. These methods are not effective because they were not designed for us.”
The Chairman of MOMAS Electric Meters Manufacturing Company Limited, Mr. Kola Balogun, regretted that Nigeria’s preoccupation with importation was doing a lot of harm to the local manufacturing sector.
Balogun, who spoke during the visit of the team from the Bank of Industry to his factory, expressed concerns that the country was too comfortable just importing items while the zeal to support local industry was waning.
He said his company had developed some world-class products to provide post-paid and prepaid electricity meters using the latest technologies in design and production.
Balogun added that his company was a firm believer in the local content policy of the Federal Government saying that the country needed to develop policies to encourage indigenous firms.
He said all his raw materials and personnel were locally sourced while young Nigerians were employed and trained to handle sensitive operations in the metering company.
“We have invested a lot of resources in our people through training and retraining. Some of our engineers have been trained in India and the United States to ensure that they compete favourably with their counterparts anywhere in the world,” Balogun said.
But he noted that it was still a challenge competing with foreign firms who had been given the necessary support by their home government.
He said, “We find it hard to compete favourably in the area of pricing if we have to go by international pricing index. When it comes to exports, most countries subsidise most companies that export products from their countries but we have a peculiar case in Nigeria.
“If electricity passing through this area is used on our equipment, most of them will be damaged. So we don’t depend on public power supply. We spend a lot generating power and that adds to the cost of production. The devaluation of the naira has also made it impossible for us to be at par with our foreign counterparts in terms of pricing.
“What needs to be defined in the local content act is that priority should be given to Nigerian companies that are competent and have capacity to deliver valuable services.
Balogun added, “We have developed smart and rugged technology as well as integrated circuit and silicon conductors and we are confident that with enough encouragement, we will be able to advance in our technology to ensure that we produce meters that can calculate load of consumers.
He stated that the meters produced by the company were of international standards but said the company was not getting the desired recognition and patronage.
He said, “These are the issues we are dealing with currently but I know the government is trying to sign the local content policy into law and that will give us a lot of leverage.
The Group Managing Director, Western Metal Products Company Limited, Robert Tung, called for increased tariff on imported products as a way of discouraging imports and also protecting local content.
Tung, who said his company had been in existence in Nigeria for the past 50 years, added that his products were of the highest quality but distributors usually insist that he puts foreign names on them.
He urged Nigerians to be proud of the items that were manufactured locally and advised government to discourage people from always looking for imported goods saying that some of the imported items were of low quality.
He also charged the government with embarking on an advocacy campaign that emphasises the ‘made in Nigeria’ brand.
Tung, whose company produces high quality tiles, wire rods and all sizes of nails, said the former governor of Ogun State, Otunba Gbenga Daniel, had insisted on writing “made in Ogun State, Nigeria” on bags containing nails. But some Nigerians did not like that, so he added some Chinese inscriptions on the bags.
Reacting, the Managing Director, Bank of Industry, Mr. Rasheed Olaoluwa, also frowned on the practice of Nigerians who were obsessed with foreign products. He attributed the attitude to inferiority complex saying, “I think we need to get over this inferiority complex among our citizens. A product that is made in Nigeria to the highest standard should make us proud, as opposed to longing for a made in China kind of product.
“It is an orientation that we need to change and I am hopeful that as more and more companies begin to try some of these products and realise that they are made in Nigeria, more and more people will feel comfortable.”
The BoI MD noted that there were indigenous companies that were manufacturing products to international standard and that with such companies as SecureID, Wempco and Memmcol, there was no justification for looking outside for products that could be manufactured locally.
He said, “The Nigerian company, SecureID, is among the most modern card manufacturing facilities in the world. So we do not have any justification for importing cards anymore in this country.
“Memmcol also has a very modern prepaid and post-paid meter manufacturing facility. So we don’t have any need to import.
“I think we need to find a way to support these companies. This is for me the most practical way of creating jobs in this country. If we begin to support companies like these, they will grow and hire more people.”
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