Ogun to criminalise Chinese ‘adire’

The Ogun State Government has said it will enact a law that will keep the activities of the Chinese “adire” fabric manufacturers under check following a recent allegation of adulteration of the products by the Chinese, which local producers said had been pushing their trade to the brink.

The state government expressed determination to maintain the quality of the original local adire and protect it from undue competition and proliferation by imitators.

The Commissioner for Culture and Tourism, Sesan Fagbayi, who disclosed this while playing host to the Olu of Orile-Ilawo, Oba Olusegun Macgregor, said anyone found imitating adire would be made to pay royalty fees.

Fagbiyi said, “The ministry is looking into protecting the intellectual property of the adire fabric, as well as ready to establish a law that will ensure that imitators of the fabric pay stipulated fees into the coffers of the state government.’’

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Earlier, Oba Macgregor stated that there was an urgent need for an enforcement law that would prohibit the sales of the counterfeited adire, popularly called Chinese Adire, and also refrain sellers and buyers from referring to it as adire.

He said, “It is because it is still being called adire that is why people are still patronising it, even if the Chinese have to produce the pattern and refer to it as that, it is important to enforce the payment of the royalty and trademark royalty for the designers.”

The monarch added that the essence of the visit was to inform the ministry of the forthcoming three-day collaboration festival between the state government, the ministry and Orile-Ilawo town. 

He explained that the event was a wide festival that involved traditional music, food, adire, noting thatr the highlight was a drum festival comprising ethnic groups with the aim of resuscitating the tourism sector, promoting and commercialising the state’s rich history.