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| Abia Governor Okezie Ikpeazu |
Nigerian manufacturers’ overdependence on imported inputs
raises questions on the relevance and capacity of research
institutes spread across the country.
The central reason for setting up the majority of research
institutes is to ensure they come up with findings that can
improve manufacturing, agriculture and raw materials sourcing.
But Nigeria’s manufacturers import almost 60% of their raw
materials owing to issues relating to poor quality and state of
locally available inputs.
This informs why manufacturers remain the worse hit of foreign
exchange restriction, which made importation of their inputs
almost impossible.
When I started banking, Nigerian manufacturers were importing
inputs, and now they are still importing. What are our research
institutes doing?” asked Chukwudi, a Former Banker but now Staff
of the Abia State Civil Service.
We have universities which, in other parts of the world, serve as
consultants for industries. What are they doing? We really need to
find a way of reducing the demand for imported raw material,”
Chief Henry Ikoh, Commissioner for Science and Technology in
Abia State, said at an event organized by Aba Chamber of
Commerce and industry (ACCI) in Abia.
Research institutes include the Raw Materials Research and
Development Council (RMRDC), Federal Institute for Industrial
Research Oshodi (FIIRO), Rubber Research Institute of Nigeria,
National Cereals Research Institute and Institute of Agricultural
Research Umudike.
Others are National Root Crops Research Institute, Cocoa
Research Institute of Nigeria, and Nigeria Institute of Oil Palm
Research, among many others.
This is excluding all the universities, including specialized
institutions and polytechnics. It has been reported that these
institutes, have been allocated N59 billion in the last three years.
Most of these institutes play in the agro-allied value chain, yet
farmers say they are yet to see their benefits in terms of
improved seedlings to improve productivity and sustain industries.
Manufacturers have ignored these institutes as they get their own
machines and go into backward integration with the help of
privately hired consultants.
Though some of them are doing well, many are just there,” said
Elder Ekeoma, Chairman of a food processing company in Aba.
However, analysts say the blame should be shifted to the
government that has failed to fund the institutes adequately and
monitor subventions given to them.
The agricultural research institutions in the country are not
working. They have not improved farmers’ output in any way. But
government needs to fund them adequately because research is
not cheap and to ensure that the funds get to the institutions,”
said Dorathy Onuegbu, HOD, Abia State Bureau of Statistics,
Umuahia.
There was a time we used to import 80 to 90 percent of cement
needs. We are all living witnesses that we now export cement.
When Abia Online visited Obajana to talk with Aliko Dangote, the
Managing Director, Dangote Cement, told us that they had raw
materials that would last 100 years. That’s why they opened
factories at Ibese and other African countries.
Innoson Motors is a company in Enugu, which manufactures
vehicles. Right now, Innoson cannot even get raw materials and it
has so many employees and the demand is there. Let’s imagine
if Innoson didn’t have to import up to 90% of their raw materials,
say the Ajaokuta steel plant was working, how different would the
business environment have been?
Henry Ikoh is the honourable commissioner for science
and technology , Abia state
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