The Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Hon Abubakar Bawa Bwari, has inaugurated a six-man ministerial committee on the rehabilitation of Ladi Kwali Pottery Centre, Suleja, Niger state.
He said the move was aimed at kick stating the rebirth of the pottery industry in Nigeria after a long period of neglect.
The committee is chaired by Engr. Sani Alhassan, Umar Shaibu, Umar Saleh, Yunusa Muhammed, Mr Linus Adie and representative of the Niger state government as members.
Represented by project coordinator of the Mineral Sector Support for Economic Diversification (MinDiver) under the ministry, Mr Linus Adie, the minister said he was excited to be associated with the revival story of the famous Ladi Kwali Pottery Training Centre.
He said, “Our target is to re-create the glory of the past era and surpass it. As a young student in Government Secondary School, Suleja, the centre was regarded as a citadel of industry and technology where ordinary clay is transformed into aesthetic household wares. The centre attracted many visitors from all over the world. It brought the Nigerian local pottery industry to international fame and to us it stood as a symbol of industry.”
He described the centre as good example in achieving the lofty goals within the nation’s local industry when accomplished in view of the country’s current plan of diversifying the economy, and creating employment opportunities for the huge population through the utilisation of local resources for industrial production.
He charged the committee with the responsibility of developing a new concept for the centre bearing in mind the strong need for its sustainability, analyze the current market segmentation and tease out the product lines bearing in mind the need to maintain the globally accomplished Ladi Kwali Brand.
In his response, chairman of the committee Engr. Sani Alhassan said it was great day for the Suleja emirate, people and Niger state because efforts were made before with little result.
“I am happy and we will do all we can to get it done. It may seem daunting but we will do our best. What the MinDiver and Ministry of Mines and Steel Development has done is historic,” he said.
