Nigeria's textile sector revival is stalling, two years after the federal government launched an ambitious plan to breathe new life into the industry. Imports have climbed to N814 billion, a figure that tells its own uncomfortable story about how much ground local manufacturers still have to cover.
The obstacles are familiar but no less stubborn. Poor infrastructure, rampant smuggling, and crushing energy costs continue to eat into the competitiveness of homegrown producers. These are not new complaints, yet the needle has barely moved since the revamp was announced.
The gap between policy ambition and factory-floor reality remains wide. While the government set out with clear intentions, the conditions that local textile businesses need to actually scale, reliable power, protected borders, and affordable operations, have not meaningfully improved.
With N814 billion flowing out to foreign suppliers, the question is no longer whether Nigeria has a textile problem. It is whether the will exists to fix it before another two years pass with the same headlines.
Originally published by BusinessDay.