Against the backdrop of federal authorities appealing to Nigerians to patronise made in Nigeria goods, a cross section of people spoken to by our correspondent over the weekend has given reasons for the development.
According to Comrade Okukwudi Worlu, “the simple reason is that Nigerians go crazy about foreign goods.”
Comrade Chukwudi, a fashion designer said that even those in power, when they are sick instead of going to our own hospitals and clinics around, love fravelling abroad, while we have qualified medical practitioners that can as well treat us.
He opined that it has been our culture to place high value on imported goods than those we manufacture locally.
On the issue of durability and quality, he said some Nigerians who like getting rich over night use substandard materials in manufacturing goods even as he called for proper regulation in the production process as it is done elsewhere.
For Ernest Emelezi, a computer analyst, foreign products have quality and durability than made in Nigeria goods.
According to Emelezi, Nigerian manufacturers have not attained the level of quality that foreign goods have.
“Untill when Nigerian goods attain quality then we can also patronise them,” he said.
Ranging from shoes to dresses foreign goods have durability and quality.
No body would like to sink his money for what they cannot use for a long time.
Joyce Harcourd, a house wife, who described made in Nigeria matches as a “house wife’s night mare” said she could not understand how a box of matches that has the name of a regulatory body stamped on it does not ignite.
According to her, any time she shops for matches she goes for the foreign ones from other African countries.
However for Idorenyen Obu, most of the foreign goods were second hand, especially clothings.
He advised Nigerians to shun such items because no one knows the condition of the last user.
“There are wars here and there and people can even remove dresses from a corps and sell,” he said.
