An NGO, Gbagede Ewaede Foundation, has disclosed plans to train and empower 1,000 youths in Ogun State on the production and marketing of “adire” fabrics.
The foundation said the aim was to curb the influx of fake adire, popularly known as Chinese adire, into Nigerian markets.
The convener of the foundation, Adejoke Somoye, disclosed this while addressing journalists at the 3-in-1 annual event of the foundation in Abeokuta, Ogun State.
Recall that local producers of adire recently lamented the influx of adulterated products by the Chinese, which according to them, had been pushing their trade to the brink.
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Somoye, who led hundreds of adire producers and marketers to the palace of the Alake of Egbaland, Oba Adedotun Gbadebo, to seek an end to the production and sales of Chinese adire in Ogun markets, called on the government to set up a task force to evacuate adulterated adire from the markets.
Somoye, a culture conservator and restorer, lamented that Yoruba culture and heritage were fast going into extinction, stressing the need for the government to invest in the production and promotion of adire.