The Ogun government has advised youths in the state to venture into Adire Fabric business in other to become employers of labour and to also reduce unemployment.
Dr Toyin Taiwo, the State Commissioner for Culture and Tourism , made the appeal during the maiden edition of Adire Festival held in Abeokuta on Friday.
The commissioner explained that the idea of waiting or looking for a white collar job should be discouraged, saying that venturing into adire fabric business would reduce rate of unemployment in the society.
Taiwo noted that it was important for the youths to be determined, steadfast and show key interest in the production, sales and marketing of Adire fabrics.
He called for synergy between the modern adire makers and the traditional originator
“I appeal to all our vibrant youths, enough is enough for saying you are looking for White collar jobs, please look inward, be creative, take advantage of this opportunity that our forefathers has given to us.
I implore the youths to make use of the modern tools, socio media, the technology and the civilisation in all its entirety to propagate this adire identity.
”The modern designers should see adire as a veritable practice that already has a name and continue to rebrand and repackage it in every ways possible to make it a land mark and best economic signature,” he said.
Ogun state government operates an open door policy where stakeholders are free to come in, partner with the state in promoting and preserving our heritage and repositioning it for a better tomorrow
He said that the youths should strenghtened the value chain by being involved so that they could use technology to drive and scale up the production of adire.
” Lets strenghten the value chain from the maker, to the fashion designer, those in the marketing sector and to those that Will make proper coordination of sales,” he said.
In her opening speech, the Coordinator of the festival, Miss Tolulope Olayiwola, said that the essence of the festival was to bring together stakeholders involved in adire to see how they could collaborate more in promoting the fabric.
She noted that the stakeholders included the dye makers, pattern makers, fashion designers among others.
Olayiwola explained that it was also important to have more participation of youths in adire and to change the narrative of adire from just fabrics into creative things.
“It is important to increase the awareness of adire , continue to promote our culture before it goes into extinction,” she said.
