The Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele, recently met with the owners of textile industries in the country with a view to assisting them overcome challenges that hamper production. During the meeting in Abuja on Tuesday, September 29, 2015, Mr. Emefiele emphasized that the textile industries must be assisted to operate optimally in order to create more jobs and boost the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
While expressing concern over the multiple challenges of power, smuggling and financing facing the industry, Mr. Emefiele pledged that the Bank would take the issues up with the relevant authorities.
Whilst this is a very welcome development, pictures do peak a thousands words. A look at the photo-op suggest a very interesting conclusion. The picture contained a mixture of Nigerian and foreign textile owners. Whilst they are truly Nigerian based companies majority of the owners are foreign based as the picture depicts. About 15 of the nearly 30 people in that picture are foreign.
This could mean several good things but one that comes to mind is the fact that our local textile industry just like many other industries is owned mostly by non-Nigerians. They are also not listed which suggest that apart from taxes and jobs Nigerians lose a chance to share in the profits of the company.
