More than 50,000 manufacturers of shoes and fabrics, contributing to employment and the gross development of Abia State and Nigeria, are based in Aba, Abia State. But many of them are not competitive in the global market owing to issues around absence of quality machines, infrastructure, 21st skills, cheap, adequate and long-terms funding.
Despite producing one million pairs each week, the industry is barely N120 billion—but should be bigger.
It is made up of clusters such as Powerline, Imo Avenue, Bakassi,Aba North Shoe Plaza, Omemma Traders and Workers, ATE Bag, and Ochendo IndustrialMarket, comprising input suppliers, among others. However, it is in thriving in chaos as the majority of shoe makers in the industrial city are poorly structured, making scale-up difficult.
Analysts say the Aba industry needs to have good machines.
“This is where the problem lies. We in Aba have no good machines,” Ken Anyanwu, secretary ofthe Association of Leather and Allied Industrialists of Nigeria (ALAN), whoproduced Nigerian armed forces shoes in 2016.
He said lack of good machinery remained one reason the majority of Aba shoe makers were not meeting demands while overworking themselves.
“It is a problem already for us because if a customer comes and we can’t meet demand, he will go elsewhere. The industry needs retooling,” he said.
Nigeria and Ethiopia have things in common in terms of leather. Ethiopia is home to 56 millioncattle, which provide ready raw materials to shoe makers. But Nigeria has 131million cattle, goats and sheep, according to the Federal Ministry ofAgriculture (2011 figures), with more shoe makers. The country is the second most populous (with 105 million people) after Nigeria with almost 200 million people.
Nevertheless, Aba shoemakers scramble for raw materials from China and many parts of Africa and Europe.
“What happens is thatthe tanneries in Kano and Kaduna process animal skins and sell them as leatherin the global market, earning foreign exchange,” said Chinatu Nwagbara,coordinator of Made-in-Aba Project, who produced shoes for Olusegun Obasanjo in2016.“So we go to China and other countries to buy. Sometimes, we buy our products and re-import,” he said.
