Issa Aremu, director general Micheal Imoudu National Institute for Labour Studies (MINILS), has stressed the need for trade unions and government officials to be educated about sustainable industrial policies for constructive advocacy and national development.

Aremu said this in a statement released in Ilorin to commemorate the 2023 Africa Industrialisation Day (AID).

He said: “As the world marks 2023 Africa Industrialization Day (AID), I call employers of labour, workers and trade unions as well as government officials to be informed through education about sustainable industrial policies for genuine constructive advocacy for national industrial development.”

Aremu, however, hailed President Bola Tinubu on his relentless commitment to drive investment for economic growth and decent mass employment.

He observed that industry has always played a vital role in development, adding that industry boosts economic activity along value chains, create jobs from raw materials processing to finished goods and services.

According to him, the United Nations (UN) General Assembly, in 1989, within the framework of the Second Industrial Development Decade for Africa (1991-2000) proclaimed 20 November annually Africa Industrialisation Day (AID) via resolution 44/237. The Day is intended to mobilise the commitment of the local international community to the Diversification and industrialization of African economies. The theme for this year’s AID is “Accelerating Africa’s industrialisation through the empowerment of African women in processing for an integrated market.”

The Director General noted that Industrialisation Day assumes special importance for the Institute mandated to promote labour education, because “only industry guarantees formal, secured, productive and paying jobs as distinct from precarious informal sector jobs” in line with SDG 9 dealing with Industry and innovation.

Aremu also commended Dangote Group, which despite the perceived difficulty of doing business in Nigeria, and across Africa, has moved from wholesale trading to become a multi- sectoral manufacturing giant, diversified and fully integrated conglomerate with an annual group turnover in excess of US$4billion.

“The much-awaited inaugurated world’s largest single train Dangote Refinery Complex that has the capacity to refine 650,000 barrels of crude oil per day, shows that Nigeria like China can truly take a leap from misery of import dependence to joy of local production, exportation and mass job creation,” Aremu said.