Generally it is a normal phenomenon for every country in the world to import goods which they cannot produce, or which they cannot produce enough to service the need of their teeming populace. That is what importation is all about.

Importation is simply the act or process of bringing in goods and products from a foreign country into another country. Importation is not a new phenomenon; it has been around for many years. Nigeria is a country which imports tones of goods on a daily basis. However, we just can’t help but notice that some of these goods are simply ridiculous!

Have a look at the Top 10 ridiculous goods Nigeria imports.

1. Toothpick

‘Toothpick o, Naija still dey import toothpick!’ It is quite ridiculous that such a trivial commodity such as a tiny piece of bamboo carving is still being imported into the country. Last year, it was reported that Nigeria spent a whooping $1.3 million in importing toothpick to the country.

Sit back a second and think of how many jobs or social amenities that money would have provided. We really need to wake up!

2. Garri (cassava flakes)

And yes, we import garri too. Garri that our women can process bags upon bags in one week. In our research we discovered that our ‘big men’, most especially those in the corridors of power have discovered that the garri being produced in Ghana and Togo is better than what we produce locally; so they opt to import this vastly abundant commodity.

So there you have it, Africa’s largest producer of cassava imports garri. ‘Chai!’ is what we have to say.

3. Beans

Do we honestly import beans? Sadly true, we do! At this point you begin to wonder if there’s anything Nigeria won’t import; wait till you get to the bottom of our list. This attitude of falling for anything that is termed imported must stop. The Vietnamese and some of these smart-head Asian countries have since switched to exporting to us foodstuff such as beans since we banned the importation of rice. Ridiculous!

4. Wooden doors

The Irokos, the mahoganys, the Obgeches etc. are all wonderful trees that God has blessed us with, yet, funny enough, we cut down these trees and use their wood as firewood, while others burn them for charcoal. Ironically we even export some of these woods while majority of the most expensive wooden doors in the country are imported.

You hear annoying tales of imported wooden coffins too, and you ask yourself if these imported wooden items were made of something other than WOOD.

5. Palm oil

Yes, Nigeria imports palm oil too. Red oil o. ‘With palm tree wey full everywhere for naija’a yet we spend millions of dollars importing eggs to the country. Thank goodness last year, the Central bank announced that products such as eggs will no longer access Foreign Exchange from CBN, local banks or Bureau de change. This means that, business owners who wish to degrade our economy further by importing this trivial goods can get their foreign exchange from their own private sources.

7. Steel nails

Just like every other available-but-ignored natural resource in Nigeria imports, iron ore is one natural mineral we have in abundance, yet we still spend billions of dollars importing products made from iron ore, such as steel nails. Its ridiculous that roofing nails which can easily be produced locally, pops up on the list of what Nigeria spend money importing.

7. Fish

Yes, azu, the one that swins in our many rivers. We also import fish. When you consider the fact that some the countries which we patronize for these fishes do not even have the large amount of water-body which we boast of in Nigeria, you begin to wonder what our problem is.

Fish importation makes no sense! But we still do it anyway. Nigeria is estimated to spend a whooping $370 million yearly in fish importation; how sad. Don’t start shedding tears of anger and lamentation just yet until you read the next item on our list.

8. Candle

Candle too? Yes! We import it. Whatever name they call it -fragrance candle, color candle etc., importing candles is as lame as it sounds. This is something that can easily be manufactured here in Nigeria. The procedure for producing candles is not that tedious; yet we spend money importing it from foreign countries. Isn’t that plain laziness on our part?

9. Furniture

Hmm…Honestly, what’s so special about imported furniture that almost everyone is gobbling for it? We have great furniture makers in the country whose work can rival what is obtainable abroad. We should encourage them by patronizing them, instead of importing. It’s ridiculous that we still import furniture.

10. Kitchen utensils

This one falls under the same category as steel nails. You pick up a cutlery in the market and you begin to wonder why a funny looking spoon is labeled “Made in China”. That’s because, that funny looking spoon was actually made in China and imported into the our great Nigeria.

What can we do when local production is hardly encouraged or supported in Nigeria. Well, we continue to import while our economy suffers. We look forward to a day when the Nigerian market will be flooded with made in Nigeria goods and not these ridiculous foreign imports. But then again, the change start with us, shebi is when we buy imported good that they will keep importing. The ball is your court.

Got any thoughts on ridiculous things Nigeria imports?

SEE MORE INFO @ https://idonsabi.com

Very soon our bush meats would be imported

There was an episode of BOI weekly on channels tv, where they interviewed a company in delta state that packages toothpick meaning the company makes d plastic cups nd package d toothpick.
But seriously toothpick is made from bamboos, do nigeria mk use of our bamboo?

Even if you provide evidence, I would still not believe we import garri, Lai Lai

dboss444:
There was an episode of BOI weekly on channels tv, where they interviewed a company in delta state that packages toothpick meaning the company makes d plastic cups nd package d toothpick.
But seriously toothpick is made from bamboos, do nigeria mk use of our bamboo?

Yes...they make use of bamboos for several things, especially building.

jaymejate:
Very soon our bush meats would be imported

You would be suprised that the frozen meat seller down your street sells imported frozen bush meat...in kgs

Palm oil otele mbgeke eeeee

419forlife:
Palm oil otele mbgeke eeeee

na so oh!

Imagine all this, and we are crying of unemployment. Why wont there be unemplyment? Nigerian youths its time to put our brain to work and bring out the genius in us.
Im seeing something and i will deinitely work on it. God help me.

girlfromafrica:

na so oh!

I don't believe we import palm oil. I have never seen or bought one.

The list is incomplete without Imported Table Water.

Gazzy88:
The list is incomplete without Imported Table Water.

As in... I tire.

I will never believe we import garri, table water or even palm oil.

I may have some doubt in my mind concerning the rest o but I don't think it's that bad.

And moreover, why won't we import these other things? Are firms encouraged? Local govt, council people, facilities work against indigenous firms.
It begins with us anyway. Awareness is still key.

thegame:
I will never believe we import garri, table water or even palm oil.

I may have some doubt in my mind concerning the rest o but I don't think it's that bad.

And moreover, why won't we import these other things? Are firms encouraged? Local govt, council people, facilities work against indigenous firms.
It begins with us anyway. Awareness is still key.

It Begins With Us!