Director-general and chief executive officer, Nigerian Institute of Leather and Science Technology (NILEST), Prof M. K. Yakubu has described the leather industry as topping the country’s non-oil earnings.
Yakubu said the industry contributes massively to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to retain the position as the highest non-oil foreign exchange earner.
In a welcome address at the 2023 technology and innovation expo leather day held yesterday at the Eagle Square, Abuja, he said the leather industry had proved, in recent times, to be a critical sector contributing immensely to employment, wealth generation, security, GDP and development.
He said the leather industry is worth $390 billion, and globally acknowledged as a driving tool for industrialisation especially in the developing world.
He said, ‘’Nigeria must accord high priority to leather and leather products if she must take her rightful place in the comity of nations. Nigeria’s vision of becoming one of the largest economies in the world in the nearest future can be hastened when leather and leather products through the required technology and innovation are fully integrated into our national socio-economic development process.
“This will help Nigeria bridge the existing gaps. It will also fast track the processes that will enable her to become self-reliant in indigenous technology capacity, thereby stimulating a greater sense of national pride based on enduring self-reliance,” Haruna said.
