The Managing Director, FAE Ltd, Princess Funlayo Bakare-Okeowo, said no matter the rate of digitalisation, the development could never eliminate the need and use of paper.
Speaking at the formal announcement of World Envelopes Day which she said will hold on April 16, she said the day will raise awareness about the importance of envelopes in everyday life and more importantly, map the future of Nigeria’s paper manufacturing sector.
She pointed out that despite the importance of envelopes and paper which she said is used by all and sundry all over the country daily, the sector is struggling with so many problems, forcing many players to struggle to get by or worse, shut down production completely.
She said ideally, when one tree is cut down to make paper, six should be planted in its place but regretted that this is not being done in Nigeria and the paper mills supposed to produce paper reams have shut down with no hope of their revival in sight.
“Even in top economies like the U.S. and U.K. that we look up to in terms of digitalisation, paper is doing very well and their paper mills and industry are thriving. Their postal agencies work well and they still use stamps. When was the last time we saw stamps here in Nigeria or when last did people send letters through the post?”
She urged the government to create a paper research institute that would focus strictly on reviving the sector and making it profitable. Revealing that there is a lot of money to be made from the sale of paper locally and internationally, she said the country is losing trillions of Naira each year that the mills and sector remain abandoned.
