The National Association of Ogun State Students urged the Federal Government on Sunday to take action against the importation of counterfeit Adire fabric from China.
Adire (tie and dye) is a domestically produced cloth from Abeokuta, Ogun State’s capital, that provides jobs to thousands of people.
The popular Adire Market in Itoku, which is the traditional headquarters of the fabric makers, has also been classified as a tourist destination, with both local and foreign visitors flocking to purchase the distinctive fabric.
The student group urged the Federal Government to intervene in the terrible situation, saying it would be unfortunate for Nigeria to spend more money to import the fabric when the country already spends $600 million per year to import palm oil.
Addressing the press on Sunday, the National President of NAOSS, Kehinde Thomas, said it was disheartening that some economic saboteurs were working to kill the local industry by importing inferior Adire fabric into the country from China.
“We view this as a deliberate attempt not only to squeeze life out of our local economy, but a step to throw thousands of people out of jobs.
“Apart from that, if this evil act is not halted by the Federal Government through relevant authorities, local enterprises and entrepreneurship will be discouraged.
“And if this happens, it will further push our ailing economy to the precipice. The country is still smarting from the huge gap left on its economy by the exit of some multinational companies ‘NAOSS, as the umbrella body of Ogun State students, condemns this economic sabotage in strong terms.
“Huge loss of foreign exchange earnings by importing Adire which are being manufactured locally can better be imagined,” he said.
Thomas asked that Adire, synonymous to the Egba people of Ogun State, should be jealously protected.
The student body said the importation of Adire from China, if not checked, would erode the quality the Itoku Adire was globally noted for and ruin the cultural heritage and business ran for generations.
“To this end, we want to call on the Federal Government to move against the importers of Chinese Adire into the country, by imposing stringent sanctions on them.
“Also, more measures should be put in place to protect local makers of Adire, as well as giving incentives to them, with the view to promoting local content development.
“Adire is the fabric of national identity; hence, efforts must be geared towards preserving it by the government. Adire must not be allowed to go the way of palm oil – a situation where we spend millions of dollars to import what we have locally in abundance,” he said.