Senator Adams Oshiomhole has issued a direct challenge to President Bola Tinubu, calling on him to translate his "Nigeria First" policy into concrete action by directing the Nigerian Armed Forces to cease wearing foreign-made uniforms and instead exclusively patronize locally produced textiles.
The Senator, a prominent figure in the National Assembly, framed the request not just as a call for economic self-sufficiency, but as a vital step for national development and employment. He challenged both the government and the citizens, stating: “If we wear what we produce and produce what we wear, we can employ 20 million Nigerians. That is the real meaning of putting Nigeria first.”
Delivering this message on Monday, October 27, 2025, in Kaduna, Senator Oshiomhole spoke at the 37th Annual National Education Conference of the National Union of Textile, Garment and Tailoring Workers of Nigeria (NUTGTWN). The conference, centered on the theme “Industry, labour and national development,” brought together union leaders, policymakers, industry experts, and stakeholders from across the country for discussions on reviving critical sectors. Oshiomhole emphasized that such a directive from the President would serve as a powerful catalyst to revive Nigeria’s ailing textile industry, which has faced steep decline, and create millions of much-needed jobs, fostering sustainable economic growth.
Significantly, the event in Kaduna marked a personal milestone for Senator Oshiomhole. The five-storey building housing the headquarters of the NUTGTWN Secretariat was renamed in his honour. The secretariat, a structure built about 40 years ago when Oshiomhole himself served as the Secretary General of the union, was previously known as Textile Labour House. It is now officially designated as the Adams Oshiomhole Textile Labour House, a testament to his long-standing commitment to the textile workers' cause and the industry itself.
Building on this legacy, the former Edo State governor and ex-President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) urged President Tinubu to move beyond policy speeches and rhetoric, advocating for practical, decisive actions to support Nigerian 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,” Oshiomhole declared, drawing thunderous applause from the audience. He stressed the difference between lip service and genuine leadership: “That is how to put Nigeria first in action, not just in words.”
To underscore the potential and the past glory of the Nigerian textile industry, Oshiomhole recalled a bygone era. He spoke of a time when Kaduna alone employed a staggering 27,000 textile workers, operating factories that ran three shifts around the clock. However, he lamented that this vibrant industrial sector, once a cornerstone of Africa's textile industry, was not destroyed by natural decay but by "reckless government policies" and unguarded trade liberalisation. "Those factories didn’t die of old age; they were murdered by bad policies," he powerfully stated. He specifically pointed to the period following Nigeria's integration into the World Trade Organization (WTO), arguing that the country "surrendered our right to protect our industries and jobs" without putting in place adequate safeguards to cushion the impact on local businesses. His words served as a stark warning and a call for policy reversal to breathe new life into Nigeria's industrial base.
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