Osinbajo pants over Nigeria’s capacity to rake in $1 billion in four years from leather products

With the projection by the Nigeria Economic Summit Group (NESG) that the leather and finished leather products market has the capacity of taking in $1billion dollars in four years time, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo is optimistic that the sector could become a game-changer for the nations economy by improving the country’s foreign exchange earnings, and boosting growth.

It could also provide employment for young Nigerians, Osinbajo added on Tuesday at the formal launch and sensitisation workshop on the National Leather and Leather Products Policy Implementation Plan in Abuja.

Said the country’s deputy chief executive, “there is no question that properly organized, the leather and leather products industry could become one of the major items in Nigeria’s export basket.

‘‘The leather value chain is extensive. It includes animal husbandry, tanneries, finished leather products and leather products marketing. The leather and leather products industry currently employs over 750,000 workers with about 500,000 workers in the finished leather goods sector. About 11 leather exporting companies have been active at the upstream end of the leather value chain.

“Also, the export of leather has grown steadily, reaching a peak of $117 million in 2018. Exports fell in 2020 largely due to the pandemic, but to date, are in the order of $272m.”

He explained that the country was yet to maximize its potential in the sector despite exporting millions of semi-finished and finished leather products to destinations including Italy, Spain, India, South Asia and China.

With the formal launch of the National Leather and Leather Products Policy Implementation Plan, the VP noted that Government now has ‘‘a real opportunity to address specific challenges and shortcomings of the leather sector with pragmatic strategies to permanently resolve these issues for optimal productivity.”

He asserted that “there is now a clear line of sight to our emergence as a major hub for the manufacture of leather goods with the refocusing of the leather sector to value addition from its previous focus on exporting semi-processed leather.”

Describing the Plan as all encompassing, Prof. Osinbajo noted that relevant Government Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and the organized private sector are assigned specific responsibilities for its various objectives and strategies.

He added that the Plan covers eight thematic areas, including intellectual property rights, governance, E-leather, environmental and social best practices, marketing, funding, critical infrastructure and research and development.

Commending the initiative of the Nigerian Institute of Leather Science and Technology (NILEST) regarding the plan, Prof. Osinbajo said the establishment of Nine (9) Extension Centres across the six (6) geo-political zones will help to train and develop young entrepreneurs in Nigeria as well as provide innovative research and development in the sector.

Noting that the Institute is also collaborating with the Military for research, development, design and production of military footwear, the VP added that, “the very idea of an implementation plan is refreshingly innovative. It addresses the malignant problem of great plans but poor delivery that appears to bedevil many policies of government.”

“The next steps are clear and the stage is set for establishing the leather and leather products industry in Nigeria on a sure footed and well thought out growth trajectory,” Prof. Osinbajo stated.

The Vice President commended the Minister of Science and Technology, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu and his team for developing the Plan, as well as other relevant government agencies and international bodies such as the European Union (EU) and the German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ) which are partnering with the Federal Government in the implementation of the policy.