Manufacturing industry is the changing or turning or transformation of raw materials into new or finished products by mechanical or chemical processes at home (cottage) or in the factory.
Manufacturing, as a modern activity in Nigeria, is relatively recent in the nation’s economic development history.
What was previously practiced in the country was the craft industry. Among the products of the craft industry were artifacts of wood, brass, bronze, leather, hand-woven textiles, bags, and fire-burnt pottery from clay. In its modern form, manufacturing activities have been well developed as a result of some basic factors which include: availability of raw materials, large domestic market, hydro-electric power and so on.
CHARACTERISTICS OF MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES IN NIGERIA
1. Most manufacturing industries in Nigeria are small scale.
2. They are concentrated in few locations, especially in urban centres.
3. They are dependent on imported raw materials from other countries.
4. They do not easily source their raw materials from within the country.
5. They rely on technical expertise (imported skilled labour) from foreign countries.
6. These industries are also labour intensive, that is, they require large labour force to operate.
7. They emphasize on production of consumable goods.
8. Their products are mainly consumed in the local market.
9. Most of the Nigeria manufacturing industries are mainly light industries.
FORMS OR CLASSIFICATIONS OF MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES IN NIGERIA
Manufacturing industries in Nigeria can be grouped or classified into two different forms:
A. Three main classes: (i) Light Industries;
(ii) Consumer Goods Industries;
(iii) Heavy Industries.
B. Three main classes: (i) Primary Industries;
(ii) Secondary Industries;
(iii) Tertiary Industries.
A. (i) LIGHT INDUSTRIES: These consist of secondary industries which produce relatively light weight goods such as matches, fan, television sets, books, pencils, and so on. The labour force is mostly women. They produce final or consumable goods. Apart from Nigeria, they are found in other tropical countries like Ghana, Ivory Coast and so on.
(ii) CONSUMER GOODS INDUSTRIES: These deal with transforming of raw materials into consumable goods. They are mostly located in cities such as Lagos, Ibadan, Kaduna, Port-Harcourt and so on.
(iii) HEAVY INDUSTRIES: These are also secondary industries. Their products are heavy or bulky. The labour force is usually males. Such industries include metallurgical, petroleum and ship building industries. These industries are, however, commonly found in Europe, USA, Germany, China and Japan.
B. (i) PRIMARY INDUSTRIES: These are concerned with extraction of raw materials provided by nature. They are otherwise called extractive industries. These include: lumbering, fishing, farming of cotton, rubber, palm oil, cocoa, livestock production and others.
(ii) SECONDARY INDUSTRIES: These industries specialize in turning or changing raw materials into consumable goods. These include Peugeot Automobile Assembly Nigeria (PAN) in Kaduna,, Sanyo Assembly Plant in Ibadan, Zenox Computers in Abuja, and other industries such as textile, chemicals, ship and boat building, iron and steel, and so on.
(iii) TERTIARY INDUSTRIES: These industries provide essential services such as direct services like trading, driver (chauffeur), banking, medical and transportation. The services may be indirect like the clergy, teaching, military and paramilitary (army, navy, air force, police, immigration, road safety, custom and excise) and so on.
TYPES OF INDUSTRIES IN NIGERIA
There are two major types of industries in Nigeria, namely:
1. Local Craft (Cottage) Industries; and
2. Factory or Modern Manufacturing Industries.
1. LOCAL CRAFTS OR COTTAGE INDUSTRIES IN NIGERIA
These are those types of industries that depend mainly on locally sourced or obtained raw materials. These involve craftsmen and women who make use of simple tools specializing in a particular product based on their artistic quality. The main local craft industries include:
(a) Pottery and Glass Making: These are found in Abuja, Ilorin, Bida, part of Auchi (Edo State), Ikot Ekpene and Calabar. The major products are earthen pots that are fading fast and being displaced by plastic products produced by the modern industries.
(b) Canoe Making: This is associated with the Niger Delta creeks and the Niger-Benue trough (valley) in Nigeria. Canoe is used locally for fishing and transportation. Such industries are found in Okitipupa (Ondo State), Opobo (Rivers State), Epe (Lagos State).
(c) Wood Carving: this industry is found in the rain forest zone where the raw material, basically hardwood is abundant in large quantities. The most important wood carving centres are: Benin-city (Edo State), Ikot Epkene and Uyo (Akwa Ibom State), Oyo (Oyo State), Akure (Ondo State), Awka (Anambra State).
(d) Leather Works: The hides and skin derived from animals like cattle, sheep and goats form the bases of raw materials needed. These industries produce things like sandals, cushions, hand bags, belts, hats and caps and so on. They are found in Kano, Bida, Suleja, Sokoto and Oyo.
(e) Metals (Brass, Bronze and Silver Works or Casting): This industry has been associated with the Binis (Edo State), Ife (Osun State), Bida (Niger State), Kano (Kano State) and Awka (Anambra State) for blacksmithing.
(f) Textile and Cloth Weaving: These industries are found in Akwaete, Southern Zaria, Kaduna, Bida, Kano, Okene, Iseyin, Ibadan, Oyo, Ubulu-Uku, Auchi, Ewohimi and so on.
(g) Ropes and Mat Making: These are found in Kano, Bida, Warri, Ikot Ekpene and so on.
(h) Traditional Food Processing Industries: These industries engage in processing of food consumed locally and exported too. These include: “Garri”, which is produced from cassava serving as a ‘staple food’ to large population of Nigerians. This is found in Edo, Delta, Anambra, Enugu, Ondo, Ekiti, Osun, Oyo, Ebonyi and Ogun States.
Another major one is palm oil industry, sourced from the palm tree and commonly found in the Equatorial Rainforest region of Nigeria. Once the oil is extracted, palm kernel and palm kernel oil are extracted too.
The edible oil is used for cooking and as raw material, while the shells are locally used for road construction and landscaping.
PROBLEMS FACING LOCAL CRAFT (COTTAGE) INDUSTRIES
1. Inadequate Raw Materials: The local crafts or cottage industries in Nigeria are often affected by inadequate or shortages of raw materials which hinders the production.
2. Poor Local Patronage: Poor patronage from the indigenes is as a result of poor finishing and low purchasing power and these affect the industry.
3. Lack of Modern Machinery: Lack of modern factory equipment makes the production highly labour intensive.
4. Poor Transportation Network: Poor transportation network prevents the assemblage of raw materials and evacuation of finished products from the interior to the urban centres.