50-yr-old Zaria skills centre rots away

Over 50-years ago, the government of the defunct Northern Nigeria and the United States of America established the Industrial Development Centre, (IDC), in Zaria to meet the industrial manpower needs of the country. Fully equipped with the state-of-the-art machines of that time, the leadership of the two countries acquired 65 hectares of land opposite the […]

Over 50-years ago, the government of the defunct Northern Nigeria and the United States of America established the Industrial Development Centre, (IDC), in Zaria to meet the industrial manpower needs of the country.
Fully equipped with the state-of-the-art machines of that time, the leadership of the two countries acquired 65 hectares of land opposite the Ahmadu Bello University, (ABU), for the project.
The centre which was the first and biggest in the country was followed with others in Oshogbo, Osun State and Owerri, Imo State. The Zaria centre has six workshops including electrical, metal and foundry, leather, wood works, ceramics and automobile with machines and equipment to train 300 people annually at three months intervals.
Unfortunately, the centre presently is a shadow of its former self. It is in a state of disrepair, the machines are moribund, the structures are in a dilapidated state, and the tar on the ring road of the centre has virtually disappeared. The furnishings in the administrative block as well as those in various workshops are all in bad state. Roofs of the buildings have been peeled-off while the ceiling is practically falling due to constant rain.
Besides, only three workshops out of the six including wood works, leather and metal and foundry are functioning. The others are in a sorry state.
When our correspondent visited the centre, only three trainees were seen at the leather workshop making shoes. Keleb Sunday, who started a course in shoe-making at the centre in June 2015, told Daily Trust on Sunday that he has learnt how to produce shoes, bags and other leather items.
He said he hopes to set-up his own business after leaving the centre.
Sunday said: “I have really learnt a lot here despite the fact that we don’t have enough people to train us. I  graduated from the Federal Chemicals and Leather Technology Centre, Zaria, where I acquired a diploma and certificate and that is why I came here to acquire a certificate to help me when I finally decide to open my business.”
On the type of materials they use for the training, he said, “We use both foreign and local materials because we want to carry our customers along. We produce the local ones for people who cannot afford to buy the foreign products, so we produce for both local and international markets.”
Pius Frubisa, one of the trainees and a 300 level student of the Department of Economics at the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) said he decided to join the centre to acquire more skills on leather work and promote the use of local content for his products.
Speaking on the centre, the Director General of the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), Dikko Umaru Radda said “I see a huge investment by a government, that is left to rot. It is not being fully utilized and most of the machines have become obsolete and the structures dilapidated.”
He added that very soon, SMEDAN is going to put up a very strong position and report on the conditions of the IDC’s to the minister for onward submission to the Federal Executive Council, (FEC), to take a decisive action on it, especially on the issue of encroachment “because many centres are suffering from encroachment due to lack of adequate fences”.