Group canvases patronage for Nigerian goods
By Fatima Muraina
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Fashion Designers Association of Nigeria (FADAN) has advocated for patronage of made in Nigeria goods and services to boost the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the country.
The Ondo state Coordinator of the association, Mrs. Ojogo Florence, made the call in an interview with The Hope in Akure, Ondo State capital.
She decried the apathy of Nigerians towards locally made products, lamenting that Nigerians should believe in themselves and recognise made in Nigeria products as they do foreign ones.
She said: “We lack the understanding that we need to promote our indigenous factories so that they can be an added advantage to our GDP, rather we prefer to patronise fake products that are shipped to us”.
According to her, fashion designers in Nigeria are selective in picking fabrics because they need to protect their names and not willing to compromise standard, this is why they should be encouraged to contribute to economic growth of the country.
She argued that the fashion subsector is becoming challenging because government is yet to make it compulsory for people to put on indigenous materials, the development which according to her can move the nation forward.
Fashion industry, she said, “is one of the biggest industries that can move the country forward.”
She, therefore, called on government to stop the importation of readymade materials for Nigerians to patronise locally produced materials.
She said that some Nigerian products are exported and re-labeled only to be repackaged and sold back to us at an high cost.
While speaking on the opportunities in the fashion industry, the Ondo FADAN Coordinaor explained that people can make a lot of profit in the industry if they know how to maximise the opportunity that is in the business.
“The greatest opportunity is not in the sewing but in training and branding”, she said.
While explaining that the fashion industry can be explored to tackle unemployment in the country, she suggested that government trains unemployed youths including graduates to become self -reliant.