Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote has explained why he does not like the importation of goods into the country.
He gave the explanation in a lecture titled ‘Agenda Setting for Industrialising Nigeria in the Next Decade’ at the 50th Annual General Meeting of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN).
The President of Dangote Group explained that importation allows foreign companies to dump their products in Nigeria to the detriment of local producers.
He called on the authorities to arrest all dealers of foreign textile materials and jail them with no option of fine.
The business mogul also appealed to the National Assembly to enact a law to criminalise the sale of banned textiles by imprisoning culprits without an option of fine.
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“For the textile industry, I believe the government should draft legislation in the National Assembly that states that anyone selling prohibited foreign textiles must face prison time without the option of a fine. So it’ll just be going to jail, even if it’s only for two years.
“The real issue in the textile industry is not a lack of less expensive power. The textile will not last if you give them cheaper power but allow the smuggling to continue.
“What is happening is that foreign companies are dumping their products in Nigeria. That is why I dislike importing. When you import, you are importing poverty while exporting prosperity and job opportunities.
“Today people would be sent to jail in India for selling foreign textiles anywhere. Also, if something is banned in the United States of America for example, there is no way it could be displayed for sale in a shop.
“But what is stopping the implementation of Nigeria’s government policies is the absence of the political will to make sure that we implement those policies no matter who is going to be upset by us.
“If we have a prosperous environment the insecurity will drop,” Dangote said.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had in 2019 banned the sale of foreign currencies to textile materials importers at the official forex window.