Towards Encouraging Indigenous Manufacturing Companies

Our Correspondent reflects on the problems that combined to force some indigenous manufacturers to close shop, and writes that those manufacturing outfits which weathered the storm to remain afloat should be given maximum encouragement to serve the needs of the society.

He heaved a sigh of relief when Kaduna Textile Limited (KTL), the country’s first largest textile manufacturing mill, employed him as an accounts clerk. Haruna Hassan (not his real name), reasoned that he will use his salary to take care of his wife, and six children.  But he did not last long on the job when the company established in 1957, became comatose due to several factors, particularly irregular electricity supply and lack of capital to obtain spare parts.

Several textile mills opened in Northern Nigeria after KTL, including Arewa Textiles, United Nigerian Textiles Ltd (UNTL), Nortex among others. They all closed shop due to similar reasons.

Likewise, David Okereke, was jubilant when he established a nails manufacturing company in Aba, the commercial hub of Abia state, in the year 2000. Beyond the joy of becoming an employer of labour, Okereke was enthralled at the prospect of satisfying the needs of his clients spread across several cities in the South-East, South-South, and even beyond.

The enterprise did well in its first five years – satisfying customers’ demands, as well as expanding on annual basis, its profit margin. However, the fortunes of this venture started to decline in its seventh year on account of unfavorable government policies, incessant electricity outage and high cost of sourcing raw materials. Today, the nails manufacturing company is literally gasping for breath, with several hundreds of its workers relieved of their appointments due to low productivity.