Abia State Polytechnic, Aba, through its entrepreneurial educational development unit, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with artisans in the Aba finished leather and garment clusters, to sharpen their entrepreneurial skills.
The MoU will also enable the artisans, comprising tailors, shoes, belt, bag and trunk box makers to standardise their products.
The three months course, which will cover quality control, record keeping, business management and entrepreneurial development, is structured to enable the operators improve their skills to compete favourably in the market.
Recall that Ezionye Eboh, a professor and acting rector of the institution in December 2017, set up a four-man committee headed by Amos Alozie, the deputy rector, to draft the MoU between the institution and the clusters.
The Abia State Polytechnic rector said it was necessary for the institution to empower clusters in Aba, especially the finished leather cluster.
According to Eboh, “They have up to 80,000 persons in the cluster, and shoemakers constitute about 30,000 of that number.
“Abia State Polytechnic is the only institution in this State that has the technological expertise to drive the industrialisation of the State. You know what Aba represents and there is no need for us to continue to play to the gallery, we must live up to expectation.
“If we have such a cluster that has close to 100,000 people engaged in production, without us contributing our efforts to ensure that the artisans carry out their trade within the context of best business practices, then we are not doing well as an institution.”
He explained that partnership wa a synergy that should work, as it was in line with the vision of the new administration in Abia.
“More than ever before, I have never seen an administration that is interested in promoting Made-in-Aba goods, which within a space of two years, has taken the name of Aba beyond Nigeria,” he said.
He explained that the programme aims at breaking the psychological factor of some Nigerians that see locally made products as inferior to imported products.
He stated that Made-in-Nigeria products are not truly inferior, but observed that some Nigerians do not believe that a good product can come out of the country.
To break that psychological barrier, the Rector, said that the institution would give the participants certificates and expressed joy to be part of the discussion.
“There is nothing that emboldens someone like having a certificate. And so, I welcome all of you, we are ready to partner with you. It is a partnership that will work.
Kalu Fijo (snr), director, Entrepreneurial Education Department, Abia State Polytechnic, Aba, explained, “The institution wants to empower operators of Aba finished leather cluster, by giving them special training.”
According to Fijo, “Some of them did not go beyond Senior Secondary School level (SSS), while some are not educated at all and so, we want to teach them the rudiments of managing an enterprise from the scratch to maturity.”
He explained that the programme would enable the institution to impact positively on its environment as well as create awareness for Made-in-Nigeria goods, which according to him, is the major thing.
Okechukwu Williams, president, LEPMAAS, in an interview with BusinessDay, expressed gratitude to the institution for accepting their proposal and hopped that the training would change the mindset of the artisans and local consumers.
“Like the Rector rightly observed, one of our major challenges, is lack of confidence and that is why most of us emboss foreign labels on their products.
“We need this programme to change that perception that our products are inferior to foreign made ones. We have the skill and the manpower to provide footwear and other leather product needs of Nigerians, consequently, this capacity building programme, would further boost our activities, “he said.
For Onyebuchi Nwaigwe, chairman, Association of Tailors and Fashion Designers of Abia State (ATFAD), the training will sharpen the skills of tailors in Aba, as well as expose them to modern technology.
