Nigeria Loses Industries To Ghana
The search for stable power supply and reduced cost of production is forcing manufacturers to close down their factories in Kano and relocate to neighbouring Ghana where reliable power supply is guaranteed.
Officials of some of the industries involved in the re-location attributed their decision to the degeneration in the operational environment caused mainly by the persistent energy crisis.
Before the power situation reached the critical stage, there were more than 500 manufacturing concerns in Kano.
The number has dropped drastically to just about 20 functional factories, according officials of the state government.
Investigations indicate that most of the industries leaving Kano are those owned particularly by the Lebanese community.
Owners of the factories, according to findings, resolved to shift their base to Ghana because of the relative electricity stability in the West African country.
Among the companies that have relocated to Ghana are Rana Tahir and Lokonda Industries both of which are into the making of furniture products; Universal Spinners and Integrated Viper which manufacture textiles and Holborn Limited, a company that makes towels and other fabrics.
Confirming this development, Ibrahim Garba, Kano State commissioner for project monitoring, told Business Day that the re-location of the industries is compounding the poverty rate in the State.
He disclosed that the state government is aware of the development, pointing out that there is nothing that Ibrahim Shekarau, Governor of the State can do because the factors responsible for the movement are beyond his control.
"We are aware of the recent re-location of industries from the state to Ghana, because of the energy crisis that the state is facing.
It is lamentable that while Ghana is growing economically because of stability of energy supply, Nigeria, despite its huge resources is shrinking economically."
Garba attributed the worsening poverty, in the northern part of the country to the continued closure of manufacturing concerns, arguing that there is nothing the State Government can do to reduce the growing scourge of poverty, except the Federal Government addresses the prevailing energy problem.