The Anambra State Director of the National Orientation Agency (NOA), Mr. Charles Nwoji has called on Nigerians to drop their preference for foreign goods and patronize made-in-Nigeria products.
Mr Nwoji, who made this call on 27th April 2022 at a news conference in Awka, described the patronage of locally-made products against their foreign substitutes as a strategic means to encourage local industries and also grow the nation’s economy.
According to him, the economy of any nation grows rapidly when locally-made products and services are promoted and patronized by the citizens.
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He said, “A nation needs to first patronize its own products to grow its economy if the people are sure and proud of their products and services. NOA has been carrying out sensitization programmes to promote the patronage of local goods.”
Mr. Nwoji opined that there was a need for a sustained national campaign, continuous sensitization and reorientation of Nigerians, especially Anambra people, to change their attitude towards locally made products.
He hinted that Nigeria needed strong advocacy to revive the moribund industries in the country in order to create job opportunities and restore her pride, saying in the long run, the advocacy would help to boost the nation’s foreign reserves and promote the Nigerian spirit.
“Charity, they say, begins at home, and truly no nation will develop when its economy is at the mercy of foreign products and services,” he said.
While describing developed nations of the world as those whose economies were largely based on production, Mr. Nwoji frowned that most Nigerians suffer the desire-for-foreign goods syndrome because of social symbols and the claim that foreign products are superior to their locally-made substitutes.
The State’s NOA boss further stated that though the claim might not be totally wrong, it is worrisome and economically dangerous to abandon locally-made products in preference for foreign goods.
“The worst is that manufacturers in reaction to the development have resorted to deceptive branding of their products with foreign labels and tags. This translates to giving credit for quality products that were produced in Nigeria to other countries.”
He therefore warned that the consequence of identity product theft was capable of leading to capital flight and a decline in the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
Mr. Nwoji went ahead to disclose that NOA was ready to continue to encourage Nigerian manufacturers to take pride in their own products.
“Our local manufacturers need to appropriately and beneficially showcase Nigerian products and services to the world.” he landed.
It’s really baffling that Nigeria’s citizenry depends heavily on foreign-made goods and services, to the detriment of the locally-made ones. This pattern of practice, that has lingered unabated, has obviously posed a great danger to the country’s economic status.
It’s even more saddening when realized that the families of those who carry out such a campaign, like the NOA boss, patronize the imported products on a daily basis. This is an indication that Nigeria’s problem is indeed endemic.
It’s therefore high time these agencies started walking the talk. This can only be achieved by being true and unbiased patriotic citizens of the country.