Sen. Oshiomhole Wants Military, Others to Wear Locally Made Uniforms

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By Reporter

A former governor of Edo State, Senator Adams Oshiomhole has called on the Federal Government to embrace made in Nigeria, especially military uniforms to boost the country’s economy.

The former labour leader has therefore called on President Bola Tinubu to mandate the nation’s armed forces and other paramilitary agencies to stop using foreign-made uniforms and patronize locally produced textiles.

He spoke last Monday October 27, 2025 in Kaduna at the 37th Annual National Education Conference of the National Union of Textile, Garment and Tailoring Workers of Nigeria (NUTGTWN). The conference, themed “Industry, Labour and National Development,” drew union leaders and policymakers from across the country.

Oshiomhole who is a former member of textile workers union, decried the government’s continued use of foreign fabric importation, and described the practice as counterproductive to job creation and industrial growth.

“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.”

At the event, Oshiomhole was honoured with renaming other the five-storey headquarters of the NUTGTWN in Kaduna—originally known as the Textile Labour House to Adams Oshiomhole Textile Labour House who served as Secretary-General of the union four decades ago.

Senator Oshiomhole urged the president to move beyond rhetoric and implement policies that support local 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,” as he recalled the contribution the Kaduna textile factories made to Nigeria’s economy when over 27,000 workers were employed.

He lamented that ‘reckless government policies’ and unguarded trade liberalization, which added, had crippled what was once one of Africa’s most vibrant industrial sectors.

“Those factories didn’t die of old age; they were murdered by bad policies. When we joined the World Trade Organization, we surrendered our right to protect our industries and jobs.”

Senator Oshiomhole however praised the late Premier of Northern Nigeria, Sir Ahmadu Bello, for his foresight in establishing the Kaduna Textile Mills in the 1950s, noting that the initiative gave dignity to workers and reduced dependency on imports.

“Our leaders then knew it made no sense to export cotton and import clothes. That vision created jobs and built communities,” the senator who has become the conscience of the Nigerian Senate stressed.

Stressing the effect of the collapse of the industrial sector on security, Senator Oshiomhole said: “When people had jobs, nobody cared about religion. Today, with factories shut and millions idle, we have produced anger, not cotton.”

He commended President Tinubu’s foreign exchange reforms, that he has succeeded curbing the influence of “emergency billionaires” who profited from currency speculation and round tripping.

“Before Tinubu, people made money without effort—just with a phone call. Now, those distortions are being corrected.”

He urged Nigerian workers never to give up their rights. “Don’t ever apologize for fighting for dignity. The primary purpose of government is the welfare of citizens, not the profit of business,” the former National Chairman of All Progressives Congress (APC) said.

“I remain a labour man for life. From age 18, I’ve known no other calling.

I will keep fighting until Nigeria returns to the path of production, not importation,” he reassured the labour movement.