Prevailing reality in the global economic sphere indicates that Nigeria has continued to experience diminishing capability to generate foreign exchange from the exportation of leather products.
According to Experts, Nigeria is at the moment losing a big chunk of revenue from it share in the global leather market which currently stood at over $72 billion United States Dollar.
Increase in disposable income is said to be fuelling the international demand for high quality leather shoes, jackets, handbags and upholstery that are manufactured from the by-products of Hides and Skins (leather) of which Nigeria is one of the dominant suppliers to the global market.
The global market is growing at 3 percent per annum, while, the Nigeria capability to actively play in the market is being affected by long–term neglect of the industry in favour of the oil industry.
In the same vein, contemporary happenings in the country, such as, insurgency, and the on-going clash between the herdsmen and the farmers, particularly in the northern part of the country has continue to affect Nigeria `s ability to meet it share of supply to the market.
Facts collated from Secretariat of the Tanners Council, (a group of corporate dealers in Hides and Skins) based in the commercial city, revealed that Nigeria has unable to keep with demand for it tanned leather and finished leather products, recent time.
As the country continues to lose foreign exchange it will have earned from sale of tanned and finished leather products, over 40 of the existing tanneries located in the northern part of the country have closed down.
Some of the closed down Tanneries are: Deras Tannery, Harmattan Tannery, Sule- Garo Tannery, Na abba Tannery, Nabegu Tannery, Soleta Tannery, Codina Tannery, and Dange Tannery.
Others are: Susan Tannery, Neital Tannery, Challawa Tannery, Qualle Tannery, Limson Tannery, Ajalyn Tannery, Federal Government Tannery, Sokoto, Marpecil One Tannery, Akkad Tannery Company, Magashi Tannery, Slimport Tannery, and other small local tanneries spread across the northern states.
Further information extracted from Tanner Council, also indicates that the following tanneries are partially active in the country, namely: G.B Tannery, Globus Tannery, B.B Tannery, Daram Tannery, God`s little Tannery, Fine Leather, Kano Tannery, and Multitan Tannery.
At the moment only three tanneries based in Kano, are presently in operations in the country, namely: Mahaza /Mario Jose Tanneries, Fata Tannery Company, and Unique Leather.
Sani Maifata, a Kano based Hides and Skins dealer, who confirmed the development in the industry, also decried what he called the’ complete handover of Nigeria leather industry to Lebanese.
“The happening in the Nigeria leather industry is very sad to all right thinking Nigerians. I find it difficult to understand how a nation will hand over a critical foreign earning industry like this to foreigners.
“Do you know that as it is today, there is no Nigerian who is involved in processing and exportation of leather in the country, the sector is now in the hand of Lebanese” he noted.
Available facts shows that Nigeria is the hub of Leather activities in West African sub- region, dealers in raw- Hides and Skins, from neighbouring countries, such as: Chad, Niger Republic, Cameroun, and Sudan, normally bring their products to Kano for sale.
Before now, the leather sector is the second highest foreign exchange earner for the country.
