Poor facilities threaten trade with Nigeria, says envoy

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FAILURE by the Federal Government to create a more conducive environment that will enable manufacturers improve the quality of their goods may cost the country patronage of the United States, particularly in the non-oil sector. Sounding a note of warning at the weekend, the United States Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr

By Roseline Okere for Independent Newspaper

Sounding a note of warning at the weekend, the United States Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. John Campbell, said in Lagos during the Nigerian-American Businessmen's Day that his country may soon halt investments in the Nigerian non-oil sector if the Federal Government fails to address the various challenges facing manufacturers, which in turn affect the products in both domestic and international markets.

Campbell listed the challenges as including non-functional infrastructure facilities, inconsistent trade policy and inadequate enforcement of law.

The U.S. ambassador insisted that unless the Nigeria government found lasting solutions to these challenges, multi-national firms in his country would not be willing to invest in the Nigerian non-oil sector as they might find it difficult competing with the challenges that might arise from the just introduced Common External Tariff (CET).

He expressed concern over the few American manufacturing firms operating outside the petroleum industry and doubted whether any other would join the Nigerian market, if all the numerous challenges facing the manufacturing industries persist.

He frowned at a situation whereby a manufacturing firm in Nigeria operates virtually on privately generated power and wondered how such company would be able to compete with firms in other countries that spend less on power generation.

"We have seen factories operating with one or two generators. There is even one that I visited, that has 17 generators, which must be supplied with imported diesel and spare parts. Some manufacturers, not aware of the requirements of their manufacturing equipment and have tried to operate mainly on public power, have destroyed their equipment. Some companies even spend more than 10 per cent of their operating cost on power generation alone," Campbell decried.

He also frowned at the government's inability to promote what he described as a prudent and consistently applied trade policy, which he noted, has prevented the entrance of new investors into the Nigeria manufacturing sector.

The ambassador stated that the current ban of over 40 products, including import of finished goods, have prevented some investors who may want to import a particular product to test the Nigerian market, while they upgrade their production capacity in Nigeria.

He added: "The recent take-off of Destination Inspection (DF) rather than pre-shipment inspection has seen some products refused entry, even after they had arrived."

Campbell lamented the inadequate enforcement of laws in Nigeria, which he noted, allowed influx of banned products into the country.

He said despite the ban on the importation of textile materials, the country was still awash with fake and counterfeited fabrics made in African-style wax with the name of popular Nigerian textile companies and selling at half the price of the genuine ones, thereby violating the trade marks and designs of Nigerian firms.

He added: "You can imagine the situation of textile manufacturers, who cannot import and add value to imported textile, only to find itself competing with an inferior and counterfeited version of its products."

"To compete at home and abroad", he stressed, "manufacturers based in Nigeria need functional infrastructure, as well as government policies that are formulated positively and consistently applied."

The U.S. ambassador, who urged captains of industries not to relent in pressurising the government to solve their various problems, also stressed on the need for a reinforcement of policies and redeployment of government personnel to try other areas in the country.