Nigerians who love quality products and are in position to acquire them will tell you that they don’t compromise taste for the good things of life. I, for one don’t hide my taste for high standards but would surely not want to pay beyond what I can afford because for every kobo I earn, some sweat has gone into it.

Today, the country’s markets are stuffed with Chinese, English, Japanese, German or if you like foreign good and products. Name it, from flashy cars, so-called foreign wears, food, electronics and even tooth-picks. I can tell you that because of the craze for such items, many of the goods produced in Nigeria which are of higher standards have been labeled ‘Made in China’.

Recently, I told a TV Journalist who asked my opinion that Nigerians have an ingenuity for producing goods which are not only comparative to any produced in so-called advanced countries of the world but are cherished by foreigners who are opportune to come in contact with them. Take for example our food/fish delicacies or leather works or furniture or cosmetics not to talk of locally assemble motor cars like the old famous Peugeot cars from Kaduna Assembly plants. Many of our ‘motor able’ roads are plied by Peugeot cars that can be fixed by local mechanics which if tried by luxury Toyota will break down with no easy to get spare parts. My take is that we need to appreciate and make use of what we produce and in so doing, research and improve on quality.

Why do Nigerians not patronize our home-made goods? Many factors account for this. First is the fact that we don’t even know the abundant products available in this vast country. There has not been an established data base to capture statistics of all locally manufactured goods in various forms – particularly by communities engaged in poverty alleviation programmes to make ends meet. Delta State has tried to come out of this through granting micro-finance loans to Cooperative groups and individuals to establish cottage industries, which have been very successful. You need to see the leather works and shoe industries which produce school sandals, military boots and other products comparable with any in the world. In short, more public awareness and enlightenment must be undertaken on Made-in-Nigeria products by all and sundry to get us to where we want to be.

Secondly, governments, corporate bodies, large departmental stores and big conglomerates need to establish shopping plazas to market and sell our goods solely while policies such as making Nigerians wear Nigerian attires on special days/occasions are promoted. We should also identify and encourage Hotels, Schools, Hospitals, Churches, and Mosques as effective campaign platforms for Made-in-Nigeria goods. In addition, we must ensure participation in many local and international trade fairs and create same for promotion purposes.

To fully support this adventure, Federal and State Government and agencies charged with the responsibility of promoting small and medium scale enterprises as well as those enforcing quality standards must ensure that finished products from Nigeria are well packaged for internal and external consumption. They can do this by establishing micro-credit programs as in the case of some states like Delta and Abia, research and produce for easy acquisition, locally fabricated equipment, promote local skills through training and grant loans at low interest rates to cooperative societies involved in promoting Made-in-Nigeria..