Lagos — Head of Retail, Nokia, Marcel Van de Pas, discussing with Uche Nwokocha, Partner at Aluko & Oyebode, representing the Anti-Counterfeit Collaboration (ACC), at the Anti-Counterfeit Media Roundtable held in Lagos recently.

Minister of Commerce and Industry, Achike Udenwa, has solicited the support of the people and the Government of Borno State in the current fight against smuggling in the borders, as the state has a border with three other countries. He said the appeal became necessary as the borders are used for smuggling of goods into the country.

The Minister stated this when he paid a courtesy visit to the Executive Governor of Borno State, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, during his three-day official visit to the state to inspect some of the industrial establishments and the official Launch of the Campaign for Patronage of Made-in-Nigeria Products in the North East Zone. He described smuggling as one great enemy of the Nigerian economy, which must be tackled headlong.

"We must all rise up to fight smuggling, which has destroyed our economy. Borno State should not be the channel for smuggling goods into the Nigerian market," he said.

Udenwa said his visit to some industries in the state has afforded him the opportunity to know the problems industrialists face and would also assist his Ministry in policy formulation, pointing out that some problems facing the industrial sector include power generation; restiveness in the Niger Delta region, high cost of transportation of goods and high interest rates. He commended the Federal Government for the Amnesty programme in the Niger Delta Region and, the dredging of the River Niger and the establishment of inland waterways and rail transportation, expressing the hope that the completion of these projects would bring succour to the industrial sector.

Udenwa, who flagged off the Campaign for Patronage of Made-in-Nigeria Products for the North-East Zone while in the state, solicited the support of the people and the Government of Borno State for the success of the programme.

While in the state, the Minister also met with officials of the Borno Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture (BOCCIMA) and the Organised Private Sector (OPS), and imploring their support for the Federal Government's efforts to combat smuggling and the ongoing Campaign for Patronage of Made-in-Nigeria Products.

He regretted that with huge population of about 140 million people and the availability of large market, Nigeria has not been able to achieve 20 per cent of what it supposed to produce commercially and industrially because of the activities of smugglers and high taste for foreign goods. He called on members of the Borno Chamber of Commerce to rise up and combat the activities of smugglers in the area as well as support the ongoing campaign.

?We should be proud of our products. We must develop the pride in ourselves. Our products are not substandard. It is our psyche that is substandard. It is this that we want to kill using the campaign for Patronage of Made-in-Nigeria Products,? he said.

Governor Ali Modu Sheriff of Bornu State described the Campaign for Patronage of Made-in-Nigeria Products as a good development strategy and assured the Minister that his Government would key into the programme.