The Akwete Renaissance: What Governors Should Spend Money On
What Governors should spend money on. From optics/ consumption to production.
Here is how Osun, Ogun, Oyo, Lagos, Ekiti and Ondo can copy it.
Wale AKINGBADE
The Akwete Renaissance: How South-West Nigeria Can Transform Its Indigenous Crafts into Africa’s Craft-Export Powerhouse
From Consumption to Production – A Case Study of Akwete Production as a Blueprint for South-West Industrialisation
Nigeria’s textile and garment sector is in crisis. Imports have surged from ₦365.46 billion in 2022 to a record ₦1.06 trillion in 2025 nearly triple the 2024 figure of ₦726.18 billion. In Q1 2026 alone, imports reached ₦267.7 billion, already 72 % of the previous year’s total. China supplied $2.26 billion (75 % of the total) in 2024, followed by India at $283 million. The country now imports nearly 90 % of its textile needs despite abundant local cotton, raffia, silk, and world-class indigenous talent.
The downstream garment and fashion industry valued at ₦10 trillion and employing an estimated 10 million people is crippled by unreliable local supply and sky-high costs. This is not abstract economics. It is hunger in rural communities, lost livelihoods for women weavers, and billions of naira leaving the country every year.
Yet one quiet success story in Abia State is quietly showing the way forward. The Akwete Weaving Cooperative Society in Akwete town, Ukwa East Local Government Area, became the living laboratory when First Lady Senator Oluremi Tinubu visited on 21 July 2026. Instead of attending the official banquet or ribbon-cutting, she sat directly with master weavers at Township School, Akwete. She announced a ₦2 billion donation to transform the historic site into a world-class production hub: a modern weaving and research centre featuring skill centres, quality labs, solar power, and full export infrastructure.
This is the Akwete model from consumption to production that the South-West (Osun, Ogun, Oyo, Lagos, Ekiti, Ondo) can now scale for Adire and Aso-Oke. The ₦2 billion intervention proves that high-level federal commitment + artisan-first design + transparent execution can turn a dying craft into a multi-million-naira export industry.
Where the Akwete Production Hub Is Actually Located
The hub is centred on the Akwete Weaving Cooperative Society in Akwete town, headquarters of Ukwa East LGA, Abia State. The site includes the original cooperative complex (built in the 1980s with capacity for 100+ weavers) and surrounding homes where women still weave. It features a giant statue of Dada Nwakata (the legendary 19th-century weaver) at the town gate.
The announcement took place at Township School a low-key, civic engagement that put real needs above pageantry. The existing cooperative hall, purpose-built in the old Imo State era, can now accommodate over 200 registered women members. Each weaver produces a full cloth in 3 to 14 days on vertical upright Nkwe looms. Production is seasonal, low-tech, and vulnerable to high yarn costs and insecurity. The cooperative remains women-only a sacred cultural taboo that has preserved its exclusivity for generations.
The ₦2 Billion Akwete Production Hub: What It Will Deliver
The combination of Governor Otti’s earlier proposal and the First Lady’s commitment will deliver a world-class centre with:
- modern dye labs, power looms, solar power, and quality-control labs for two- to three-times faster output and consistent export-grade fabric;
- skill and apprenticeship centres training more than 5,000 young women and youth (starting as young as age six or seven) over two years, ensuring the craft is passed matrilineally;
- local raw-material supply (cotton, raffia, silk) through bulk procurement to slash dependence on China and India;
- a new Akwete Global brand with digital platforms, export offices, geographical indication protection, and direct sales to the diaspora, Europe, and the UK; and
- a tourism and cultural centre with a museum and workshops that will attract visitors while safeguarding spiritual and motif heritage.
Full transparency will be guaranteed through public dashboards tracking every naira spent, jobs created, and income uplift.
Adire: The Tie-and-Dye Heritage of Ogun and Osun Women
Across Ogun and Osun, Adire (tie and dye) has been a women’s industry since the early 20th century. Pioneered in Abeokuta by Chief Mrs Miniya Jojolola Soetan (second Iyalode of Egbaland), it uses raffia and cassava starch resists on imported shirting. Designs featuring leaves, animals, proverbs, and celestial motifs are passed mother-to-daughter. Over 1,500 women in Itoku market still produce authentic Adire/Kampala; Osogbo adds spiritual depth as the city of dyeing. Revival efforts by Nike Davies-Okundayo and others kept the craft alive through the 1930s–70s crisis; renewed state support and global fashion interest have ignited demand in 2026.
