Ibifiri Bobmanuel, President of REIF, addressing the leather and textile works leaders in Ariaria, Aba
Plans have been concluded between an investors’ forum headquartered in Port Harcourt (Rivers State) and leather and textile works groups in Aba (Abia State), estimated at over 700,000 to create global standards in their products so they can compete with the best hubs around the world.
At the moment, it has been confirmed that products made by these craftsmen and entrepreneurs in Aba find their ways in some of the biggest markets in the world but they are tagged and branded with other famous makers in other cities such as Italy.
Now, the Port Harcourt group and the Aba makers concluded a meeting at the weekend to collaborate and share tasks. The Port Harcourt group known as the Rivers Entrepreneurs and Investors Forum (REIF) would handle the importation of globally standardized leathers textile (raw materials) and also help create the standards while the Aba craftsmen would produce correctly. REIF could also help find the markets around the world while some groups would handle exportation.
This is the outcome of the meeting between the delegation led by Ibifiri A.C Bobmanuel, President of REIF, and the hub leaders of the their affiliates known as Leather Products Manufacturers Association of Abia State (LEPMAAS), and Association of Tailors and Fashion Designers Inc (ATFAD INC) in Aba for what is termed a game-changing investment partnership that would redefine the Ariaria Aba hubs of over 700,000 entrepreneurs.
Addressing over 100 leaders of the hubs, Bobmanuel said there is need for both parties to come together and see how to work. “REIF is 100% not-for-profit organization. We are not funded by government. We contribute our funds and see how we can support hubs that do business.
“It’s to know what raw materials you people work with. We set up committee to manage the raw materials. What is happening now around the world is business-to-business (B2B). This is better because government people hardly understand our language. There is need for sincerity and we see how we work collectively.”
Read also: SON sensitises leather manufacturers in Aba on standardisation of products
He told them that the biggest companies involved in leatherworks usually embarked on outsourcing based on agreed quality. “That is why we are here.”
Explaining details later to BusinessDay, Bobmanuel who is the CEO of Bobtrack Tractors, told BusinessDay that REIF intends to import the right raw materials into the country and provide the leatherworks and textile experts in Aba with basic but structured guidelines for them to work with.
He said the raw materials would be supplied to the craftsmen at lower prices to enable the Aba group to build up capital.
He said most Nigerians who travel round the world run into high quality products made in Aba but would be shocked to find that the source of the products would be tagged foreign sources because of lack of faith in Made in Aba. He said REIF is out to beef up the pride of Aba through boosting the qualities, finesse and packaging.
Bobmanuel, who has often videoed some of such Nigerian products found abroad and sent to some television stations back home who have often proudly aired them, said it is time to promote the products and give them their original identity.
He said Nigeria still has huge potentials because some clothes sold for about $100 in Nigeria are being sold over $1000 in shops abroad. “What else does a government need to do than encourage such businesses that can instantly create wealth. In doing that alone, you could make one million entrepreneurs in one product in one state.”
He said the present visit was about the 4th time they have invited him as a guest in that market (Ariaria). “In all of that, I could see the vision and potentials there. Not just for the sellers or crafters but I see it more in the people that go there, buy them and export them. All around Africa, you will see products from Ariaria Market. But we own this market and we do not celebrate it and expose it.”
He also gave hints of likely trade fair to take place to unveil Aba power to the world. He mentioned what happened 12 years ago that shocked some foreigners. “As way back as 12 years ago that I was invited by the Ariaria Traders Association, I had two August visitors with me on that trip. They happened to be the British Ambassador to Nigeria and ECOWAS and the EU Ambassador to Nigeria that accompanied us (REIF) there. What they saw there left them with a different impression about, not just Aba and Nigeria, but about Africa and the potentials that are locked in Africa.
“So, we are trying to make that reality happen. We hope that in a short while we begin to reap the fruits of this enhancement discussion.”
Responding at the Ariaria meeting, Confidence Nwaobilo, president of the LEDMAAS, said the two groups would review the committee they had set up sometime in the past so as to do these businesses comfortably. The committee would serve as a special purpose vehicle (SPV) to handle the business transaction between the traders and REIF.
He said: “Any business we are going to do with REIF shall be open and transparent. On the raw materials we may need, we will look out for samples and some business opportunities. We will see how to engage in finished products for export. Our major problem is how to get raw materials and how to do export.
“So, we see two-way business in this programme: importation of raw materials, and export of finished products. We expect REIF President to tell us exactly what we should do and what they will do.”
Supporting the move, O.C Williams; President Emeritus of LEPMAAS, said it’s up to REIF experts to now look at materials Aba needed and decide the ones they would import and supply with maximum ease.
More meeting may have to hold to work out modalities and takeoff of the deal. The outcome would be an era where products made in Aba would compete most favourably with those with some of the biggest leather and textile cities in the world. It could be on this basis that the export window given to Nigeria and Africa by the US may find expression. Others also say this may be one of the biggest boosts to Nigeria’s power in the fast-approaching African Continental Free Trade Act (AfCFTA) era.
