Social media sources have revealed that Nigeria’s last-surviving leather factories, God’s Little Tannery was indeed the major supplier of top fashion designer, Louis Vuitton.
The tweet made by The Economist’s correspondent Eleanor Whitehead, whose recent tour around Northern Nigeria, included a visit to the city of Kano, where she met the team at the tannery.
Whitehead who appeared to be on a trip around some production factories in Nigeria’s northern region shared pictures of a few other places including the Dangote tomato paste factory in Kano and an abandoned shoe factory.
She shared the pictures on Twitter where she also mentioned that she had interacted with some farmers in Kano on Thursday aside visiting the Dangote factory.
Meanwhile, a recent investigation by Daily Mail revealed that the majority of the God’s Little Tannery skins are shipped to Southern Italy where they are bought by leather agents the Romano brothers who in turn sell them on to a local tannery called Europell.
At Europell, the hides are turned into suede and then sold on to factories in Tuscany and northern Italy that produce clothes, bags and shoes for a host of designer brands, including Yves Saint Laurent, Ralph Lauren, Fendi, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Jimmy Choo and Valentino.
And last night in the UK, after the revelation was made, it sparked a furious reaction from MPs demanding an end to the UK’s commitment to spend at least 0.7 per cent of national income on foreign aid.
A Mail on Sunday investigation had discovered that The British Council provided cash for two failed projects at the tannery in Nigeria, God’s Little Tannery, which is in Kano.
A spokesman for the British Council said it had made a ‘small contribution’ to the business in 2007. He added: ‘It makes a positive contribution to the Nigerian economy which helps to stabilise the region.’
In case you were wondering, Kano State, considered as Nigeria’s second largest commercial and industrial city back then in 1981 boasted of having the largest leather processing and Tanning business.