Aso-Oke: The Prestige Cloth of the Oyo Empire: In Oyo, Osun, Ekiti, Ondo, and Lagos, Aso-Oke (Aṣọ Òkè) is the Yoruba prestige textile of the 17th–19th centuries. Men weave long narrow strips on horizontal looms; women assist with spinning and dyeing. The three foundational types : Sanyan (wild silk, the most ancient), Alaari (deep red/magenta, royalty), and Etu (indigo, dignity) carry proverbs, lineage, and authority. Iseyin (Oyo) remains the undisputed weaving capital with over 300 registered households. Colonial imports pushed it to ceremonial use only; diaspora and fashion demand have brought it back into everyday luxury. A single well-made piece takes weeks of labour and commands premium prices worldwide.
Nigeria’s Silk Industry: The South-West’s Premium Upgrade
Nigeria produces 5.4 tons of raw silk (98 % of West Africa’s total), almost entirely from smallholder wild Anaphe species among Yoruba communities. Sanyan wild silk, traditionally reserved for ceremonies, can elevate Adire and Aso-Oke to global status. With proper value addition, silk will replace China’s 80 % share of silk-fabric imports.
The Crisis Nigeria Cannot Ignore: $6 Billion Annual Textile Import Bill
Nigeria’s textile imports exploded from ₦365.46 billion (2022) to ₦377.47 billion (2023), ₦726.18 billion (2024), and a record ₦1.06 trillion (2025). China dominates at $2.26 billion; India follows. The downstream garment sector is squeezed by high costs another signal of hunger and billions of naira leaving the country every year.
The Akwete Blueprint: How South-West Nigeria Can Replicate Success
The Akwete model is ready for immediate regional scaling. South-West Nigeria already possesses everything Akwete had and more, when the First Lady visited in July 2026. The same ₦2 billion playbook, applied at scale, can transform the entire region.
Raw materials
Local raffia and cotton (especially in Ogun and Osun) plus sustainable silk cultivation will replace imported yarn, slashing the $6 billion annual dependency on China and India.
Production hubs
One modern centre per state or cluster, modelled on Akwete: dye labs, solar power, quality certification, and university partnerships (University of Ibadan, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ladoke Akintola University). Expected outcome: two- to three-times faster output and export-grade consistency.
Full value chain
Document every motif, create digital archives, secure geographical indication protection, introduce public-procurement mandates (Adire Wednesdays in government offices), and pursue duty-free access under the UK’s Developing Countries Trading Scheme. Result: 10,000+ direct and indirect jobs per state.
Empowerment
Mirror Akwete’s success with micro-loans, starter kits, vocational centres, youth apprenticeships, and health support building on the 2026 training programmes in Iru.
Branding and exports
Launch Adire Lagos and Aso-Oke Heritage brands, organise trade missions, and sell on Etsy and Amazon. London and Paris fashion weeks will follow. Millions of dollars in foreign exchange will flow in, positioning Nigeria as Africa’s craft capital.
Timeline (2026–2030)
- Q3–Q4 2026: State taskforces form and apply for matching funds from the Niger Delta Development Commission and Southwest Development Commission.
- 2027–2028: Pilot hubs operational in Osun (Adire) and Oyo (Aso-Oke); full villages ready; first exports.
- 2029–2030: National Adire Association established; clusters supply global brands at full scale.
Implementation Roadmap
State governments will form taskforces immediately. Pilot hubs launch first in Osun and Oyo. Full operationalisation, training of 5,000+ youth and women, and first exports follow between 2027 and 2028. By 2029–2030, a national association will coordinate Southwest clusters. Every naira will be tracked publicly exactly as Akwete experts demanded in 2026.
The People-First Vision
Culture is not what happens in the banquet. Culture is what happens in the workshops, in the markets, and in the lives of those who still weave and in the modern hubs that will carry Akwete, Adire, and Aso-Oke to the world. The Akwete success story proves the model works. The South-West already has the raw talent, the heritage, and the global demand. All that remains is coordinated action by state governments, the Southwest Development Commission, federal agencies (Niger Delta Development Commission, Bank of Industry, SMEDAN), and private partners.
Nigeria’s textile imports are not a problem to be banned away. They are a signal that we must build the next Akwete across the South-West from cotton field to finished garment to global export for the benefit of every Nigerian.
The weavers are waiting. The people are waiting. The world is waiting for what only we can deliver.
Wale Akingbade
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