By Abbanobi -Eku Onyeka
The Senate has urged the Federal Government to take immediate steps to revive Nigeria’s textile industry, with particular attention to the once-thriving Kaduna-Kano axis, following a motion sponsored by Senator Katung Sanday Marshall of Kaduna South and co-sponsored by five other lawmakers.
Moving the motion, Senator Marshall recalled that Nigeria’s first large textile mill was established in Kaduna in 1957 and later replicated across the regions, fueling rapid growth in the sector. By the late 1970s and 1980s, the country had 167 textile mills providing over 500,000 direct jobs and making textiles the second-largest employer after the Federal Government.
Kaduna, he noted, was widely regarded as the “Textile City,” hosting integrated mills and the headquarters of the Nigerian Textile Manufacturers Association, with about 11 companies operating at optimal capacity. Firms such as Arewa Textiles, Finetex Nigeria, and United Nigeria Textiles offered employment and business opportunities to thousands of residents at the time.
The Senate expressed regret that by 1997, major plants including KTL, Arewa Textiles, and UNIT were barely functioning due to obsolete equipment, lack of capital, and irregular power supply. By 2007, all had shut down, leaving more than 2,000 workers jobless and once-vibrant industrial complexes in ruins.
Lawmakers lamented that 65 years after its textile boom, the sector had become the weakest segment of Nigeria’s industrial economy, with no new investments and heavy reliance on imports to meet over 40 per cent of domestic demand. At its peak, the industry generated about $2 billion annually and was Africa’s third largest, producing more than 1.4 billion textile items yearly.
They also raised concern over the influx of foreign textiles following the lifting of the import ban in 2010, noting that nearly 50 per cent of Nigeria’s textiles now come from China, Indonesia, Taiwan, and other countries. This trend, they said, undermines job creation and deprives the economy of much-needed foreign exchange.
In its resolutions, the Senate called on the Federal Government, the Ministry of Agriculture, and the Ministry of Trade and Investment to prioritize the revival of textile production in Kaduna, Kano, and nationwide. It stressed that a revitalized industry would create jobs, reduce youth restiveness, and address attendant insecurity.
