Oba Abdulrasheed Adewale Akanbi, the Oluwo of Iwo land, has posited that the Federal Government needs to place a ban on Jeans and other foreign fabrics in order to promote local fabrics to boost the economy.
The Oluwo made this call in a statement by his press secretary, Alli Ibraheem. The Oluwo said: ‘I want to task the federal government to outrightly ban the importation of foreign jeans into Nigeria and promote local jeans made of Ofi to aid job opportunities and advantages.
‘It is about using our own fabrics to make western clothes which our kids like. You must think like the children and the youths if you want to influence them in any way.
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The Oluwo lamented the undue influence of cultural imperialism and the infiltration of religion into the nation’s cultural values, especially the Yoruba people.
The monarch noted that traditional rulers have a role to play in this regard. He also said he had discussed partnership with the Bank of Industry (BOI) all to no avail as he expressed hope in Federal Government’s involvement towards domesticating jean production with ofi material.
Oba Akanbi explained that the youths and teenagers could not be forced to start wearing Aso Oke except the fabric was sewn to suit their needs.
The monarch, who has had the fabrics sewn into different trendy styles for males and females, said he would partner celebrities, especially the Nigerian government to sew new styles and gain acceptance of local fabrics among youths.
Seunmanuel Faleye is a brand and communications strategist. He is a covert writer and an overt creative head. He publishes Apple’s Bite International Magazine.
