Ayo Oyoze Baje
“Comrade Ariyo was a noble man. He considered the welfare of workers as his own welfare. He was so selfless and wanted to do many things at the same time” Comrade Joseph Olodun ( Past President of TGTSSAN )
The compelling need to highlight the remarkable achievements of several of Nigeria’s unsung heroes, from different aspects of human endeavour, and more so, how they scaled over the hurdles and hitches placed on their paths while here with us, came to the public sphere recently at Iyana-Ipaja, Lagos. It was through the launch of the book titled ‘Do the Needful’, chronicling the life and times of Comrade Dele Lawrence Ariyo ( of blessed memory ). The well-attended event hosted by his son, Olusegun Ariyo, the author of the book, provided yet another insightful opportunity to glean from the life trajectory of the then highly dedicated unionist in Nigeria’s once vibrant textile industry.
Described as ” a trailblazer who defied all odds to attain his goals”, Ariyo was the Industrial Relations Manager at Halfar Industrial Company Limited at a time when they had to combat the challenges of paucity of funds, when employers did not want union activities of any kind. Though there was a junior staff union that could not rattle the employers. But Comrade Ariyo was not deterred. He asked if my senior staff could form their own union.
In fact, tenacity of purpose was his moving mantra. To give light to his dreams, he reached out to five related unions, including Atlantic Textile Mills and United Nigeria Textile Mills. He traversed the country, and eventually, the Union was formed. But soon after that feat, tragedy struck!
In the words of Olodun, ” Comrade Ariyo passed away. His death on June 14, 1993, was devastating, especially to me as a close person to him.” Olodun recalled how he worked hard to get the senior staff associations formed in places such as the north, north central, Benin, Asaba, Aba and Lagos. And he ensured that the Union was duly registered there in Kaduna, where they lived and worked. But for his efforts, the Textile, Garment and Tailoring Senior Staff Association of Nigeria would not have been what it is today. Furthermore, he ensured that the office was moved from a rented apartment to the Gowon Estate, where it is currently located and functioning.
The profound lessons from the feat include those of self-belief, passion, courage, resilience, and persistence. As Ray Kroc stated, ” persistence pays”. Yes, it does. But there are more lessons to learn from the hands of Ariyo.
According to Prof Olufemi Lawal, Dean, Faculty of Social Sciences, Lagos State University, who reviewed the book, Ariyo was a loving father and benevolent man who made an impact on the lives of his children, his co-workers and several others. He exhibited the desired “diligence, strong family ties, welfare-oriented struggle and activism”. He also showed ” selflessness, professionalism, tenacity, generosity, benevolence, and nationalistic and patriotic attributes”
Good enough, through the book with 12 Chapters, the author ” chronicled the origin, growth, and decline of the textile industry in Nigeria from the post-independence period of the 1960s to date, emphasising that the development and growth were necessitated primarily by the need to employ a good chunk of our manpower as well as clothe the teeming population of Nigerians.
He stressed further that the decline could be blamed on several factors, but particularly the previous governments’ ineptitude. There is, therefore, a need to resuscitate the industry as well as put up novel suggestions on how this can be achieved.
Worthy of note is his depiction of textiles as spiritual entities, in that we make fabrics from the soil, which in turn return to the soil as rags. Besides, cloth-wearing is as important as eating. But highlighting the factors that led to the decline of Nigeria’s textile industry include the influx of cheap fabrics, especially from China, the need to import dyes and chemicals at high exchange rates,
moribund electric power supply. Hebxe, the call on the National Assembly to rescue the situation with needed legislation.
In this regard, he is calling for a revival of the industry for the country, which once boasted of over 250 active textile factories back in 1997, and was the second largest in Africa behind Egypt. But despite the government’s intervention of N100 billion in 2009 through the Bank of Industry, the cotton farmers have shrunk from 620,000 back in the early ’80s to 100,000 in 2025. The need to curb reckless importation of fabrics through the Customs and the Ministry of Trade to revive the near comatose industry has become an imperative.
There is also the need to turn waste into wealth as Nkwo Onwuka is doing there in Abuja by converting cotton waste to Dakala. This is a commendable initiative for a safer environment. This should be strengthened through policy regulations, infrastructural development, consumer awareness and culture shift for Nigeria to rank amongst the top ten textile manufacturing countries in the world.
Considered from all perspectives and as rightly identified by Prof.
Lawal, there is nothing as rewarding and as unforgettable as selfless service and service/help to humanity. Comrade Dele Ariyo’s impact, as portrayed in the book, would educate readers on this.
In a developing economy like Nigeria, departing for whatever reason from an industry in which we have a competitive advantage has grave consequences for the economy.
Perhaps, if the cotton and textile industries have grown steadily over the decades, they should now be serving the country as significant and reliable back-up whenever there are downturns, particularly in the oil sector. But the crass neglect of infrastructure development, such as electricity, can make it difficult to resuscitate ailing industries. Several attempts to start new textile companies or to revitalise moribund ones were frustrated by Nigeria’s core infrastructural deficiencies, particularly in electricity.
Discouraging activism, particularly trade unionism, can destroy a thriving industry – it is clear from the story of Comrade Dele Ariyo that the textile industry in Nigeria thrived mostly at the time he had successfully galvanised the cooperation of his colleagues to form the union he laboured so much to form. This is instructive
All said, no one is perfect, but in every situation we find ourselves in this world, we should “do the needful” as Comrade Dele Ariyo aptly exemplified.
