Dike Onwuamaeze
The federal government has been called upon to establish a paper research institute that will enable Nigeria to harness the potential in the paper industry and diversify its sources of foreign exchange.
The call was made by the Managing Director/CEO of FAE Limited, Mrs. Funlayo Bakere-Okeowo, during a press conference to mark her company’s 50th anniversary.
Bakere-Okeowo argued that a paper institute would enable the resuscitation of moribund paper mills in the country and reposition the paper industry as next to crude oil in earning foreign exchange for the country.
She said: “We need a lot of encouragement in research, which could be realised by creating a paper research institute. We know that we have the Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC) doing its best, but we need a paper institute for the paper industry alone because the paper has the potential to become Nigeria’s ‘second oil.’
“The government should put its searchlights on the paper industry that could be second to crude oil in earning foreign exchange.
“A tonne of paper now is about $1,350 in the international market. Imagine that we can export finished paper or even pulp.
“The greatest contributor to the GDP in Scandinavia is paper and pulp. So we do not have to continue running after oil.”
Bakere-Okeowo lamented that the paper industry is currently not making a perceivable impact on Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
She said: “We do not have any perceivable impact on the GDP and this is why we want government to encourage us.”
She also called on the government to provide manufacturers with single-digit credit and a stable rate of foreign exchange.
Bakere-Okeowo noted that the FAE, which was established by her mother, Mrs. Florence Iyabode Adu Bakare, in 1974 as a paper trading company, has emerged as one of the foremost envelope manufacturing companies in Nigeria, with the capacity to produce one million envelopes per day.
“Initially the company was only in the business of selling paper until it evolved into other areas of the paper sector, especially the manufacturing of paper products such as envelopes.
“First, on the list of our products is our tamper-proof and tear-resistant envelopes. This envelope is tear-resistant and has an indicator at the tip that is inscribed ‘opened’ once it is tampered with. This envelope can be used by electoral and examination bodies etc.
“We also have a Radio Frequency Identification Blocking Envelopes (RFID) that secures your credit or debit card from hackers who can read your card meters away.
“Today, FAE is the leading envelope manufacturing, customising, supplying, and producing company in Nigeria with a presence in West African countries such as Ghana, Cameroon, Benin, Liberia, Togo, Mali, Senegal, Guinea, Niger Republic, Burkina Faso, Sierra Leone, Cote D’Ivoire, The Gambia, Mauritania, Chad, Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea, and Guinea Bissau,” Bakare-Okeowo said.
