From consumer to industrial economy, the way forward
Nigeria as a country has been relying heavily on foreign goods imported from other nations of the world to survive.
In fact, since the country gained independence from the colonial masters, it has been consuming products from other climes.
It was in the late 70s and early 80s that its leaders tried to institute, maintain, or sustain manufacturing as a culture, which with all indications failed.
Many manufacturing companies such as the textile industries and car manufacturing companies were operating in Nigeria in the late 70s and early 80s.
For instance, Aswani Textiles, SCOA motors, CFAO motors, among several manufacturing companies were operating then in Lagos, but suddenly disappeared till date.
It was said and rightly too that the same number of workers that used to go to work in the morning, were also going to work at night in Lagos during this time under review.
.Power supply that has become an issue today was not as dire. Electricity supply then was stable and available for companies to use in their operations.
What is the position today? Companies that manage to survive, do so at a very high cost. They have to generate their own power to operate successfully. Most of them even have to provide their own water and access roads to operate. No wonder, the sustenance could not retain most of the companies at a time, as they succumbed to harsh environmental conditions.
It became more disturbing when some of these big manufacturing companies like Michelin, the tyre manufacturing giant, closed shop and relocated to some of our West African neighbouring countries.
Till date, the humongous premises it occupied at Trans-Amadi Industrial layout in Port Harcourt have not been rented by any company, in view of its size. Dunlop Nig Limited toed the same path. The question now is where did Nigeria get it wrong?
The products of all these extinct companies, like Ankara materials, tyres are still being used by Nigerians, courtesy of importation. And we are comfortable with that. Not to mention the attendant socio-economic problems associated with the closure of these companies.
Workers of Michelin for instance were running three shifts before the shut down. We can now appreciate the number of persons thrown into the labour market, consequent upon that development. The same to the textile industry among others. Today, we suffer the implications of having an army of unemployed youths in a society: restiveness, social vices, as well as outright crimes.
How about the protracted ongoing projects across the country. For example, the Ajaokuta Steel Industry. This project has spanned more than three decades without completion and still counting. Millions if not billions of Naira have been sunk into the project without result.
We don’t want to liken it to the turnaround maintenance of our refineries that have also remained uncompleted. The fact is that no nation can develop and become great without manufacturing one thing and bringing the same to the global table for economic and political bargain. Where do we now start our negotiation among the comity of nations from?
It is high time we sat up and put our thinking caps properly. This has become critical if we must make headway. And as it stands now, we don’t have any alternative. The earlier we confront our challenges headlong,the better for us. The reason is that development, as rightly defined by experts, is the ability of man to conquer his environment and not how many white elephant projects embarked upon.
