Alhaji Bashir Ibrahim Danyaro studied and worked within the leather value chain for over four decades in Nigeria. In this interview with Trust TV’s Mannir Dan-Ali, Danyaro explained how Nigeria lost its glory in the hide and skin subsector despite having the best potential in Africa.
You studied in areas known to be the leading age in the world—Italy, France and other locations. You also rose to be the production manager of Bata, which used to be a very thriving shoemaking industry in Nigeria. You were there for nearly 20 years; what are you doing at present?
I am still in the leather business because it is the only business I know. I am enjoying it. And I think I am contributing my quota to my country and the world in general.
Bata used to be one of the thriving indigenous shoe industries in Nigeria, but it is now a shadow of its former self; what happened?
Unfortunately, the shoemaking industry in Nigeria is going down instead of growing; same with the leather industry. We used to have a very thriving leather value chain in Nigeria, which was acknowledged around the world because of the quality of our skins, especially the goat skin.
I remember that when we were in primary school, they used to list hides and skin among export products, but that seems to have disappeared; why?
Hides and skin are still there. That was my first area of working when I left secondary school. At our time, they used to recruit us from secondary school.
I started working at the Veterinary Department of Kano State, where we were asked to go to all the markets and supervise the slaughtering and removal of animal skins and the subsequent curing. This is because immediately you remove the skin, if you don’t cure it, it will go bad and start rotting because water with bacteria don’t stay together. You have to extract the water. How you extract it is the curing method.
Is that the one you apply salt?
Yes. This is the recent one; we used to do it in the open air, suspending drying and hanging. We have what you call the hide, which is a bigger one. We have a frame, which has holes, through which we would tie it and suspend, as well as stretch so that it doesn’t have wrinkles. We hang goat and sheep on a wire mesh so that it does not cover the inner, then the outside, and the hair will be dried. After that, before it starts to get hard, we fold and arrange it for either storage, or we take it down to the tanneries.
Is this where the tanneries come in as one of the value chains that treat the leather and turn it into leather already made for making all sorts of leather goods?
Leather goods or footwear. At that time, there were constant checks and balances. It was traced from the place where the skins were slaughtered, up to the time they reached the tannery. We had a follow-up method where no person was allowed to trade in leather, hide and skin without getting a licence from the veterinary department.
And the system has broken down?
Totally; the system is not working.
But recently, the Sokoto State Government wanted to invest in the leather value chain because they found out that there is a lot of that thing in the state.
Are you talking about the so-called Sokoto red goats?
Right; so they consulted the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO), which promised to come and do a feasibility study in that course of duty. The organisation employed me as a leather expert and asked me to go and study what was happening in Sokoto State.
The chief technical officer came from Vienna, Austria and met me. We discussed and he gave me an order. They got all my papers and said they wanted to see me personally.
When he came, he wanted to size me up. We sat at the Ministry of Trade and Industry and he gave me a little assignment because they hardly believed Nigerians. He wanted to see what I claimed to be. Immediately we did it, he looked around with all the UNIDO officers and said it was fantastic. He said that with the response he got from me, they would go ahead.
Is the project now dead?
I cannot say that the project is dead because it even took us outside the country.
To do all the necessary ground work?
Yes. I organised a study tour with the UNIDO and the Sokoto State contingent, which was led by the governor. We went to Italy, where we were actually supported to meet all the considerations of leather and footwear, as well as leather goods manufacturers.
When they heard that a Nigerian team was coming, they gathered all the big people in the industry so that we could interact and see the possibility of buying the machineries we needed to set up in Sokoto from them.
After all the data, trips and the money spent, is this factory working?
Actually, it is not yet done.
Are you still on track?
Yes. I believe it is with the Sokoto State Government.
But there was a change of government that could have affected things; what do you think?
From what came from our findings, they were shocked that every blessed week in Sokoto, they transported 500,000 pieces of skin to Kano. Dealers would buy and take to Kano because they could not process it in Sokoto.
Is it because Kano has the processing facilities?
Yes.
But the Kano brown goats are the ones producing the leather, which for hundreds of years is said to be transported through Morocco through the Sahara trade route, from where it got to Italy. And it was described as the best; is that correct?
That is true, but they have realised that it is actually a Nigerian leather. However, sadly for them, the quality coming or reaching them is not what it used to be because there is no control.
At that time, what they told us was that any skin that came from Nigeria was automatically discounted before buying – some at 10 per cent and others at 20 per cent; they would not buy it at a premium quality price.
Is it because it was not well treated or they suspected that it was not the kind of skin they were looking for?
It is the same skin; the issue is the curing process because in leather, if you cannot repair it immediately, it will damage, no matter the type of technology you use.
The issue is that they are requiring premium quality from Nigeria and they are not getting it because there is no control. You can do whatever you can do and nobody cares.
What about the one people do when they slaughter rams during Ed-el-Kabir and naming ceremonies?
The one for a naming ceremony is for a religious purpose, so you are allowed, but anyone for a commercial purpose comes under rules and regulations. In fact, you don’t have more control over it than the government because you must follow those rules and regulations, which are not available now. That is what brought the quality of our skin internationally down.
Is it that government officials are unaware the rules and regulations or they are not applying it?
Some are aware of it, but some don’t care. In Kano State, we used to have a veterinary department when I started working. At one time, we were up to 39 going to Zaria to study leather. There were still others, but now, in the whole of Kano State, they have three or four workers. How can it be possible?
Are there still enough goats, especially considering the spate of banditry in the North?
Supply has been disrupted because people can no longer reach the areas they used to scout for the animals.
But talking about migration of animals in Africa, the Nigerian population of sheep and goats has increased considerably. In the figure I saw in 2020, we had over 200 million.
What about cow skin?
Cow skin is a delicacy. People were not eating it in the North, but they have started.
Would you say it is in any way a threat to the leather industry?
The answer is yes and no. It is about price because you would give the skin of your animal to anybody who pays higher, no matter what he uses it for. But if the tanneries can buy, process and do high quality materials, obviously, consumers cannot compete because they cannot afford it; so it will go to the leather industry.
What is the way out?
First and foremost, we need to have the fear of God and the interest of our country. If this country does not progress, individuals cannot progress. Unfortunately, the leather industry has been choked, and as a result, it has been stagnant. I say stagnant because it is still there. I have been in this business for 45 years, and till today, there is no improvement.
Pakistan probably came behind us or something like that, but today, that country is making a lot of money on football, courtesy of leather industry.
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