President of the Importers Association of Nigeria, IMAN,Ralph John in an interview with Daily Trust, stated that contrary to the belief that importation is not healthy for any nation’s economy, it can be well exploited by government to drive industrialization.
He said: The Importers Association of Nigeria was established a long time ago and the essence is to bring all industrialists and importers together and to assist them in doing genuine business that will help economic growth.
“We advise the CBN to enlighten the importers on government policy. Another important thing is that if an importer brings in items that don’t have much market value at home, he has only succeeded in transferring abroad money that would develop other economies.”
“But the importers don’t see it that way; all they look at is an opportunity to earn easy money. We want to make them know that they can shift from that perspective to a patriotic perspective that can serve the country better while they earn their more money.”
“When an importer shifts from importing just anything to importing the necessary things, he earns more money. Government, too, should be conscious that its responsibility is not all about clamping down on importers, but is more on providing the enabling environment to do business. ”
“That is the reason why we were unhappy that the past administration was unserious with importers. That administration was toying with importers without telling them what exactly they were supposed to know. Without importers, no economy can function well.”
“We are calling on the government to partner with us as it should for the nation’s economic growth. Importers shouldn’t be regarded as people who bring in illegal goods.”