Future Prospects for Akwete Indigenous Textile Industry in Nigeria: A Political Economy Analysis of Globalisation, Challenges, and Policy Pathways
1 Department of Fashion Design and Clothing Technology, Ogbonnaya Onu Polytechnic, Aba, Abia State.
* Corresponding author: ugoezechizaram@gmail.com
* Corresponding author: ugoezechizaram@gmail.com
Abstract
The paper examines the political economy of Nigeria’s indigenous textile industry, focusingon the Akwete weaving industry amid globalisation and emerging challenges. The influx ofcheap imported textiles, particularly from China, has severely disrupted local production,drastically reducing demand for the Akwete cloth and threatening the livelihoods of traditionalweavers. The study utilised a qualitative analysis and secondary sources to identify the keychallenges. The results showed that the Akwete industry was fundamentally constrained bythree factors viz-a-viz Global Competition: Cheap imported fabrics consistently undercut localprices; Production Deficits: The industry suffers from high operating costs, reliance on manualweaving, limited access to quality raw materials, and severe infrastructure deficits likeunreliable power and poor transport; Social/Institutional Weaknesses: These include thedeclining interest of younger generations in weaving and weak institutional support regardingpolicy, branding, and intellectual property protection. Despite these barriers, findings point toopportunities for revitalisation, including design innovation, where traditional Akwete motifsare successfully adapted into printed and hybrid products, thereby broadening market appeal.To achieve sustainable development, therefore, targeted strategic interventions wererecommended, which included input subsidies, infrastructure investment, design protection,vocational training, and strategic market development.
Keywords
Akwete weaving
Akwete revitalisation
textile industry
political economy
Nigeria
globalisation.
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How to Cite
C., C. U., & O., I. (2026). Future Prospects for Akwete Indigenous Textile Industry in Nigeria: A Political Economy Analysis of Globalisation, Challenges, and Policy Pathways. Nigerian Journal of Textiles, 12(1), 42-46. https://doi.org/10.67637/njt.2026.4v66bm6z
C. U. C., and I. O., "Future Prospects for Akwete Indigenous Textile Industry in Nigeria: A Political Economy Analysis of Globalisation, Challenges, and Policy Pathways," Nigerian Journal of Textiles, vol. 12, no. 1, pp. 42-46, June 2026. doi: 10.67637/njt.2026.4v66bm6z
