SON and Aba tailor

Dr Mezi Onungwaon 

 

The global apparel market was valued at USD 1.7 trillion in 2012 and employs approximately 75 million people. What this means is that there is enough demand for clothing and apparel in the world which Nigeria can tap into for the employment of its millions of job-seekers and as well earn huge foreign exchange to fund further development. 

This is necessary especially now that the price of oil which is our major source of foreign exchange is wobbling in the international market. This is a fact which I expect that the Standards Organization of Nigeria (SON) should bear in mind. The agency seeks to enthrone Made-in- Nigeria-for-the-World (MINFOW) concept in the mindset of Nigerians and this is very gladdening.

Nigeria is embarking on massive diversification of her economy as a response to dwindling oil revenue but for this objective to be achieved; her exports must be accepted in the international market. What this means is that goods expected from this country must comply with international standards. This is where SON should be assisted on its current effort to rid country of substandard products.

One group SON should work with to achieve the goals of MINFOW is the apparel industry in Aba (Aba Tailors), Abia State.  Thousands of Nigerians in Aba are making a meaningful living through clothing. Now, we hear that many tailors of Aba extraction already based in Lagos and other Nigerian cities are now exporting clothing to Ghana, America, Europe, India and China.

To encourage the Aba tailor’s march to global renown and wealth, Abia State, Governor Okezie Ikpeazu, has moved to gather the widely dispersed tailoring shops in Aba into a cluster located at Umukalika, at the outskirts of Aba. The idea is to engender more sharing of ideas and innovation among the local creators of fashionable clothes.

SON’s part in the arrangement is facilitative. SON is to ensure that the apparels from Aba and other parts of the country meet international standards in order to guarantee their access to the international market. SON will do well to help in monitoring compliance through certification aided by metrology, testing laboratories and factory inspection. 

SON and the Bank of Industry can jointly come up with incentives and facilities that will improve the quality of the works of the Aba tailor. Nigerian music is now the delight of the world and the sound of a continent because some musicians upgraded their skills. If international standards for tailoring exist, they should be propagated for the benefit of the local garment producer.

  Certainly, the Aba man of the cloth sewing machine will benefit from any relevant facilities the national standards body may bring.

SON should encourage the world-conquering possibilities of the Aba apparel makers and Governor Okezie Okpeazu’s demonstrated support for the industry. This will consolidate the MINFOW that is happening and strengthen another Nigerian industry to feed the nation even better than petroleum.

• Dr Mezi Onungwa,

Aba, Abia State.