Although successive Nigerian governments have tried to support "Made in Nigeria" through policies and propaganda, Nigerians do not think it necessary to patronize these products. Recent market surveys show that a larger proportion of Nigerians prefer "foreign-made goods", while relatively fewer people patronize Nigerian-made products.
The survey results also show that "low product quality, neglect and lack of government support" are the main reasons why Nigerian products are not welcomed by Nigerians. Mr. Stephen Ogbu, a Nigerian civil servant, pointed out that low quality was the main reason why he did not choose Nigerian products. “I wanted to patronize local products, but their quality is not encouraging,” he said.
There are also Nigerians who say that Nigerian producers lack national and product self-confidence. They do not believe in their own country and themselves, which is why they usually put the labels "Made in Italy" and "Made in other countries" on their products.
Ekene Udoka, a Nigerian civil servant, also repeatedly mentioned the government's attitude towards products manufactured in Nigeria. According to him: “The government neither patronizes locally produced goods nor encourages them by giving incentives and other rewards to producers, which is why he has not used Nigerian-made products either”.
In addition, some locals in Nigeria said that the lack of individuality of the products is the reason why they choose not to buy local products. Moreover, some Nigerians believe that products made in Nigeria are despised by the public. Generally Nigerians think that anyone who patronizes local products is poor, so many people do not want to be labeled as poor. People do not give high ratings to products made in Nigeria, and they lack value and trust in products made in Nigeria.
