Made-in-Aba trade fair generates buzz in Abuja

They travelled all the way from the East to the country’s centre, and with them came goods flaunting patriotic brands.

Producers of a variety of products poured in from eastern Nigeria from the beginning of this week. They came into Abuja and set up at the Arts and Crafts Village, optimistic they would receive favourable patronage, after all, it was the fourth Made in Aba Trade Fair.

Proudly Nigerian

Monday, March 6, Igbo music drifted from large speakers as men and women spread out commodities for sale: Clothes, typical Nigerian attires, tailored in Aba; foot wears, bags, inverters and many more proudly Nigerian goods were on display.

Once, many of such products earned fake brand names that said they were made in Italy, China or Dubai. “But things are changing,” Ejioguanyian, who makes sandals for men, said. He had worked his way up, went through apprenticeship after rounding off secondary school and became his own boss. He now works with five hands and how they operate involves first buying the imported materials they need, work, design them and give the right finishing.

Ejioguanyian said that sometimes they make foot wears and brand them as ‘made in Nigeria’, but “Nigerians don’t patronise Nigerian-made shoes, and the same Nigerians go to buy them as foreign shoes. But with the help rendered by Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, we are proud to brand our work as made in Nigeria because Aba shoes can compete in the international market,” he explained.

At Vincent Nwankwo’s stand where there are a pile of colourful high-heeled women’s shoes, ‘made in Italy’ marked the bottom of one of them. He explained that they have started rebranding their foot wears made in Aba and that it’s an error that one stills bears fake branding. “They are all made in Aba’, he insisted.

Lack of machineries

Bright Chimeze, who specialises in female foot wears clarified that it’s the lack of government support that makes people buy goods made in Aba and brand them as foreign products. “Aba is the China and heart of Nigeria. If the government can provide machines for us, it will make our work easier.  What we have here is what we are able to produce by hand without machines,” he said, adding that they buy materials like gums and make shoes manually because machines are expensive and therefore unaffordable.

All the traders at the fair ground implored the government to assist them. EJioguanyian pointed out that government needs to ban importation of China shoes and also reduce import duties on materials they import for their businesses. “I import every material I use. Things are hard, especially now that the dollar exchange rate doesn’t favour us,” he said, adding that the localisation of industries will go a long way in creating specialisation that will lead to professionalism in their work. “With every worker handling a particular area in the manufacturing process and with the availability of the required machinery, we will be able to produce our brand in millions,” he explained. “Our coming here is not mainly for profit but to bring about awareness.”

Reviews

Hung just below a particular canopy are boots of varying designs made by Chris Ochulor. They include safety and desert boots that takes a maximum of four hours for Ochulor to make manually. Currently, he has a contract to produce desert boots for ECOWAS troops. “Here I sell them at the rate of N6, 000,” he said, adding that with government support and machinery, they could produce such boots in very large numbers.

At Ochulor’s stand, Honourable Baba Aka tried on a pair of black boots. He had never bought anything made in Aba before and was intrigued by what he saw. He described the fare as a good innovation and pointed out that the government needed to encourage it by making it a national policy, a yearly event. “The government needs to designate a site for them in the FCT because it will encourage upcoming producers in Aba and elsewhere. It will take away idleness and vices, because they know that at a certain period in a year, they will get to market their goods and the whole world will come. So, the relevant agencies in the chambers sector should give it prominence,” he said. 

Not far away, Mrs. Blessing Adedire checks out a couple of fabrics for her husband. A habitual visitor, she always looks forward to the Made in Aba Trade Fair. “This will speak for the Aba people because they make good products, especially now that we are propagating patronage of made in Nigeria goods. We must not patronise foreign products. So, if we don’t have an avenue like this, we may not know what we have,” she said and encouraged the government to promote it.

Mrs. Adedire had good things to say about made in Aba products: “I have bought slippers and materials before that are made in Aba and they aren’t so expensive. What’s lacking is the finishing in making them. It needs to be neater,” she pointed out.

Another customer, Divinewill Ajuzie, who bought clothes for his children at the rate of N2, 000, commended this year’s Made in Aba Trade Fair as being better than the previous one despite the effects of the economic recession. “I have observed that made in Nigeria goods are going nuclear,” he said. “Before now, the Aba market was killed but now it has been revived. I want them to start exporting like they used to. I have travelled to other African countries before and they were flooding with Aba goods, but now Dubai has taken over. I believe it was as a result of lack of exposure. Government needs to assist them.”

The products

Aside the safety and desert boots on display, one of the most remarkable goods on display at the trade fair were inverters displayed by Tochukwu, a mechanical Engineer who majored in electronics. Beside the inverters are automatic power synchronisers (power change-overs) and power chargers. “Our inverters could be started up with 12 volts. It makes the battery collection economical to suit Nigerians’ needs,” he said, pointing out that a car horn system could be synchronised with the inverter so that once a car horn is depressed, it comes on. Then there’s also a remote control to make its use easier within the home.

Prepared to outdo competitors, Boniface Obioma made it to Abuja for the fare with large strong boxes he boasts are made of wood and stronger than those imported. “I made them manually,” he emphasised. “If I have the needed machinery I would do a whole lot better.”

The traders had varied views on the trade fair that ended yesterday. They all came with high hopes and had their fair share of profits by the third day. Like always, there was the question of effective publicity, venue and the like, however they all praised Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe (representing Abia Central) who sponsored the event and took care of expenses.