By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The urgent need to revamp the dying textile industry in Nigeria by the Federal Government so as to boost the dwindling economy has been stressed.
Former President of Fashion Designers Association Nigeria (FADAN), Mrs Shade Thomas-fahm, pointed out that the sector has the potential to boost the country’s economy at this critical period.
Mrs Thomas-fahm told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on Friday that, “The textile industries will employ millions of Nigerians, boost the nation’s foreign reserved earnings, thus improve the economy and alleviate poverty.”
According to her, Nigeria is in her present condition because the people failed to patronise locally made products.
She further said despite being blessed with many natural resources, most Nigerians prefer foreign things to the detriment of goods produced in the country.
This, she observed, “contributed to the decline in the nation’s economy.”
“The low production and patronage of made-in-Nigeria goods is a bane in this country,” she submitted.
Mrs Thomas-fahm charged the citizens and government to “think out of the box on how to utilise the resources we are blessed with.”
She urged fashion designers in the country to create designs that could compete favourable with foreign designs to entice Nigerians and make them prefer locally produced products, as achieved by the Nigerian music industry.
Adedapo Adesanya