Federal and States Government of Nigeria has been urged to discontinue her ‘usual’ practice of freighting printing jobs to more developed nations of the world if it is serious with her numerous promises of plans to reborn the country from her economy collapse.
The call is coming on the heels of the recently unveiled ‘Change Begins With Me’ by President Muhammadu Buhari with a sole intent of remaking the Nigerian brand and restructuring the Nigerian mindset towards patronizing locals in all of their desires and needs.
Speaking in Lagos recently, Mr. Gbemi Malomo, Managing Director of PrintEquip, a digital machines sales outlet in the heart of Lagos said a government that undermines the potentials of the printing sector is certainly not going to make it in terms of sound economy and good revenue generation as printing trade itself provides the necessary platforms for education, effective and most formal means of communication as well as for archives, creates undeniable job opportunities that accommodates both the old and young among others.
“If today we do not have to print our security material abroad; we do not have to print our educational material abroad, even in the face of importation of almost all materials including printing papers, I am very sure that the immediate response will be that naira to dollar exchange rate will fall even beyond our imagination. How can you talk of creating employment opportunities when the available platforms only suffer frustrations from the powers that be? And our leaders continue to encourage the situation by playing along with those taking our money to foreign countries to grow their revenue in the name of seeking quality printing services in those countries? It is not only unjustifiable as Nigeria today boasts of quality manpower and machines, it is also a show of inconsideration and abandonment of industry practitioners”.
“So there is need for us to call up a government, if they are serious with creating employment opportunities and bringing back our economic life to as a matter of urgency, to focus their possibility searchlight to this sector and be very critical about it. Printing sector in this country is highly untapped, yet our population grows by each passing day. We must educate our children. Offices and other formal environment send mails and memos. Every day, we have reasons to use ink and paper. So, it is common sense to say that once the available ones get exhausted, it should be replaced and as such, job is created and the beneficiary in turn pays his or her tax. That is revenue”, he added.
