The visiting director general of the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO), Dr. Kandel Yumkella, has confessed that deteriorated state of the nation's textile industry causes him to shed tears.
Yumkella, who made this disclosure in Abuja, particularly lamented that Nigeria was yet to take full advantage of its natural endowments.
Speaking at a media briefing, the UNIDO boss recalled his visits to Aba, the commercial town of Abia State, and went on to pass a vote of no confidence on successive Federal Governments for failing to sustain the nation's textile industry.
"Nigeria's textile industry is the second largest after that of Egypt," he began. "You produce the cotton, but you don't have the textile industries. Why? Nigeria is a prospective textile industry. It can draw from the examples of Egypt, and make the industry vibrant. You have the tailors, but there is no textile industry. I used to go to Aba in those good old days to admire the textile industry there. But all that has changed. I weep when I go there now. One wouldn't know the problem. Nigeria has natural competitive advantage, and it can be turned around to a competitive advantage. The country needs to diversify greatly. You need to shift attention from oil and gas," he advised.
On a candid assessment of the President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua-led government, Yumkella commended the Federal Government for its success in macro-economic stability.
"Your economy is stable. That has further heightened the confidence of investors in Nigeria. The current administration has managed the nation's economy well, and this has attracted a lot of foreign investors, who now want to invest in this great country. You have built significant foreign reserves, and this is very crucial. On macro stand point, you have done well. But, you need to evolve sound economic policies. Sound economic governance is very important, and emphasis should be on that. Attention needs to go to trade and higher value products," he noted.
Yumkell, who spoke further on development industrialisation, noted that the only key to success in that regard is to set up the required infrastructure.
According to Yumkell, who observed that infrastructure opens the economy of any nation, "Nigeria can achieve it".
