By Toba AjayiIlorin
An Ilorin-based legal practitioner, Mr Lukman Ahmed, has urged the Federal government to ban importation of foreign textiles, in order to promote Nigeria textile industries. Ahmed, who made the call in Ilorin, on Saturday, in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), described the inflow of foreign textiles into Nigeria as an obstacle to the growth of the country’s textile industries.
He observed that because Nigerians preferred to spend on foreign wears and considered local wears as fake, the textile industries in the country had remained stagnant due to lack of patronage.” We have more than enough rich textile industries in the country. Why are we not buying the locally made attires.” Government must do something to stop importation of foreign textile materials into the country. We are killing our own textile industries with our love for foreign materials.”
Must we import wears from Dubai, Italy, Germany, Senegal, Benin Republic and France to look good, while we have rich textile materials from Kano, Lagos? Let us patronise our own materials which are top quality than the hyped ones from Europe,” he said.The lawyer advised the government to encourage local patronage, through media campaigns and a ban on foreign materials.He also urged the public to learn to appreciate made-in-Nigeria products and stop investing in foreign economies to the detriment of Nigeria’s economy.(NAN)