Art gallery owner calls for revival of traditional dyeing industry

The Managing Director, Nike Art Gallery, Mrs Nike Okundaye, on Monday urged government at all levels to go all-out to revive the nation’s traditional dyeing industry. Okundaye told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos that if such a step was taken it would be another source of income for the nation. Okundaye lamented […]

The Managing Director, Nike Art Gallery, Mrs Nike Okundaye, on Monday urged government at all levels to go all-out to revive the nation’s traditional dyeing industry.

Okundaye told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos that if such a step was taken it would be another source of income for the nation.

Okundaye lamented that the nation’s thriving traditional dyeing culture got stifled when Nigeria was under colonial rule.

He urged the government to save Africa’s traditional dyeing culture from extinction.

“Before colonisation, Nigerians had their ways, tradition and culture but they were later eroded by British colonisation.

“The traditional dyeing culture is one of the traditions that has been stolen by colonisation and westernisation,’’Okundaye said.

According to her, the British colonialists imposed their culture and traditions on their colonies to make them totally dependent on the mother country.

“Such imposition obstructs the growth of Africa traditional dyeing culture in Nigeria, especially in the South-West region,’’ she said.

She told NAN that the colonial government discouraged the use of traditional dyeing industry and supplanted it products manufactured in their country.

“People were encouraged to do away with their African culture and embrace western culture.

“A lot of Nigerians destroyed their dyeing pits to accommodate foreign fabrics and textile,’’ she said.

Okundaye added that industrial dyeing could produce large quantities of fabrics within a short time frame but noted that traditional dyeing was difficult to produce in multiples.

“This discourages Nigerians from using their traditional ways of dyeing to go for industrial system because of its mass production advantage,’’ she said.

The managing director said that one of the challenges facing the industry was that Nigerians had not been convinced that traditional dyeing could fetch huge revenue if properly harnessed.

Okundaye urged the Federal Government to encourage the use of traditional dyeing by discouraging importation of foreign fabrics and dye. (NAN)