As a people we need to start seizing the commercial opportunities that are offered by branding and patented products

Ayo Akinfe

[1] Last week, the whole of Nigeria was talking about the unique attire President Buhari wore during his one day official visit to Imo State. However, have we cashed in on it?

[2] I am gobsmacked that nobody in Imo State, a part of the country renown for its commercial clout and industrial nature has spotted the opportunities this presents. Why has some smart tailoring company not moved to name this attire a Buhari Suit and sought to patent it?

[3] Just imagine if say the Orji Tailoring Company in Abriba patented this suit and mass-produced 1m units of it. If they were mass-produced, the production costs would be very low, allowing them to sell for less than rival products and making them popular

[4] These Buhari Suits could be made in a variety of matching colours, offering buyers a wide range to chose from

[5] In the industrialised world, this is how fashion chains and retail outlets make millions. They target their products at certain times of the year, especially the summer and Christmas

[6] Can you just imagine how popular these Buhari Suits would have been if they were maybe selling for as little as N5,000 and marketed as a Christmas special which everyone was urged to buy as presents

[7] We are so laid back with these matters that the Chinese and Indians are now taking unprecedented liberties. How dare they take our ankara and adire away, process it and sell it back to us at seriously marked-up prices?

[8] Everything from Nigerian garri, to jollof rice, to yam, to palm wine is now being processed abroad and exported back to us. Enough is enough. This nonsense must end today and the way to do it is to pass a Nigerian Patent Bill 2021 which will vest production rights in local people

[9] If no commercial company steps forward to patent these Buhari Suits by October 1, I will suggest that Ohaneze Ndigbo does so. It can then licence Igbo tailoring firms to produce the suits

[10] We also need to brand these products. Given our love for fashion, is it not a source of embarrassment to 200m Nigerians that we do not have a company of the calibre of Versace, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Hermes, etc. We simply have to make the transition from being consumers to becoming producers!