The Plight Of Industrial Centres

In 1965, the first Industrial Development Centre (IDC) in Nigeria was established in Owerri, in present-day Imo state, by the then Eastern Nigeria government. The federal government took it over in 1970 alongside others in Oshogbo, Zaria, and Maiduguri. They were known then as zonal centres. The number later went up to 30. They were among the agencies set up by the Federal Government to help small-scale businesses in Nigeria.

The idea, as it was conceived then, was noble. But over time, lethargy set in, and at the execution stage, the government lost sight of what those centres were set up to achieve.

Experts have blamed the petrodollar, which flowed in the oil boom days and gave rise to import substitution, for derailing the policy that would have placed the nation on the international industrial map. The centres and their big brother, the Ajaokuta, got enmeshed in sabotage, local and foreign. These were institutions for which good money was spent.

Nigerians preferred to be manufacturers’ representatives instead of putting their acts together to achieve national aspirations. Who needs to stress over manufacturing challenges when there is a ready substitute from Asia, the United States of America and Europe?

There were also facilities like Technology Incubation centres, designed to aid the development and structuring of startups by providing space, financial aid, a network, and mentoring.

In the process of policy somersaults, the nation lost many valuable years and the opportunity to generate its own home-grown industrial base that would have energised the nation’s industrial growth and development, because the original plan was to build up the small and medium enterprises as the mainstay of the nation’s economic viability.

Reports indicate that most IDCs have been taken over by miscreants, the machines vandalised where they are still in place or are obsolete.

This may have influenced the House of Representatives’ move to determine what went wrong and what can be done to reverse the decline.

The lawmakers were worried that the centres, which were fully equipped with heavy machinery when they were established to disseminate industrial and technological knowledge and skills, had all deteriorated.

An investigation indicates that the federal government handed these centres to the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN). That, we insist, was a flawed policy. For one reason, SMEDAN is a bureaucracy that lacks the urgency of scientific and industrial thinking and it is not a surprise that, for some years now, nothing has been done holistically to redress the pathetic situation in these centres .

In the opinion of the House of Representatives, if this trend is not checked, the country may continue to lose the benefits of industrialisation, which will affect the people’s standard of living.

We agree with the House’s position and commend the lawmakers for bringing this matter up now. We hope they will have the political courage to reverse the trend.

The problem reared its ugly head when the federal government began interfering with the programme initiated by regional governments. Its decision to take them over, from the benefit of hindsight, has proved counterproductive.

If allowed to function as regional or state agencies, those IDCs would have been spurred by competition, which in turn would have benefited the nation in general.

However, we are persuaded to appeal to the lawmakers to approach the matter expeditiously because, in our view, Nigeria ought not to lag behind in industrial growth.

Most Asian countries became industrial giants because they were committed to the growth and development of startups and small and medium enterprises. That is how the fabled Asian tigers emerged.

The nation lost time by choosing the slow industrial growth and development path. Still, in our opinion, there is a chance for her to make up for lost time if only the leaders of which the lawmakers are part could build on the courage of their convictions and do what is necessary to retrieve the nation from the precipice.

We urge the lawmakers not to see this assignment as another ego trip, an opportunity to grandstand and appease their constituents on the eve of another election cycle.

Industrialisation is a key element of national development. Because of it, China emerged from the spectre of the Iron Curtain to a superpower competing with the most powerful.

Nigeria’s economic rating decline from the largest economy in Africa to the fourth ought to be a clarion call for concerted action in this direction.

In the opinion of this newspaper, lawmakers and the government at all levels have their job cut out for them—to make the right laws and nudge the country in the right direction.

The right place to start from is ensuring that the infrastructure status of the country is enhanced.