How often do you buy made-in-Nigeria goods?
Chidinma Praise Inegbu, 18, Student, Bayelsa State It depends on the product. I can’t buy Nigerian shoes, for example. The ones I have seen are not good and would not last long. Nigerians would want to cut down cost, especially now when they say there is recession. So they would want to use cheap materials. […]
Chidinma Praise Inegbu, 18, Student, Bayelsa State
It depends on the product. I can’t buy Nigerian shoes, for example. The ones I have seen are not good and would not last long. Nigerians would want to cut down cost, especially now when they say there is recession. So they would want to use cheap materials. When it comes to things like solar panels, I also can’t patronise those made in Nigeria. The plant I went to in here in Abuja looked out-dated, and so did their equipment. So I don’t think the panels would be that efficient. But I can patronise made in Nigeria clothes because they are actually good and their materials are not bad. For most Nigerian products, from the way they look, you will know whether they are worth the trouble or not, but most look like they are not durable. I can’t remember when last I patronised anything made in Nigeria though. If we want to encourage such patronage, those that have big companies should invest in young talents in Onitsha. I have personally seen what they are doing and they are clearly great at their work and have potential.
Akintayo Oyekale, Architect, Abuja
I can’t really say I do because I don’t even know of their availability. I might see some products and buy them without knowing whether they are foreign or indigenous. It doesn’t really matter to me. I don’t care to observe. I have seen some made in Nigeria goods, but I don’t choose to buy for that reason because it doesn’t matter to me. I just want to meet my needs.
Ogbonna Chukwu, 31, Photojournalist, Narayi, Kaduna
I do patronise made in Nigeria products. Just recently I bought a shoe that is made in Nigeria. I buy them because they are more durable and last longer than the so-called foreign once.
Umar Faruk Sani, 60, Business man, Isa Kaita road, Kaduna
Recently my foreign ironing table went bad, I used fibre to cover the table but it did not last. One day, in one of my trips to the market I found loom wide enough to cover the whole table, as wide as four feet and it was being locally produced. Gone are the days when I wear shirt and trousers. Before my mother died at the peak of the Buhari campaign in 2015, she prayed so much for Buhari to win because she knew the textiles industries which absorbed so many workers might be resuscitated. Those textiles rolled out beautiful attires. There was a time the past government made it a policy that women should go back to wearing made in Nigeria wrappers and production of the textiles increased. As we know, if a leader has a style, everyone will follow, so if wives of personalities in Nigeria wear made in Nigeria wrappers, i am sure a lot of people will follow suit. I remember in the past my father used to buy clutch plates and brake pads locally made in Aba for his vehicle. When products are patronised, you give the manufacturer the chance to optimise sales and profit and go into research and development to improve the product. Nigerian manufacturers need to ensure product, price, promotion and packing of the product is prioritised.
Nneka Luke, 25, Journalist, Kaduna
Yes, I buy made in Nigeria goods. In fact, I just bought Ankara last week. The problem is the quality, when foreign goods are more durable than local goods, even if the price is the same, people will buy the foreign ones because it will last longer. Manufacturing centres should upgrade their producing system like that of the foreign countries because we lack good packaging.
Ebere Okere, 55, Politician, Wuse, Abuja
When it comes to clothes, I sow mine in Aba directly, because I have lived there before and it is cheaper. I buy the materials there and sow for my whole family. We have a tradition of buying materials and sowing them there during festive periods. They are good and affordable. I don’t know if the materials are made in Nigeria. They have times where they open their new arrivals which are brought in on Wednesday’s. You get good stuff there. I have a brother who deals in such clothes. Compared with how clothes are sold elsewhere, they are very affordable. When the made-in-Aba trade fair took place in Abuja I travelled, if not I would have been there. Out of twenty of my shoes, ten are made in Aba. They make good custom made shoes called ‘measurement’. It lasts more than Italian shoes.