Obasanjo Flays Lifting Of Ban On Rice Importation, Urges President Tinubu To Protect Local Fabrics Industry

By Ayodele Oni

In what looks like his first condemnation of the administration of President Bola Tinubu, former President Olusegun Obasanjo has told the Federal Government (FG) to protect local textile industry and impose a ban on the importation of Chinese Adire into the country.

This, he stressed, is crucial to safeguard the local market of adire fabrics from potential dilution by the influx of Chinese imports.

The former President, also, condemned the decision of the Federal Government to lift ban on importation of some food items into the country, especially rice.

“Government just lifted ban on the importation of Rice with Dollars, so those of you the Rice farmers should be ready for challenges because the cheapest Rice will soon be imported from Thailand.

“Thailand government has invested a lot of funds in to Rice Farming for massive exportation to bastardize Nigeria Rice.”

Obasanjo passionately implored the Government to take every possible measure to shield the domestic production of Adire from the impact of imported Chinese counterparts, as well as other items that could be feasibly manufactured within the country.

The former president, who spoke at the ‘Canada Trade Mission ’24’ pre-conference session in Abeokuta, Ogun state capital, expressed concern that the materials traditionally used for producing Adire, which were once procured from Kano, Kaduna, and Ado-Ekiti, have become scarce.

Obasanjo said “I want to appreciate the Traditional rulers who attend this event, you have shown that you are real custodians of Culture.

“People are saying China want to bastardize our Adire product, if not that we don’t value what we have. I want to commend Ogun State government for the initiative of Oja Itoku for Adire market. It is good but not good enough if we don’t have Adire sellers in the market.

“The clothes for the production of Adire is in Nigeria where they used to buy it in Kano, Kaduna and Ado-Ekiti, but there is nothing like that anymore.

“If we want to produce Adire, where would we get the clothes to produce it? What we have to do is that, the Adire sellers, manufacturers and those who promote it, let us join our hands together.

“What government needs to do for us is not much. The first thing the government need to do for us is the revival of Textile industry, let us beg them to do that for us.

“Second one is the formal training institution where people will be learning how to produce Adire and get certified at the end of the period of their learning.

“Let us beg government to do all their possible best to protect our local production of Adire so that Chinese will not have access to bastardize it for us.

“Government should ban the importation of Chinese Adire and not only for Adire alone but all other things we produce in Nigeria.

“On the Adire sellers Association alone, let join hand with those who promote Adire and other stakeholders to have an Association that will be named as ‘Adire Association’ with chapters where Abeokuta will be the Headquarters and I’m ready to devote myself as the patron of the Association.”