Export Institute Raises Alarm Over Foreign Dominance In Villages To Source For Raw Materials

The Institute of Export of Nigeria (IOEN) has decried foreign dominance in towns and villages across the nation in search for raw materials and other exportable items at cheaper cost.

The institute lamented that Nigeria commodities are of high quality worldwide but the foreigners have capitalized on the ignorance of local farmers and merchants by taking the advantage to pay peanuts in return of the raw materials.

Apparently worried about what the country is losing in furtherance for government to beam its searchlight and regulate the sector effectively, IOEN kicked against foreign participation in Nigeria’s  raw materials exploitation without due diligence.

Speaking at the recently held 11th Induction and Award Ceremony put together by the Institute of Export of Nigeria (IOEN), Deacon Friday I. Uba, said Nigerians need not to be poor with the availability of exportable commodities abundantly available adding that the natural resources the country is endowed with are been tapped by foreigners.

He reiterated that the cost of most of these quality products are very high in the world market but are tapped cheaply here by the foreigners.

Uba who delivered the award lecture on the topic “Tapping into the Emerging Opportunities in Nigeria’s Non-Oil Sector”, pointed out that “These foreigners are in towns and villages paying token as royalty while the country is loosing a lot of amount in most of these transactions. ”

In his welcome address, Registrar of the Institute of Export of Nigeria, Elder Samuel Adebayo Adenuga, also confirmed that “Nigerians need not be poor, since our leaves and grasses remain green but depending on crude oil export alone brought the set back, resulting into mono-economic nature of the country.

“The present Uni-federal system of government been practice, is also not helping matter. Why should the States be going to Abuja for allocation?

“Why are the States not making use of the resources in their State and pay certain percentage to the federal, this calls for concern?

Speaking further, the Registrar stressed that before the advent of the crude oil at Oloibiri, most of the development in the Western region were achieved through commodity export by Chief Obafemi Awolowo.

According to him, Awolowo used the proceed to develop the western region educationally, economically and socially.

He lamented that export required practical investment which Nigerians and the government are not investing on, stressing that they’re no new plantations; saying that most of the trees are old, therefore less productivity.

“Secondly, the farms for export produce and location for natural resources are too open to the foreigners.

He recalled that in the past government registered BUYING AGENTS, who buy from the farmers and grade the produce.

“They also see to it that the commodities are well dried before selling to the buyer, who now arrange it for export.

“Hence, that great opportunity found today that favour the foreigners was removed because they now enter farms and deal directly with farmers, he noted .