Akinlabi Emmanuel
The Senate has received advice to cease the importation of goods that could be locally manufactured in Nigeria. Prince Emeka Egwuekwe, the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer (MD/CEO) of Prince Interior Furnishing and Furniture Company Ltd in Abuja, commended the government’s efforts to stimulate the country’s economy.
Expressing concern, Egwuekwe emphasized that the persistent importation of such products into Nigeria would adversely impact manufacturers and the overall economy. He shared his perspective with reporters following the celebration of his company’s 24th anniversary in one of his offices in Abuja.
Egwuekwe pointed out with disappointment that during their recent visit to Senate President Godswill Akpabio, they discovered that all the furniture used in the Senate was imported.
He said: “Nigerian manufacturers produce furniture in Prince Interiors Ltd, and other manufacturing companies, but Nigerians import them and the 10th Senate and the National Assembly as a whole are using those imported furniture in their offices, homes, rooms and other places; not only foreign furniture, but other foreign goods that are produced in their country, including foreign vehicles. I respect legislators in the 10th Senate, but I enjoin them to look into what other nations did and survived.
“In order to build their economy, 20 years ago, China shut their borders and started to use what they were producing. What we should do now is to close the border to what we can produce and be using them, instead of importing them.
This country is blessed by God with manpower and natural resources and we have a population of over 200 million the timber we have for furniture gives us the best timber you can think of all over the world. We can feed ourselves with the food we produce, clothe ourselves with clothes produced in this country, among others.”
Reiterating that their products can compete favourably with their foreign counterparts, he said: “Our furniture can compete favourably with their foreign counterparts. Although we need more, but we have the machines to outdo our foreign competitors, but the problems we are encountering are in the area of energy. They export our gas to our neighbouring countries, making them expensive and unavailable here. So the best thing to do is to close the border to all those things that will affect our economy negatively. If we can shut our borders, at least for four years to address our economy, I don’t see what is wrong in doing that.
“Encouraging manufacturers to produce enough for use domestically and also for importation, will go a long way to address our unfavourable balance of trade, at the international trade, that has over time been affecting our economy in small measure. The former Central Bank Nigeria (CBN) governor, Sanusi (Lamido) condemned in its entirety, the speed at which Nigeria was exporting, even a toothpick, something that could be produced locally in the country. I wonder how a nation that does that would survive.”
Disclosing how the government of China helped a furniture maker by buying him a machine that resulted in producing more types of furniture for local use instead of importing from Italy, and training more people, he said he has started to build an institute: Prince Interior Vocational Institute in Abuja, where bricklayers, carpenters, welders, among others.
He disclosed that UNIDO has indicated interest in partnering with him on the project, just as he decried moving out of the country to areas where they can get greener pastures, by carpenters trained by his company.
