Govt Urged to Sponsor Furniture Expo
The objectives of the ban on imported finished furniture by the Federal Government will be defeated unless it undertakes the sponsorship of major furniture and interior accessory exhibitions as well as the provision of infrastructural facilities.
The advice was given by Mr. Gboyega Oloniyo, a member of the presidential committee on Leather, furniture and Wood Industry in an exclusive interview with THISDAY.
" Now that the ban on the importation of finished furniture is in place, the government (both local and federal) should show interest in sponsoring exhibitors (individuals and companies) to attend particular furniture exhibitions.
"I believe government should show more sincerity and commitment to this course. For example, if there is an exhibition abroad, a particular local government with a particular line of production may be the one to sponsor all the manufacturers in that sector because they know that if they promote you, at the end of the day, it translates to more money for that local government. But, in Nigeria, it's like everybody is just on his or her own. That is what I mean by sincerity," he said.
Particularly, he cited Edo, Delta and some Eastern States as regions with remarkable creativity in the leather, furniture profession and urged government of such areas (as the case is in developed economies) to be more responsive to the people by creating awareness and sponsoring them to relevant furniture exhibitions. He said far more than the immediate bottom-line, the gesture will help to boost the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP.
Oloniyo, who is also the General Manager, Chilvary Merchants and Brokers Limited, organisers of the 2003 maiden edition of the annual Furniture and Interior Decoration Exhibitions ( FIDE 2003), also called on government to provide adequate infrastructural facilities for the industry so as to harness the abundant resources towards the improvement of the GDP.
"The industry needs encouragement, we are not saying that government should come and distribute money to everybody, they should for God's sake try to provide infrastructural facilities like light, water, roads. It will all translate to Gross Domestic Product," he emphasized.
He identified some imperfections in locally made products as one of the major challenges confronting the furniture sector but expressed confidence that such can be improved upon.
"If you compare some locally produced products with their foreign ones, you will notice some differences. These defects are not natural, they are something that can be improved upon. We are talking about the finishing now. You see, we should take the pains to do what is worth doing well. We should take the pains to do them the way it should be done properly.
" We are talking about perfection on the part of the manufacturers and this is what we want to build in these people. It is a venture that I think every well meaning Nigerian should come to sponsor because at the end of the day, it's going to dovetail to abundance of such products, not only abundance, well finished," he stated.
He however, seized the opportunity to draw government's attention to this year's Furniture exhibition tagged 'FIDE 2004' holding from September 9-19, 2004 at the National Museum, Lagos, and appealed to it for sponsorship. The exhibition is a private sector- led initiative accredited by the Federal government and NACCIMA.
"Our enlistment into the presidential committee on leather, furniture and wood industry as member, is an indication that we have a good atmosphere to encourage 'local content' in the emerging furniture and interior decoration industry in Nigeria.
This is an exhibition in which the Federal Government should show interest in with the ban on foreign furniture,"he added.
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