Mallam Farouk Salim, Director General of the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), has stressed the importance of supporting industry if the country is to meet its development goals.
“A country does not become great because we import everything or our youngsters travel elsewhere to make a living, industries expand and people pay taxes as well as build communities.” He remarked.
He said SON had buttressed the fact that the country could only progress and earn the respect it deserves through “investment in our people, industries, and natural resources” during a courtesy visit to the multi-million-dollar Gujeni Integrated Iron Ore Mining and Processing Plant (GIIOMPP) in Kagarko Local Government Area of Kaduna State.
Salim pointed out that the country has a variety of natural resources that would cost between $100 million and $500 million to turn around the fortunes of the host town and the country as a whole.
He praised the African Natural Resources and Mines Limited (ANRML), the proprietors of the steel factory that is set to open soon, for believing in the country’s future and investing in it.
He noted that the factory would not only meet Nigeria’s steel requirements, but would also export to other countries, creating foreign cash.
He claims that once the steel plant is up and running, it will create over 10,000 direct jobs and over 500,000 indirect jobs to Nigerians.
“This is the largest investment outside of the oil sector, and what that means is that, based on what they’re doing, they’ll soon not only produce what Nigeria needs – high-quality products, but they’ll also export, and when we export, we save money in two ways: we save money by earning money back into the country, and we save money by eliminating the idea of taking our hard-earned resources to buy products and bringing them back into the country.” He stated.
He suggested that investing in sectors may assist the country overcome its seemingly insurmountable security difficulties, which had pushed businesses to close, resulting in job losses.
