Leather Processing: NILEST to Establish Mini Tanneries Nationwide

The Nigerian Institute of Leather and Science Technology (NILEST) in Zaria, Kaduna State, has announced plans to establish mini tanneries across all states in Nigeria to process hides and skins into leather.

Prof. Mohammed Yakubu, the Director-General of NILEST and Chairman of the National Leather Policy Implementation Committee, revealed this in an interview on Sunday in Abuja.

Yakubu explained that these tanneries are essential for providing the necessary infrastructure and technology for proper leather processing. According to him, leather is a significant national resource with the potential to generate foreign exchange and create substantial employment.

“Nigeria has a recognised history in leather products. We once had 84 leather industries, some with branches in Italy and Spain,” he noted.

“We aim to revitalise the Nigerian leather industry and regain our presence in Europe.”

He attributed the industry’s decline to poor infrastructure and noted that NILEST, along with the policy implementation committee, would continue urging the Federal Government to provide concessions, especially in affordable power supply, to help the industry recover.

“Before independence, and even during both World Wars, the hides and skins used for British soldiers’ footwear were sourced from Nigeria,” he added. “In the trans-Saharan trade, traders came to Sokoto and Kano for hides and skins, took them to Morocco for processing, where they were branded as Moroccan leather, although they were actually Sokoto red goat leather.”

Yakubu also clarified that technology is not the main issue, as NILEST provides technical support for Nigerian tanneries and the leather industry. “Our challenge is infrastructure, particularly power, which accounts for over 50 percent of production costs,” he said.

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To enable Nigeria to compete with countries like China, Brazil, and India, Yakubu stressed the importance of affordable and reliable power. “There must be concessions, especially on power, to allow our leather industries to compete internationally.”

The mini tanneries will also help reduce the domestic consumption of hides and skins, which are widely eaten as ‘Kpomo’ due to the lack of sufficient industries to process the excess supply. “In Lagos alone, about 100,000 cows are slaughtered daily, but only 48 industries exist to process the skins into leather,” he explained.

Yakubu further highlighted that reducing production costs would encourage the emergence of more industries, with power being the primary concern. “Employment for our youth and attracting foreign exchange is vital, so any concession granted to these industries would not be wasted.”

He urged the government to prioritise the power component for processing industries in Nigeria, as this issue hinders the leather industry’s revival. “This is why we plan to establish mini tanneries nationwide, and our campaign to discourage the consumption of Kpomo has gained momentum.”

While he acknowledged that some livelihoods might be affected, NILEST intends to purchase hides and skins from sellers and process them into leather for export.

Yakubu added that each mini tannery would process one to five tonnes of leather weekly from various clusters. “We will process what we can and sell the rest to other leather producers in the South East, South West, Jos, and Kano.”