Senator Adams Oshiomhole has urged President Bola Tinubu to lead a patriotic turnaround in the nation’s industrial policy by directing the military and all paramilitary agencies to wear uniforms produced locally rather than imported from abroad.
The former Edo State governor made the call on Monday at the 37th Annual National Education Conference of the National Union of Textile, Garment and Tailoring Workers of Nigeria (NUTGTWN) in Kaduna.
Decrying what he described as the government’s “reckless encouragement” of foreign fabric importation, Oshiomhole said it was undermining Nigeria’s job creation and industrial revival efforts.
“If we wear what we produce and produce what we wear, we can employ 20 million Nigerians,” he said. “That is the real meaning of putting Nigeria first.”
The conference, themed “Industry, Labour and National Development,” attracted labour leaders, policymakers, and stakeholders from across the country.
In a moment filled with nostalgia and recognition, the union renamed its five-storey headquarters in Kaduna, formerly the Textile Labour House, to Adams Oshiomhole Textile Labour House, in honour of the senator who served as its Secretary-General nearly four decades ago.
Addressing the gathering, Oshiomhole challenged the President to move beyond rhetoric and take concrete steps to support local manufacturers. “As Commander-in-Chief, the President should direct that the Nigerian Army, Navy and Air Force wear only uniforms produced and sewn in Nigeria,” he declared, drawing thunderous applause from thousands of textile workers.
Recalling the golden years of Kaduna’s textile industry, Oshiomhole lamented how “reckless government policies” and unchecked trade liberalization destroyed a sector that once employed over 27,000 workers operating three shifts daily.
“Those factories didn’t die of old age; they were murdered by bad policies,” he said. “When we joined the World Trade Organization, we surrendered our right to protect our industries and jobs.”
The senator praised the vision of the late Premier of Northern Nigeria, Sir Ahmadu Bello, for establishing Kaduna Textile Mills in the 1950s, saying the initiative created jobs, built communities, and gave dignity to Nigerian workers.
“Our leaders then knew it made no sense to export cotton and import clothes. That vision created jobs and built communities,” he said.
Oshiomhole warned that the collapse of industries had fueled insecurity and division across the country. “When people had jobs, nobody cared about religion. Today, with factories shut and millions idle, we have produced anger, not cotton,” he noted.
Applauding President Tinubu’s foreign exchange reforms, he said the policies had dismantled the network of “emergency billionaires” who exploited currency arbitrage to enrich themselves at the expense of genuine production.
“Before Tinubu, people made money without effort—just with a phone call. Now, those distortions are being corrected,” he said.
He urged workers to stay committed to the struggle for decent work and fair pay, emphasizing that labour activism remains a noble and patriotic cause.
“Don’t ever apologize for fighting for dignity. The primary purpose of government is the welfare of citizens, not the profit of business,” he stated.
Reaffirming his bond with the labour movement, Oshiomhole declared: “I remain a labour man for life. From age 18, I’ve known no other calling. I will keep fighting until Nigeria returns to the path of production, not importation.”
