Many fashionable men in Nigeria who loved to wear well cut suits always found a tailor in Aba that would satisfy their craving for sartorial elegance. One of the tailoring outfits famous for its craftsmanship was called Presidential Tailors. The name had nothing to do with our presidential system of government because at that time we were running the parliamentary system. I suspect that the name President had something to do with the eminence that the tailors attached to their craftsmanship as well as to those they expected to wear their well-tailored attires. But, I tell you, the cut was always superb and the sewing always efficient.
Aba went through the ruination that the Biafran war brought to all towns and villages in the former Eastern region. Its craftsmanship was compromised, its people were pauperised, the city was corroded by garbage and Aba lost its soul and lapsed into masterly inactivity. The only thing that did not go away was football from which the city had earned a just reward in recognition mileage. Even though the city may have recovered from the trauma of the war not much was heard of its glorious past which had apparently been reinvented without much fanfare.
That past is being reincarnated by Governor Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia State. Recently, Ikpeazu delivered some pairs of made-in-Aba shoes to former President Olusegun Obasanjo who ordered them when he saw the shoes at the Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurship Forum in Lagos recently. On presenting the shoes to the former President, the governor said: “Sir, you made an order for made-in-Aba shoes through me when we met last in Lagos two weeks ago. I am here to deliver the shoes to you Sir. These shoes including the one I am wearing are made by our people in Aba. We want you to wear them and tell others about them.” Obasanjo responded: “Governor, I can’t thank you enough and through you I wish to thank my brothers and sisters who have decided to adorn me with these wonderful, classy and classic shoes made in our land by our own people.” Obasanjo told Ikpeazu that the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) would like to establish an industrial park in Aba to encourage the production and exportation of goods made in Africa.
Ikpeazu, the Chief Marketing Officer of made-in-Aba products, is making some impact already. The Nigerian Army has ordered 50, 000 pairs of shoes from Aba and I believe the other uniformed forces may do so since in these days of recession it is in their own interest to conserve scarce foreign exchange which they had hitherto been using in the importation of shoes for their servicemen and women. Governor Ikpeazu has also visited Turkey and has also organised an Abia-Turkish investment forum. He has so far extracted a commitment for a $100 million investment in Abia State’s economy. His main interests are cloth and shoemaking, two items in which Turkey is a leader. In fact, most of the English and French suits and shoes sold in Nigeria today originate from Istanbul and Dubai. That is why airlines on these routes to and from Nigeria are always full.
Ikpeazu must carry his campaign to every corner of Nigeria, because the first problem to overcome is our complex. Aba has always made beautiful shoes but because they have been pooh-poohed by Nigerians for no just cause the manufacturers resorted to stamping “Made in Italy” or “Made in China” on those shoes. Amadi Ikwechegh, surveyor, sailor and former governor of old Imo State appeared at a Newswatch interview forum on November 10, 1989 wearing beautiful shoes made in Aba. He told the editors that the shoemakers had to resort to putting foreign labels on their shoes so that Nigerians can purchase them. He felt that with time, and with improved quality that deceptive marketing gimmick would change.
At that time Governor Ikwechegh, whose father was a stockfish merchant and a pioneer member of the Aba Chambers’ of Commerce, was encouraged by his vision of a Greater Aba to push for a pan-Nigerian acceptance of these excellent products. Twenty seven years later, the battle is still at its infancy. Ikpeazu’s campaign must raise the bar and make the project a full time endeavour of his government.
Countries that want to make progress in life always start from the shop floor and climb. In Nigeria we tend to start from the top. When I first went to India many years ago I bought a copy of Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart printed in coarse, dirty, newsprint. Its Prime Minister, Indira Gandhil, was driving the small car which looked like Morris Minor. It was made in India. Today, that car has been transformed. When I visited India again many years later the quality of its printing had drastically improved. Today India is one of the countries with its feet at the door of the First World.
It makes almost anything you can think of. Nigeria imports almost anything you can think of. Some years ago, when our government was trying to encourage the assembling of Peugeot and Volkswagen cars in Nigeria, a military governor on arrival from abroad was offered a Peugeot 504. He refused to enter the car until a Mercedez Benz car was brought for him. Today, all our leaders drive in exotic, expensive, bullet-proof, bomb-proof cars. If they do not use assembled in Nigeria cars how will these car companies improve?
Today many Nigerians go to Dakar, Senegal to make traditional clothes they have nicknamed “Senegalese.” They are in no way better than the ones made in Aba or in most of the cities in Nigeria. But the reason Nigerians clamour for them is that they are “imported.” The complex about imported items, even when they are inferior is inexplicable. It is that complex that has stymied Nigeria’s economic development over the years.
Ikpeazu should take his “shoe-boating” campaign to the Aso Villa and convince President Muhammadu Buhari and his ministers to put aside their Gucci shoes and adorn their feet with Aba shoes. If our leaders begin to patronise made in Nigeria products the citizens will follow suit. The campaign for patronage of made-in-Nigeria products must begin with the leaders. If they needed an excuse, recession has offered one.
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