The Alake and Paramount Ruler of Egbaland, Oba Adedotun Gbadebo, has opened an Adire Hub at the Ake Palace, Abeokuta, Ogun State, as part of efforts to upgrade local Adire production and position the indigenous textile for domestic and international markets.
The initiative, promoted by Global Adire Egba Development Limited in collaboration with ICLED Business School, Lekki, Lagos, is expected to provide training, skills development and access to financing for Adire producers.
Speaking with journalists during the opening of the hub on Thursday, the Project Coordinator, Prof. Olajumoke Familoni, said the facility was established to train and upskill Adire producers to enable them to compete effectively in the global market.
Familoni, who is also the President/Provost of ICLED Business School, Lekki, Lagos, and a Professor of Entrepreneurship and Management, said the hub was part of the proposed Adire Village project.
She said, “We are here because we are trying to open up the hub. Adire Hub is a part of the proposed Adire Village. The hub right now is to educate and upskill the Adire producers so that they can partake in the domestic and international market. We are going to train them and expose them to multiple financing options and all that because we cannot leave them out there and expect them to partake in a global market at the level where they are.
“The Adire market is more than $1bn in Nigeria, and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) has about 1.4 billion consumers. So, if these people are trained, you can see that they have a lot of markets. They can come up and can be upskilled. We are also embarking on this initiative to fight imitation and importation of adulterated Adire fabrics from outside the country. That is the main reason, so that people can reject adulteration because they can see something that is local, authentic, and they can buy it.
“Because we are still not doing it the way it could be accepted internationally. It’s still at the local level. And so, the hub is to upskill these people to get to that international level,” she said.
She called on the government to provide intervention funds to support the development of the Adire industry, saying increased investment would benefit Abeokuta and Ogun State. She said, “We are calling on the government to give us intervention funds. The Alake has been investing; our community members, over 70-year-old men, have been investing in this thing,” she said.
“There are intervention funds somewhere that they can use to make this thing really produce these things and make this thing happen. It’s going to benefit the nation. It’s going to benefit Abeokuta, the revenue of Ogun State at large.”
Also speaking, Chief Yinka Kufile, the Aro of Egbaland and representative of the Alake, described the establishment of the hub as a welcome development, stressing that the initiative would help promote local producers and develop the Adire industry in Egbaland.
“We just have to start from somewhere. We want to encourage our people. We got all the fabrics, we distributed them to our local people, wanting them to showcase their designs so that we can grow them. It’s not about us; it’s about developing the industries in Egbaland. And so far so good, you can see what they have been able to do. Beautiful designs. When we can produce them in quantity, of course, people will see the difference, and once they can identify the difference, they will go for the better ones”, he said.
The traditional ruler also backed the introduction of mechanisation, saying, “Of course, we’ll do everything possible. We’ll do the local ones and migrate to mechanisation and move on.”
“Any nation or any tribe that cannot produce what they wear is a failure. And we don’t want to be a failure. We should be able to produce at least a certain percentage of what we wear,” the Paramount Ruler stated.
Representing the Ogun State Commissioner for Industry, Trade and Investment, Adebola Sofela, at the event, the Deputy Director of Investment in the ministry, Shamsideen Akinwunmi, said the state government was committed to supporting initiatives capable of turning the state’s cultural assets into sustainable businesses.
He said, “Adire is not merely a fabric; it is a story, a heritage, a skill and an economic opportunity. It carries the identity, creativity and ingenuity of our people, particularly the rich cultural heritage of Egbaland. Let us embrace digital marketing and e-commerce. Let us strengthen quality standards and intellectual property protection. Let us build stronger linkages between MSMEs, tourism operators and export markets,” he said.
