A Federal Government agency, NASENI— The National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure has instructed citizens to massively patronize Nigerian-made products so as to grow the economy of the country.
With the mandate to drive economic growth by encouraging patronage of Nigerian goods, the agency held a Strategic Focus Group Meeting on ‘Made-in-Nigeria’ products in Abeokuta for the Ogun State stakeholders.
It was at the event that Babajide Sawyerr, a representative of NASENI, Lagos Office, spoke on the need for the said patronage, he mentioned that it would strengthen economic bouyancy.
Sawyerr also said the agency is working on collaborating with skilled labourers and signing memorandum to foster their aim.
“My message for Nigerians is to please patronize made in Nigeria products. We are visiting firms, signing MOUs with industries, and empowering skilled labour,” he said.
In same vein, the Head of Product and Marketing Department, Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), Hadiza Kashiat, said;
“As Nigerians, we have to change our perception. We must look inward and know that this is our country. A lot of made-in-Nigerian products are good, given the many of our products that are going out of the country.
“A lot of our products are being rebranded in another country’s name after leaving the country. For instance, Nigerian lubricants are one of the best in the world.
“We have our ginger. Malaysia is still coming to export palm oil out of our country because of the quality, which means we have good quality products. That means we have to check how we take and look at the products produced in our country.
She continues; “We can’t keep saying we don’t want Nigerian made yet; we want our economy to grow. China did not grow by abandoning what it produced. In fact, China at a time locked its economy to become what it is today.
“We also have to lock our economy and patronize what we produce to make our economy buoyant and encourage those we feel are not yet up there in terms of the standard.”
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