Dangote Advocates Jail Term for Sellers of Smuggled Textiles

• Utomi says textile industry failed because of Nigeria’s trade policy

 

The President of Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote has joined the league of stakeholders advocating for the revival of Nigeria’s ailing textile and manufacturing sectors by calling on National Assembly to pass a law that would penalize the sale of banned textiles materials as well as imprisoning culprits without any option of fine.

Dangote made the call in Lagos, while presenting the Second Adeola Odutola Lecture titled, “Agenda Setting for Industrialising Nigeria in the Next Decade,” in commemoration of the 50th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN).

Responding to a question from a participant on the issue of the ailing textile industry, Dangote said that government needs to formulate a law by the National Assembly that will declared that anybody selling banned foreign textile must go to prison without an option of fine or just going to jail even if it is just for two years.

 According to him, “The real problem in the textile industry is not basically lack of cheaper power. If you give them cheaper power but allow the smuggling to continue the textile will not last.

“What is happening is that foreign companies are using us (Nigeria) as a dumping ground. That is why I do not like to import. Anytime you import you will be importing poverty and exporting prosperity and job opportunities outside.”

He charged the government to apply the same force it mustered to enforce the ban on rice importation in the bid to end smuggling of textiles into Nigeria.

He recalled that a few decades ago textiles used to be the largest employer of labour after the federal government of Nigeria and urged the federal government to embark on the implementation of its policies meant to protect the country’s industrial sector, especially textile manufacturing, without caring who would be offended.

Dangote cited India, which as of today would send people to jail for selling foreign textiles anywhere, adding that if something is banned in the United States of America for example, there is no way it could be displayed for sale in a shop.

“But what is stopping the implementation of Nigeria’s government policies is the absence of the political will to make sure that we implement those policies no matter who is going to be upset by us,” he said,

He said that manufacturers should meet with the government to find a lasting solution, especially now that the government is desperate about job creation, to stamp out smuggling for our industries to stand.

He mulled that Nigeria should focus on enabling its manufacturing sector to achieve the following targets within the next 10 years.

He said “Nigeria needs to henceforth intensify efforts at promoting industrialisation with specific focus on the attainment of the following targets in the next 10 years: 15 per cent manufacturing growth; 20 per cent manufacturing contribution to the GDP; 15 per cent growth in export of manufactured products; 10 per cent increase in the share of manufacturing to total export merchandise, stronger inter-industry linkage between SMEs and large corporations, improved manufacturing contribution to government tax revenue and 20 per cent increase in manufacturing employment.”

In his contribution on the ailing state of the textile industry, the Founder of the Centre for Values in Leadership, Prof. Pat Utomi, noted that the decline in textile manufacturing could be attributed to bad trade policies.

Utomi highlighted that the textile industry failed because of Nigeria’s trade policy and called for the setting up of a standing working group consisting of some real experts and manufacturers to put the government under pressure about its trade policies.

“I wonder if we still remember that Nigeria Textile Limited (NTL) breakeven within one month of its operation in 1960. And in its first six months of production it was exported to Manchester, United Kingdom.

“So, why did the textile industry die? Because wrong trade policies were being made and there was not enough pressure to get the government to do the right thing.

“And the government people were not doing it out of wickedness but ignorance. So, we have to remember that Nigeria is our country and collectively we can get the experts, manufacturers and the government to sit together and plot our way.

“The global textile industry today is dominated by five firms. How can Nigeria align with them and provide incentives to them to make Nigeria their base? So that today we cannot be talking about jobs because the textile industry will be providing millions of jobs,” Utomi added.