First-class monarch and the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, has urged the Federal Government to intensify its patronage of local manufacturers as a deliberate means of growing the economy.
Ooni decried the government’s usage of the dollar as a means of benchmarking the economy, saying it was time for the government to be serious about building a productive economy.
The naira exchanged at N1195/$1 at the parallel market, on Friday, according to Bureau de Change operators.
A statement said while speaking with journalists at his palace in Ile-Ife in commemoration of his eighth anniversary of ascending the Ooni throne, he said the country’s political leaders must begin to patronise local industry in every sector, to generate employment for the populace.
According to him, it was time the leaders ensured that 70 per cent of products they used or consumed were made locally.
He said, “Their fleet of cars should be made up of the likes of Innoson vehicles. Our leaders should lead by example. They should make it a policy for foreign companies to produce 70 per cent of their products in Nigeria or they cannot get contracts in the country.
“Lawmakers and the executive should start using local products. I am a good example of a local content user; my attire is 75 per cent made in Nigeria. How many of our leaders wear made-in-Nigeria products?
“How many of their cars are made or assembled in Nigeria? My cap is made in Ife, Osun State; my overall was made in Iseyin, Oyo State; my beads are made in Edo and Ife; my shoes are made in Aba, Abia State; and my clothing is made in Kano State.”
He added, “Our lawmakers should start wearing clothes made in Nigeria to build the economy and stop using the dollar as the benchmark for everything; that is the best way to reduce the dollar pressure on our economy; that is the way to provide jobs for the youths and make our economy very productive and vibrant.”
