By Providence Obuh

The Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) sector is crucial to the attainment of the vision 20-20-20, which envisages that Nigeria will become one of the twenty most developed economies in the world by the Year 2020.

Chairman of the Association of Micro Entrepreneurs of Nigeria (AMEN), Mr Prince Saviour Iche, stated this during the association’s second interactive section on “Building a Strong Economy through MSME’s”, last week in Lagos. He said until the MSMEs are recognised as means of fast tracking the economic growth of this nation, the vision 20-20-20 will be a mirage.

Iche noted that the importance of micro producers in every economy cannot be over emphasized because they remain the bedrock of any economy, adding that to move the economy forward, micro producers which serve as doors to industrialisation must not be neglected.

“For Nigeria economy to thrive in this present day competitive domestic and global market and harness the foreign trade potentials of the nation, Micro Small and Medium Scale Enterprises should be encouraged and nurtured,” he stated.

Lamenting on the challenges of the organisation, he said the Nigerian Police have posed the greatest challenge to MSMEs in Nigeria. He explained that most micro producers, out of the fear of Police, have left the country to Cotonou, some to Ghana, but still come to Nigeria only to source for raw materials.

“When a police man stop our people with empty plastic, they will take them to the station and ask for so much money, why they will ask them to go and bring their National Agency for Food and Drug Administration Control (NAFDAC) registration number, knowing full well that getting a NAFDAC certification is not a day issue.

They use NAFDAC to intimidate the micro producers in Nigeria. We believe on sanity, that is why we sensitize our members to produce sanity product, so we have the technical know how,” he said.

Iche asserted that if the police stop those Nigerians that have traveled to Cotonou with plastic and they tell them they are from Cotonou, they allow them to go.,According to him, this action from the Nigerian Police is not encouraging for an economy that wants to grow its micro producers.

He bewailed the fact that the Bank of Industry (BoI) is not helping the situation, charging them to come out and tell the public of one single producer they have financed or assisted.

He enumerated other problems facing the Micro and Small Enterprises who are into production to include;cost of registration with relevant government agencies such as NAFDAC, Standard Organisation of Nigeria SON, Corporate Affairs Commissions CAC, Trademarks, among others.

“The company’s that are giant in the industry are folding up because of the environment we are, there is no power supply, the road network is bad, the issue of loan is a bigger challenge, many are relocating to Ghana because of these challenges.”

In the same vein, Lagos Centre Manager, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), Mr. Yinka Fisher, said MSME”s are the only engine for development in a developing country like Nigeria.

He added that in developed economy, the like of Asia and Europe, MSME’s contributed to their growth because they are the highest provider of poverty alleviation.

“When we talk of how to ameliorate poverty in the nation, it is through this type of institutions that such can be done, through capacity enhancement and by making sure that the right thing is done” he said.