According to Mrs. Layo Bakare-Okeowo, Chief Executive Officer of FAE Envelopes, if the paper industry is revived and fully utilised using backward integration policies, it might generate revenue for Nigeria comparable to that of the oil business.
When the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) and the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines, and Agriculture (NACCIMA) visited the company’s facilities in Lagos, Bakare-Okeowo made the statement.
She said that the paper business, which she described as a gold mine, will increase foreign exchange production, reduce unemployment, and boost the nation’s GDP (GDP).
To provide easy access to raw materials for production, the FAE chairman stressed the need for a working paper mill in the nation and the appropriate implementation of the backward integration programme.
She stated that $5 million was sufficient to establish a cluster of paper mills, bringing the industry to its full potential for both domestic and international trade.
She also urged for greater funding for the industry to encourage pulp and paper research and capacity building to advance the business.
“Billions of dollars is what is being expended to import paper into the country, meanwhile, God has blessed us with so much raw materials that can be transformed into making paper.
“We have the Kenaf specie for paper production with a gestation period of six months against that of wood that it’s gestation is about 12 years.
“Also, waste products, bamboo, sugar cane, jute leaves popularly called ‘ewedu’ are all raw materials that can be transformed to paper with a quick turn around time for investment.
“Once all these are in place, the future of the Nigeria paper industry is endless and could become self sufficient and also begin to export both in the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and globally,” she said.
Despite the evident difficulties in the working environment, Bakare-Okeowo said that the over 40-year success of the envelope business was due in part to her zeal for advancing Nigeria’s industrialization goal.
She reaffirmed the firm’s dedication to finding new ways to secure the contents of envelopes and mentioned that a fireproof envelope was in the works at the moment.
“With the elections coming soon, there is need for tamper proof envelope which is water resistant and can be used to secure votes once sealed.
“Again, the future of paper is endless and we hope that the government can do what is necessary to drive the sector to its full potential seeing that Egypt has 25 functional paper mills,” she said.
