YNaija Poll: Nigerians are ready to buy Made-in-Aba footwear, but…

Aba is perhaps one of the oldest commercial centers in modern Nigeria, it’s growth stemming from the infamous days of slave-trading when the city was used as a route for transporting slaves.

The city grew into a mega commercial center when a military outpost was created by the British colonial rulers -subsequently becoming a British administrative center.

This was followed by the building of a railway stop in the city- the rail track connected several states in the country, thus giving Aba vantage advantage.

The presence of a military post and a rail collection/stop point made Aba an attractive center for skilled artisans, traders, agriculturists, adventurers and educated folks from across the old Eastern region -which, at that time, was a combination of the present South-East states and much of the South-South states.

Aba grew steadily and was reputed as the ‘Japan’ of Africa and products from Aba were famed across Nigeria, and maybe across Africa.

Over the years, a combination of bad governance, mismanagement, over dependence on oil, poor policy, or lack of it, greed, an utter lack of foresight on the part of the government -particularly government at the state and local level-, and an unbridled appetite for foreign-made products on the part of Nigerian citizenry, led to the slow -and torturous- death of Aba-made products, and other domestic production in Nigeria.

Quality, they say, is over quantity
Aba products have, in recent years, become equated with poor quality and inferiority, with several Nigerians saying they won’t patronize Aba-made products because of it’s perceived sub-par quality and lack of proper packaging.

Reputed among Aba-made products- are the footwear produced in the city. The shoes are mostly made in the famed Ariaria international market -one of the largest markets in West Africa.

Ariaria, a market still screaming for development and attention, is renowned for its leather works and shoe-making.

In 2014, the President of the Abia Think Tank Association, Mazi Sam Ohuabunwa, announced that about one million pairs of footwear was exported out of Aba to other West African countries.

The Nigerian economy is faced with several difficulties -ranging from the falling price of crude oil in the international market and the expected fall of the Naira.

Several high profile individuals (including the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, Senator Ben Murray-Bruce and the Nigerian Airforce, who recently praised Innoson Vehicle Manufacturers for producing parts for its fighter jets) have called for the refocusing of the Nigerian economy through the patronage of Nigerian-made products.

This, in the age of social media, has led to the trending of several internet hashtags on Twitter, including the #MadeInNigeria trend.

YNaija took the opportunity to gauge the opinion and disposition of Nigerians to footwear made in Aba.

506 people took part in the Twitter poll, with 75 percent affirming that they will buy a made in Aba footwear while 17 percent expressed their unwillingness to do so- on the basis that made in Aba products were of low quality.

The remaining 8 percent feigned ignorance of where Aba is.

From the poll, it could be extrapolated that a vast majority of Nigerians are increasingly aware of the value of Aba made products and the importance of patronizing locally made goods.

Here’s what a handful of Nigerians on Twitter are saying on the topic:

What Nigerians are saying on the #MadeInNigeria topic:

Leave a reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

cool good eh love2 cute confused notgood numb disgusting fail