The 26th annual education conference of the National Union of Textile, Garment and Tailoring Workers of Nigeria, NUTGTWN, in Ilorin, Kwara State, provided avenue for labour leaders, employers, academics, industrial relations practitioners and other stakeholders, to examine the rebased Gross Domestic Product, GDP, emerging figures from the rebasing, and what these figures mean for industry, labour and Nigeria’s democracy in the midst of falling crude oil prices.

File Photo: Crude Oil

Addressing the gathering, General Secretary of NUTGTWN and a Vice President of Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, Comrade Issa Aremu, among others, looked at what rebasing the GDP entails, importance and limitation of rebased GDP, the reality on ground, and declared that the rebased GDP showed that Nigeria was a bit diversified than previously reported and the structure of the Nigerian economy had also changed significantly.

We don’t need austerity measure

He however contended that “Nigeria is still dependent on oil extraction and crude oil exports. Minister of Finance and Co-ordinating Minister of the Economy, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala just revealed that Nigeria is a country that is dependent on one commodity, oil. The commodity is dependent on how much the buyers want to buy. The prices of crude oil have fallen from $115 per barrel to $86 per barrel with the fear that the prices can fall as low as $80. This has created shock in the economy.

“The announcement of austerity measure by the Finance Minister Dr. Okonjo Iweala shows Nigeria dependence on oil instead of non-oil sector. Nigeria suffers the problem of resource curse such that a drop in crude oil prices has totally altered the parameters of the annual budget.

“What we need is not austerity measure but accelerated implementation of the Nigeria Industrial Revolution Plan to grow the non- oil sector. We should build on the strengths of Nigeria’s raw materials and large market, and minimize the weaknesses of policy inconsistency and weak infrastructure to grow the non- oil sector.”

Labour resistance: Comrade Aremu warned that “this drop in oil prices should not create additional problems for the over-burdened population.

In fact, the price of petrol must necessarily be reduced because the prices of imported oil depends on the prices of the crude. Labour will resist any attempt to pass the burden onto workers either through delayed payments of salaries or retrenchment. Government should cut huge overhead costs of office holders of both the executives and the National Assembly.

I agree with the Minister of Finance that Nigerian economy is still stable even at $80 dollars per barrel. But in the long run that stability is the stability of the grave yard. Nigeria cannot be said to be stable until we see practical results of the transformation of the economy from oil dependency to resource value addition and manufacturing value added in particular.

“This then raises the issue of transformation which President Jonathan promises. This administration will be better assessed in terms of promised transformation agenda dealing with power supply, agriculture and beneficiation in the extractive industries such as oil and gas.

With wholesale importation of tooth picks to petroleum products, textiles to furniture, it’s certainly not yet a transformed Nigerian economy.”

Need for industrialisation

For NUTGTWN’s General Secretary, “Industrialization assumes a special importance in development given its importance in transformation of the economy through production of goods and services, employment generation and poverty eradication.

Industrialization is at the heart of development discourse.

If goods produced are not broadly distributed among the population, we can only talk of economic growth. However if the goods meet basic human needs of a large percentage of the population, industrial growth can then be said to be accompanied by development.

The advantages of industrialization include lessening of dependency on imports, employment creation and saving scarce foreign exchange.”

National industrial revolution plan

While expressing the union’s support for government initiatives on National Industrial Revolution Plan, NIRP, he said “the latest automotive policy must lead to revival of the automobile industry.

Also intervention funds on textile is commendable. However, key problems facing manufacturing sector in Nigeria particularly the textile industry include; infrastructural inadequacy, raw materials, electricity supply, smuggling, counterfeiting and faking among others which need to be urgently addressed by the government.”

Commend Dangote: “This is why we supported the move by Dangote Group to re-industrialise Africa through an unprecedented investment of $9 billion in an oil refinery and petrochemical complex in the country, stating that its job creation potential is very gratifying.

The refinery, located at the Olokola Liquefied Natural Gas, OK-LNG Free Trade Zone in Nigeria, will be Nigeria’s first private and Africa’s largest petroleum refinery, with a projected daily production output of 400,000 barrels a day.

This patriotic investment is made possible because of Federal Government’s efforts at promoting backward integration policy. Africa is a resource-rich continent, yet it has low levels of industrialisation, with materials being exported in its raw form.

“It is commendable that Dangote Group is changing the narrative of the continent from that of ‘resource curse’ to resource beneficiation, value addition and mass employment through industrialisation and internal articulation of African economy.

Industrialisation is it for Nigeria if it must be part of the leading economies of the world, to get millions of youth to work out of violence and crime and above all out of poverty.’

Performance of textile industry: “The government had talked about a new textile policy in February 2013, however there has been no progress. Unless effective steps are taken by the government to revive the industry, gains achieved in 2010 will be lost and result in job losses, thus aggravating the unemployment. Smuggled products occupy over 90% of the market.