COnAGE TEXTILEPRODUOION: A STEP OUTOFPOVlm llLi Inaugural Lecture. Serief1r Delivered at: IHE FEDEUL UIMRSITY OFTECHIOLOGl AKUIE On Tuesday, 12th July, 2005 By:: Professor Sunday Roberts Ogunduyile B.A.; PGDE., M.A.; Ph.D (ABU); msna, maaid Professor of Industrial Design . COTTAGE TEXTILE PRODUCTION: A STEP OUT OF POVERTY The Vice-Chancellor, Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Academic, Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Development, Registrar, Ag. Bursar, Ag. Librarian. Other Principal Officers of the University, Deans, Directors and Heads of Department, Fellow Academic and Professional Colleagues, My Lords Spiritual and Temporal, Distinguished Guests and Friends of the University, Great FUTARIANS, Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen, It is with great delight and honour I stand before you today to deliver the 41'1 Inaugural Lecture of this great institution, titled: "Cottage Textile Production: A Step Out Of Poverty". This lecture is the third from the School of Environmental Technology and the first from the Department of Industrial Desig n of th is University. The lecture takes a look at textiles generally, its production at cottage level and how it could alleviate poverty in Nigeria. 1.0 INTRODUCTION From time immemorial, textiles and clothing have been presumed to be the third of man's need after food and shelter. Graef and Strom (1976) noted that the study of textiles is the study of mankind. This statement holds true if one realizes the extent to which textiles have affected societal lifestyles in many civilizations. From the biblical perspectives, it is on record, that the textiles and clothing patterns of our forefathers developed from the use of fig 1 leaves after the fall of man from the Garden of Eden. (Gen 3:7), It is logical to say that the first assignment of man after he ate from the tree of knowledge was to dress himself with the most convenient materials available to him as at that time, this was of course 'a step out of shame' Gyampoh (2004) noted that immediately fabrics replaced the use of leaves and animal skins as clothing, textile became a strong and major factor in economic history of many nations of the world. Its materials of production and products are today affected by political, economical, socio- cultural, psychological and religious factors. It has also been the basis for the prosperity of many countries. It was a major source of trading activities that laid the foundation for the rise of England as a commercial nation (Bridsbury, 1982). It has also been the mainstay·of the economy of Australia, China, France, Italy, Japan, and Egypt. In-KHgeria,-the production of textiles has been described as one of the oldest industries that catered for the fundamental needs of the individuals in the aspect of clothing, protection and decoration. It has been carried out within the family environment, although usually laborious in techniques, but it is a dynamic social and cultural activity, which often resulted into unique, beautiful and high quality fabrics. Although, the traditional craftsmen were not tutored in the rudimentary European design principles, but with creativity, dexterity and patience, they were able to take conscious artistic decisions. With their versatility they produced unique fabrics based on asymmetry, irregularity of shapes, mismatched motifs and random compositions, which negate the European artistic norms. In traditional textile production the textilecraftsmen understood the entire processes of fabric production, which involved planting, harvesting, collection of fibers, ginning, carding, spinning and weaving. They also have the technology of preparing 2 dyes and bonding them to the materials such that they do not damage the fibres but retain the colours on the fabrics permanently. They were also versed in the art of embroidery, applique, and other creative decorative processes (Ade-Ajayi, 1994). Through the various techniques, the traditional Nigerian textile industry was able to produce the popular aso oke, akwete, adire eleso, adire elekoetc. When the contemporary textile industry came on board in the late 50's, it met well-grounded cottage industries, which were not only sustainable but also viable to meetthe needs of the Nigerian populace. Ade-Ajayi (1994), however noted that the reaching out of the European to Africa and the impact of the colonial administration brought about devastating effects on Nigerian textiles and marked the beginning of importation of cheap textiles. Various government policies from the 70's to-date have not helped the growth of local production of textile, as ready-to-wear textile materials were imported with impunity because there were no restrictions. Consequently, the terrain of cottage production became unattractive as a number of textile producing families withdrew from production. Thus the erstwhile apprenticeship system whereby, children learn from the parents suffered, as many parents who could no longer make it in the field had no option but to send their children to school so that they too could benefit from the largesse which was associated with white collar jobs. Mr. Vice-Chancellor Sir, one would think that the emergence of contemporary textile industry in the mid-50's would fill the gap created by the reduction in the production of textiles locally, but the reverse has been the case. The illegal importation of textiles and second hand clothing referred to as bosikona continued unabated thereby forcing the contemporary textile industries to close shops. The resultant effects are unemployment, poverty and youth 3 restiveness which daily stare us in the face. Today, the lecturer is of the view that with the number of textile professionals coming out of Nigerian tertiary institutions such as the Federal University of Technology, Akure, where the motto is 'technology for self-reliance', a new lease of life could be restored through textile production at cottage level. 2.0 COTTAGE PRODUCTION OF TEXTILES AND POVERTY ALLEVIATION There are various definitions of poverty and a lot of theories have been propounded about what constitutes poverty. Many papers have also been generated on the typology of poverty. Igben (2001) classified poverty into .four major types: 'Case poverty', in which people in a community are poor, even when economically conducive environment exists; "island poverty", that is when almost every one in the community is poor as a result of their inability to conquer their environment; "relative poverty",' which is relative to the standard set by the community; and the "absolute poverty", which is used to describe those who cannot provide for themselves and their family the basic needs for physical and biological survival. The various theories have been examined and are acknowledged for the knowledge and the education they provide. However, poverty, no matter. its type, need to be dealt with through various strategies. In order to reduce the poverty level of Nigerians, both the Federal and State governments have.at one time or the other created various organs to proffer solutions to the ravaging effects of poverty. Some of the organs created by government with a view to improving the lots of the people were: 4 a. The National Accelerated Food Production Programme was established in 1972 to increase food production and to encourage farming. b. Operation Feed the Nation (OFN) introduced by the government of Obasanjo in 1976 to boost food production. c. The River Basin DevelopmentAuthority (RBDA) which came on board in 1979 to comprehensively develop irrigation facilities; d. The National Directorate of Employment (NDE) was established to promote skill acquisition and self employment. e. The National Agricultural Land Development Authority (NALDA) was established in 1986 to encourage the evolution of economic size rural settlements; f. The Directorate of Foods, Roads and Rural Infrastructure (DFRRI) was also created in 1986 to coordinate rural development and infrastructure; The g. Better Life for Rural Women, a pet of project of the Mrs. Mariam Babangida between 1986 and 1994 brought about some measures of development to the cottage textile industries. The programme served as a forum where housewives and other categories of women were trained to weave and dye cloths with a view to assisting the economic and financial conditions oftheirfamilies. h. Family -Economic and Advancement Programme (FEAP) was created in 1999 to reduce social vices vis a vis rural and urban drift by supporting agriculture, cottage and small scale industries through cooperation and the 5 poverty alleviation programmes (Rotowa, 2005, Fasheun 2005). i. The Federal government also established the Small and Medium Scale Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria in 2003. The Agency, among others, was to act as a vanguard for initiating and articulating ideas for small- scale policy thrusts, promote developmental programmes for facilitating access of small- scale enterprises to credit, technology, and technical support as well as to necessary resources. (Anyikwa, 2005). From the foregoing, the production of textile at cottage level is in line with government economic development goals in that it could create an avenue for many to step out of poverty. These strategies have succeeded to some extent. However, going by the persistent alarms being raised by the International Monetary Funds (IMF) and other world economic bodies about the increasing level of poverty in developing countries, one cannot but encourage a simple, fruitful and sustainable project such as textile production at cottage