Analysing Atiku’s plan to revive MSMES sector

Micro Small Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) are the engine room of every economy. This fulcrum of the Nigerian economy, unlike other climes, has however witnessed policy summersaults from with successive administrations. These summersaults have negatively affected and stunted the growth of the sector. Over the years, the number of MSMEs operators has been depleted owing to majorly a very harsh economic climate.

Time was when Dunlop Tyre was the biggest tyre manufacturer in the Nigeria. Faced with economic reality of the time, it packed its operations and moved over to Ghana -a country described as ‘the new world’s factory’ by Deutsche Welle, a German media firm.

A World Bank survey reported that 322 private firms closed shop in Nigeria between 2009 and 2014 due to stifling business regulations, corruption, and political environment. Companies which have had to quit Nigeria include Matches Manufacturing Company, Nigeria Paper Mill Limited located; Nigerian Newsprint Manufacturing Company Limited; Nigerian National Paper Manufacturing Company Limited.

Others are Exide Batteries; Okin Biscuits; Osogbo Steel Rolling Mills; Nigeria Sugar Company; Bacita; Tate and Lyle Sugar Company among others.
The most troubled industrial sector in all of this is the Nigeria’s textile industry. A government  liberalisation policy that opened Nigerian borders to cheaper textiles from China, coupled with smuggling of foreign textiles killed the once vibrant and thriving textile industry.

The once vibrant Afprint Nigeria Plc; President Industries Nigeria Ltd; Aswani Industries Nigeria Limited have become showrooms for imported brands.

Atiku, though a businessman, is also feeling the heat of the problems. He believes that the sector can be properly reshaped if he is given the mantle of leadership. According to him, “our investment policy shall seek to strengthen MSMEs by removing all identified impediments to their growth and ensuring that they have strong linkage with the productive sectors of the economy.”

Atiku promised to “prioritise efforts for an easier formalization process of our MSMEs including special fiscal incentives for registration, simplification of the registration process and less burdensome tax filing requirement; extend the mandate of NIRSAL to cover de-risking of MSMEs lending; increase the MSME funding window currently, N200billion to N500 billion; promote awareness of the National Collateral Registry of Nigeria and further simplify the Collateral registration process; as well as ensure that MSMEs and SMPs (Small and Medium Practitioners) are given special fiscal advantages including tax breaks and rebates to accelerate business formalization”.

He also promised that “we shall ensure that approvals needed for the creation of new businesses such as land acquisition, property registration and construction permits are simplified, streamlined and are not subject to excessively complex bureaucratic procedures; enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of SMEDAN in the delivery of business support/advisory services to MSMEs; provide support through the NEPC and NIPC to entrepreneurs who experience restricted access to external markets for goods and services, and, “promote the harmonization of State and federal tax laws to avoid over taxing businesses, pursue an aggressive regime of tax credits to critical sectors of the economy”.

These are focused and measured approaches that promise to change the focus of MSMEs and bring them back to play the roles they ought to play in driving the nation’s economy through massive job creation and value addition.

As for a fact, only someone like Atiku, who understands the pain that Nigeria is currently bearing with the gradual asphyxiation of the MSME sector, would be in a position toaddress issues that would revitalize it.

“Okpala is an entrepreneur based in Nasarawa State.