Before the civil war Nigeria was productive; and even at war's end Nigeria was still productive. I was privileged to have witnessed the tail end of the era when Nigeria and indeed Nigerians were far more productive than we are today. At that time, the value of ONE US Dollar was approximately equal to or less than ONE Naira ($1 = ₦1).
My first car was a VW Beetle; and I remember proudly driving that brand new Beetle car (sky blue colour) out from the Mandillas workshop at the total cost of ₦4,050 (four thousand and fifty Naira only!) in 1982. Looking back nostalgically to those good old days, I still wonder what really went wrong? Join me as I recall just a little bit of what I witnessed.
During the early 1980s, you could see many visible economic activities and consumption patterns that propelled growth and productivity around you. Some of them included:
♦ Our refineries were fully functional, providing refined petroleum products for both local and export markets. Today we import almost all our refined petroleum product needs.
♦ Nigerian roads were full of locally assembled cars, buses and trucks. There was Leyland in Ibadan, Peugeot in Kaduna, ANAMCO in Enugu, Volkswagen in Lagos, and Steyr in Bauchi produced Agricultural tractors.
The direct economic fallout of the assembly plants was that most of the components were produced locally, not only for local consumption, but also for the export markets of the West Coast. For example:
Vono produced the vehicle Seats in Lagos.
Exide produced the Batteries in Ibadan.
Isoglass and TSG produced the Windshields in Ibadan.
Ferodo produced the Brake Pads and Discs in Ibadan.
Dunlop and Michelin produced the Tyres in Lagos and Port Harcourt.
The rubber plantations of Bendel, Ogun and Rivers States supplied the natural raw material for tyre production.
♦ When it came to household electronics, Sanyo assembled Radio and Television sets in Ibadan. Thermocool and Debo produced Refrigerators, Freezers and Air Conditioners.
♦ Electricity was transmitted via cables produced by Nigerian Wire and Cable, Ibadan, NOCACO in Kaduna and Kablemetal in Port Harcourt and Lagos.
♦ Aba Textile Mills in Aba, Arewa Textile Mills, UNTL Textile Mills in Kaduna and Chellarams in Lagos, produced local fabrics from cotton grown in Nigeria. While Bata and Lennards produced Shoes and Sandals using Hides and Skin produced in Kano and Kaduna.
♦ City and Urban water authorities supplied pipe-borne water to offices and homes using pipes produced by Kwalipipe and Duraplast in Kano and Lagos respectively; while toilets were fitted with WCs produced in Kano and Abeokuta. And NGC factory in Ibadan produced LPG gas cylinders.
♦ The Nigeria Airways, one of the biggest in Africa at that time, flew Nigerians to most destinations in the world. Today, we fly other countries’ airlines.
Today we import Fuel. We import Food. We import Fabrics and Clothing materials. We import almost everything; because most of these productive companies that made Nigeria proud with their goods and services have either closed shop or relocated to neighboring (but more conducive) climes.
Today, where is Nkalagu Cement? Where is Umuahia Ceramics? Where is Aba Glass Industry? Where is Aba Textile Mills? Where is Star Paper Mills? Where is Bata? Where is Lennards? Where is Dunlop? Where is Michelin? And so on!
We have become an import dependent nation. And what do you expect when relevant government policies (or lack of them) have made it much more easier to effortlessly make huge, hidden and untaxed profits from consumption (importation) than from production (agriculture, manufacture and export)?
We must reverse this trend with adequate and modern infrastructure, appropriate economic policies and attractive tax incentives that not only improve the ease of doing business, but also create the enabling environment for sustainable productivity.
We must produce more, consume less, and export the excess. That way, we can begin to slowly move Nigeria forward from Consumption to Production.
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