Wear Nigerian fabrics, eat local food, Soludo urges citizens

File: Governor Charles Soludo of Anambra State

Anambra State Governor, Charles Soludo, on Thursday challenged Nigerians to adopt a culture of economic patriotism and buy, wear and eat Nigerian-made products.

Soludo said this is a faster route to industrialisation and job creation than any government policy alone could achieve.

Soludo spoke as keynote speaker at the presentation of the book ‘Economic Diversification and Structural Transformation in Nigeria: Past, Present, Future,’ written by Abdulmumin Jibrin, at the State House Conference Centre, Presidential Villa, Abuja.

President Bola Tinubu, who wrote the book’s foreword, was the special guest of honour, while BUA Group Chairman, Abdulsamad Rabiu, presented the book as Dr Reuben Abati served as reviewer.

The former Central Bank governor, who appeared in traditional Akwete fabric, argued that development was fundamentally a matter of attitude and self-belief.

He noted that individual consumer choices, multiplied across Nigeria’s population of over 200 million, could transform the country’s economic landscape more decisively than structural reforms alone.

Soludo said, “Imagine for a moment if all Nigerians only eat and wear made in Nigeria.

“Imagine the millions of jobs and the FDI that will relocate to exploit the Nigerian market.”

Soludo said he had been wearing Akwete fabric as his daily uniform since his daughter introduced him to it in 2020 and disclosed that the First Lady of Nigeria, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, had announced she would wear the fabric at President Tinubu’s second-term inauguration on May 29 next year.

“Since my daughter introduced me to Akwete in 2020, it has been my daily uniform, and I thank the First Lady of Nigeria who has announced that she will wear it for the second term inauguration on May 29 next year,” he said, adding that the eagle symbol on his attire was Nigeria’s own coat of arms.

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“So I carry my own Nigeria on my head every day,” he added.

The former CBN chief said the practice extended to his administration in Anambra.

He stated, “At the Governor’s Lodge in Awka, we only offer made-in-Nigeria food and drinks, except on exceedingly rare occasions.

“If you come to Anambra, we offer you wine, not champagne.”

He called for a national campaign to mainstream Nigerian pride in consumption habits, specifically proposing that Nigerian fabrics be made mandatory at all official events.

“Wear only Nigerian fabrics at all official events, and later then every day, and all the fabric-making companies in the world will start flooding to Nigeria,” he said.

Soludo urged Nigerians to look inward rather than blame external forces for the country’s economic challenges.

He added, “Let us point the fingers at ourselves for once, rather than at them. What are you doing every day to create jobs, reduce poverty, improve diversification and transformation? Simple habits and preferences add up.”

He said development was not primarily a technical or institutional challenge but one of consciousness.

“Development is attitude; it is self-belief. Nothing ever got built or sustained without the team or society believing in themselves or a national consciousness,” he argued, adding, “I am Nigerian. I am proud. I wear made in Nigeria.”