The N2 billion intervention announced by Oluremi Tinubu Nigeria’s First Lady for the Akwete Weaving Centre in Abia State could become a catalyst for the revival of Nigeria’s once-thriving textile industry if accompanied by sustained policy reforms and institutional support, Omowumi Adesuyi, founder and chief executive officer of Naija Fabric Hub said.
In a commentary released following the First Lady’s visit to the historic weaving community, Adesuyi described the intervention as a significant first step towards preserving one of Nigeria’s oldest indigenous textile traditions while creating new opportunities for local manufacturing, employment and exports.
He, however, cautioned that the funding alone would not reverse decades of decline in the country’s textile industry without complementary investments in production, market access, intellectual property protection and local content policies, noting that the intervention represented an important commitment to safeguarding Nigeria’s cultural and industrial heritage.
“When the First Lady stood in Akwete and announced N2 billion for the town’s weaving centre, she recognised that the craft is a sacred tradition that should not be desecrated,” Adesuyi said
