- Oshiomhole urged President Tinubu to ban foreign uniforms for the Nigerian Armed Forces and promote the use of locally made textiles.
- He warned that dependence on imported fabrics has crippled the country’s textile industry and led to mass unemployment.
- The former Edo governor praised Tinubu’s reforms and called for policies that protect local manufacturers.
- He emphasized that reviving Nigeria’s textile sector could create millions of jobs and restore industrial growth.
Speaking at the 37th Annual National Education Conference of the National Union of Textile, Garment and Tailoring Workers of Nigeria (NUTGTWN) in Kaduna, Oshiomhole criticized the continued use of imported fabrics by government institutions. He described it as a major obstacle to industrial development and job creation.
“If we wear what we produce and produce what we wear, we can employ 20 million Nigerians,” he said, drawing loud applause from thousands of textile workers at the event themed “Industry, Labour and National Development.”
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During the conference, the union’s five-storey headquarters, formerly known as the Textile Labour House was renamed Adams Oshiomhole Textile Labour House in his honour, recognizing his service as Secretary-General of the union over four decades ago.
The former Edo State governor urged President Tinubu to take decisive action, stating, “As Commander-in-Chief, the President should direct that the Nigerian Army, Navy, and Air Force wear only uniforms produced and sewn in Nigeria.”
He recalled the golden era when Kaduna’s textile factories employed over 27,000 workers running three shifts daily. According to him, reckless government policies and unregulated trade liberalization destroyed what was once one of Africa’s leading industrial hubs.
“Those factories didn’t die naturally, they were killed by bad policies,” he said. “When we joined the World Trade Organization, we lost our ability to protect local industries and jobs.”
Oshiomhole praised the foresight of the late Premier of Northern Nigeria, Sir Ahmadu Bello, who established the Kaduna Textile Mills in the 1950s. He said that initiative gave workers dignity and reduced Nigeria’s reliance on imported goods.
“Our leaders back then understood it was foolish to export cotton and import clothes. That vision created jobs, dignity, and prosperity,” he added.
The senator also linked Nigeria’s growing insecurity to unemployment, saying that the collapse of industries had left millions of youths idle. “When people had jobs, nobody cared about religion or tribe. Today, we have produced anger instead of cotton,” he lamented.
While commending President Tinubu’s foreign exchange reforms, Oshiomhole said they had disrupted the activities of “emergency billionaires” who exploited currency loopholes. “Before Tinubu, some people made billions just by making phone calls. Now, those distortions are being corrected,” he said.
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He urged Nigerian workers to stay committed to the fight for fair pay and decent working conditions, insisting that “the true duty of government is the welfare of its citizens, not the profits of businesses.”
Reaffirming his lifelong loyalty to the labour movement, Oshiomhole declared, “I remain a labour man for life. From age 18, I’ve known no other calling. I will keep fighting until Nigeria returns to the path of production, not importation.”
