The Retail Leaders Conference: Waheed Olugunju urge Nigerians to buy made-in-Nigeria goods

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The Executive Director, Small and Medium Enterprises, Bank of Industry (BOI), Mr. Waheed Olagunju has urged Nigerians to always patronize Made-In-Nigeria goods in order to boost the retail industry.
This was made known recently at the Retail Leaders Conference held in Lagos with the theme ‘The Future of Retail In Nigeria: Innovate or Perish’organized by Bervidson Retail Group.
He revealed that manufacturers cannot survive without retailers.
Olagunju noted that no country in the world is as blessed as Nigeria adding that Nigeria has more agricultural prospect than oil and Nigerians need to add value to agriculture.
The BOI Executive Director who was speaking on the topic ‘Buy Made-In-Nigeria Goods Promotion – Creating Innovative Synergy between Manufacturing and Retail’ disclosed that Nigeria has what it takes to feed her citizens but have not been able to do so. He, therefore, advocated that Nigeria need to add value to natural resources.
“We’ve not been able to achieve food security, we need to add value to agriculture. We’ve not been able to feed ourselves. We have what it takes to feed ourselves,” he said.
Olagunju further stated that the production circle is not complete without getting to the final consumer, noting that most manufacturing companies have become innovative that they now get involved/monitor how their goods get to the final consumer.
He further revealed that raw cassava is more expensive in Nigeria today than China, noting that the more retailers are able to sell, the more they can buy.
He also classified Nigeria economy into Primary, Secondary and Tertiary, stating that primary production involves Agriculture, Solid Minerals, and Others while Secondary production entails manufacturing and processing, and Tertiary include retailing and servicing.