Given our taste, I am still perplexed as to why Nigeria is not the world's largest manufacturer of luxury furniture

Ayo Akinfe

[1] Given that 45% of Nigerian timber exports is rosewood, a highly prized wood used for the production of luxurious furniture we need to ban its export immediately

[2] By 2025, Nigeria must match Brazil’s production of 11bn kg of timber production

[3] In each of our 36 states, there must be at least five pulp, laminated wood, sawmill, plywood, furniture or paper mill factory

[4] Chile generates at least $2bn a year from timber products. Nigeria must seek to match that by 2025. By 2030, we should aim to become the number one exporter of timber products

[5] Nigeria’s river basin authority will dredge of all of the country’s waterways to enable them transport logs

[6] For every tree that is felled, three must be planted to replace it

[7] Every state must declare a green belt within its territory where limbering is restricted. This is to enable our tree population grow

[8] All towns and cities with a forestry products facility will be linked by a railway network

[9] All the major furniture manufacturers will be invited to come and open shop in Nigeria. They will be given five year tax holidays and 99 year land leases to open plantations, processing plants and factories that manufacture finished products

[10] A special forestry products bank will be opened to advance loans to any local carpenter who wants to use his innovative skills to start factories or special products