Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has spoken to the Federal Government to restrict the importation of Chinese adire into the country in order to stop the Chinese from “bastardizing” the local adire fabric market.
Obasanjo pleaded with the government to use all of its might to safeguard domestic adire production from Chinese imports, as well as everything else that may be produced there.
During the pre-conference session of the “Canada Trade Mission ’24” in Abeokuta, the state capital, the esteemed statesman made an appeal during his opening speech on Monday. He bemoaned the lack of availability of clothing, which was previously sourced from Kano, Kaduna, and Ado-Ekiti.
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The Pelican Valley realtor Babatunde Adeyemo and Mrs. Oluwatosin Oloko, the Permanent Secretary of the Ogun State Ministry of Culture and Tourism, were among the guests speakers at the program, which was organized by Solteque Nigeria Limited.
Thus, in order to provide local manufacturers with the raw materials needed to produce Adire, Obasanjo made a plea to the FG to revitalize the country’s textile sector.
He also argued in favor of the creation of official training facilities where individuals may acquire the skills necessary to create Adire and receive certification upon completion of their studies.
“I want to thank the Traditional rulers who are here; you have demonstrated that you are true cultural guardians,” he remarked. People claim that if not that we don’t value what we have, then China wants to bastardize our Adire product. I would like to express my gratitude to the Ogun State administration for Oja Itoku’s initiative regarding the Adire market. If there are no Adire sellers in the market, that is good, but not good enough.
“The clothing used in the creation of Adire is made in Nigeria; before, it was purchased in Kano, Kaduna, and Ado-Ekiti, but those days are long gone. Where would we acquire the garments to make Adire if we wanted to produce it? The sellers, producers, and advocates of Adire must come together. There is hardly much that the government can do for us. Let us implore the government to take the lead in reviving the textile industry as our first priority.
The second is a formal training facility where individuals can learn how to create Adire and obtain certification upon completion of their studies. Let’s implore the government to use every effort to safeguard our domestic Adire manufacturing, preventing the Chinese from obtaining it and using it to substandardly alter it for our benefit.
In a separate speech, Dr. Babatunde Adeyemo, the CEO of Pelican Valley Nigeria Limited, focused on the potential of the real estate industry to draw in foreign investors, strengthen the country’s foreign exchange reserves, increase Ogun State’s internal revenue base through direct assessment taxes on investors, and create wealth and jobs for both the current and future generations.
“I want to show you the opportunity in real estate investment,” Adeyemo declared. You can use this to find someone who has made real estate investments successfully and wants to share their story in order to inspire and educate others. God provided us the chance to become well-known in Ogun, Nigeria, and around the world, and he also offered me the opportunity to launch a real estate company with a small initial investment.
This event is being organized by one of our clients. He was persuaded to return home by our relationship, which is what led him back to Nigeria after he had purchased the land and constructed his home in our estate. To assist his people, not just himself, he founded a business and took the initiative to organize this event.
He claims that we have successfully brought more than 400 Nigerians living abroad back to their homeland. Almost a hundred people have purchased land from us from his own camp in Manitoba.
He clarified that although we wish to export Adire, we are unsure if real estate is one of the most promising sectors to pursue. Real estate is something that individuals can utilize and export to promote greater development in Ogun State and throughout Nigeria.
