By Oyajimi Kehinde and Odunfa Najeem
Reinforcing its mandate to advance indigenous technology and local innovation, the Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC) Ogun State Coordinating Office, led by State Coordinator Mr Rabiu Basiru Olawole, took an active part in the 3rd International Adire Cultural Festival. The festival, themed “Tread of Legacy: Patterns of Prosperity,” was organized by the Asani and Aduke Foundation in collaboration with ATJ Textile and held on Monday, November 10, 2025, at Alake Hall, Abeokuta Club, IBB Boulevard, Oke-Lewo, Abeokuta.
The event organized by Dr. Mrs. Asani Aduke, drew participants from adire marketers, producers, and was graced by the wife of the former president of Nigeria, Her Excellency, Chief Mrs. Bola Obasanjo; Ambassador Folarin Sussan, former Nigerian Ambassador to Spain; the wife of Olowu Kingdom, Olori Bamidele Matemilola,; Mrs. Olajumoke Abolaji, Ogun State Coordinator; Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC); the head of Ogun State office Small Medium Enterprises Development Agency (SMEDAN), market men and women drawn from popular Asero and Itoku kampala market Abeokuta, school children among many others.
In her remarks, Mrs Samuel O, representative of adire market women, welcomed the participants to the events and advocated for the need to preserve adire heritage in Nigeria. She stated that kampala was an ancient business of their forefathers in Abeokuta and was held in high esteem. She clamoured for everyone to publicize adire fabrics and other products through various trade fairs and exhibitions in the state and beyond to promote awareness and boost patronage of Adire. She also noted that adire can be transformed in many ways by adding value to make different items such as folders, bags, jeans, knickers, and wrist watches etc, of unique designs. She further beseeched the State government to make adire an official attire for the civil servants in the state to respect and preserve the cultural heritage of Yoruba land. She also advised that training and re-training of stakeholders in the sector should be prioritized to make adire products more acceptable and competitive with other fabric designs in the world market.
In his remark, RMRDC Ogun State Coordinator. Mr Rabiu Basiru applauded Asani for the innovation and for the light she brought to adire business in the state by setting up such an event. He encourages everyone to embrace local content development by her through patronage of made in Nigeria products such as adire. He reaffirms RMRDC commitment to indigenous technology development especially under the leadership of Professor Nnanyelugo Ike-Muonso.
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Mr. Basiru informed the gathering that the Council strongly encourages value addition, and that is why it is promoting a bill on 30% value addition to raw materials before they are exported. He stated that the bill is currently awaiting President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s assent. He urged the stakeholders to also support the bill.
Speaking when launching the production guide for adire making authored by Dr Mrs. Asani, convener of the programme, Chief Mrs. Bola Obasanjo described the book as concise and explanatory, explaining the details operations involved in adire making. She added that the book was capable of turning the unskilled labourer to be skilled, and explained in details the colours, materials and chemicals for production. Chief Mrs Obasanjo encourages everyone interested in venturing into adire production to buy and make use of it.
The programme featured remarks from various participants, like NEPC, adire makers, cultural game and dance among many others.
