Made in Nigeria Mantra
I got into an argument with moms….. based on a statement. “you must all use made in Nigeria products in this house”
Wait what?
The made in Nigeria rhetoric has been a thing even from the days of ex-president Obasanjo. Although it has subsided since the inception of President Buhari. I guess because market forces applied — the naira to dollar range is on a high — devalued over 50%, wage growth was on a low. The Nigerian consumer has been trading down the value chain, switching to cheaper alternatives as living costs rise and income levels generally remain low. Although, according to data from NBS FMCG are picking up as FMCG companies are addressing this by downsizing products rather than shifting prices
The mantra is a good thing though creating an opportunity for producers to show case their products and when compared to imported products could be cheaper (based on factors of production and pricing). I have seen over the years made in Nigerian goods and from to time most of them have improved their quality of goods and service.
Can anything come out of this?
At the moment it is, but you can’t force people to be patriotic with their own money. Last week Thursday I went with family to watch a movie, one said let’s watch Excess luggage I said no, I want to watch Thor, I can’t waste my money to watch something dat doesn’t appeal to me. Ended up the only one watching Thor while the others watched excess luggage.
It looks as if I don’t like Nigerian movies, naaah..did not appeal to me. Mind you they both cost N1500….
It’s simple, if quality is not a main factor in Nigerian production what then is the use for the made in Nigeria mantra. Simple statements like “buy naija to grow the naira or to improve the economy” can’t stand for long, the British did the same thing in the 1960’s but it faltered. Humans are illogical — e get where patriotism go end.
The way forward,
Various regulatory bodies should enforce standards and work together to avoid a policy mismatch.
Input costs is another for companies that import raw materials to use, electricity is another, although industrial parks are looking at providing their own electricity themselves and then multiple taxation — there should be unification btw fed, state and local governments this would improve the ease of doing business that we so happy about.
To be continued…..
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