Dr. Emmanuel M.

Alemaka

ADVOCATING FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE NIGERIAN INDIGENOUS GLASS

INDUSTRY FOLLOWING AFTER THE FIROZABAD PARADIGM

Dr. Emmanuel M. Alemaka

Glass Technology Section,
Department of Industrial Design
Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria
alemakagold@gmail.com, emalemaka@abu.edu.ng

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Abstract
This paper highlights a few concepts of technology transfer and examines the issues that
militate against the successful transfer of technology especially as it concerns developing
economies such as Nigeria. The development of the Firozabad glass industry from its
humble beginnings to its current status as an employer of labour and a viable foreign
exchange earner for India was examined and has been recommended as a suitable
paradigm and an alternative route to technology development rather than the ever elusive
notion of technology transfer. The Masaga Glass bead industry of Nigeria was also
examined and comparisons drawn between it and the Firozabad glass industry of India
and it was argued that if the right government policies are put in place, together with
other enabling factors such as research efforts and patronage of locally produced goods by
Nigerians, then perhaps the success story of the Firozabad Glass city of India could also be
ours. The paper concludes by insisting that systematic development in indigenous
technology to international standards, rather than adapting up-to-date, ready-made and
difficult-to-maintain technologies from advanced countries, will result in significant
impacts on the national economy.

Keywords: Nigeria, Indigenous technology, Glass Industry, Firozabad, Paradigm

Introduction
The development of any nation is hinged on how well it is able to develop and deploy
indigenous technology to her industries; and Nigeria as a nation has a number of such
indigenous industries from which such indigenous technologies can be developed. Such
indigenous industries include: Traditional soap making industries (e.g. dudu osun
commonly known as black soap), black smith, Brass/Bronze casting works, wood
carving, herbal medicines, basket/cane weaving, textiles weaving/dyeing, calabash
carving, glass bead making, brewing/distilling, to mention just a few. There is no better
time, in the life of our nation, to give serious attention to the development of indigenous
technology than now when Nigerias major source of foreign exchange earnings, that is,
crude oil exportation, is experiencing a downward turn and the cry for diversification of
the national economy is at its loudest. Essien (2011) observes that efforts by several
administrations in Nigeria at redirecting the nations economic policy reforms and
technology is yielding very little result and he attributes this to the fact that Nigeria is
over-dependent on imported consumer goods. The same attitude is being demonstrated

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FOLLOWING AFTER THE FIROZABAD PARADIGM

towards the development of indigenous technology, where technology transfer is being

preferred above the development of indigenous technology.

Issues in transfer of technology

Chesnais (1986) in Wahab, Rose and Osman (2012) argues that technology transfer
does not only transfer the technical know-how required to produce the product to the
recipient but also the capacity to master, develop and later produce autonomously the
technology underlying the products, while Hoffman and Girvan (1990) in Wahab, et al.,
(2012) in the context of developing countries, advances that technology transfer needs
to be perceived in terms of achieving three core objectives, which are firstly the
introduction of new techniques by means of investment of new plants; secondly, the
improvement of existing techniques and thirdly, the generation of new knowledge.
There are, however, issues related to the whole idea of technology transfer as it is not as
easy as it is presented. Reddy and Zhoa (1990) in Wahab, et al., (2012) point out that the
transfer of technology requires a sustained relationship between two enterprises over a
period of time to enable the receiving enterprise to produce the product with the
desired level of quality standards and cost efficiency. The period of time over which
such a relationship between donor enterprise and the receiving enterprise will be
sustained is usually not definite even if such were to be stated in written agreements,
especially if this transaction is between countries. There would usually be software
upgrades especially if such technologies are related to Information and Communications
Technology (IC&T), secondly if the transferred technology is hardware related, and the
receiving enterprise/country has not developed other industries germane to the
acquired technology which may be necessary to provide replacement parts, then the
assistance of the donor enterprise/country would continually be sought in order to
provide these replacement parts and this with the concomitant foreign exchange
dissipation.

Harry (2013) observes that, while technology transfer efforts have been largely
successful in some Asian economies such as China, South Korea, India and Malaysia, it
has not been successful in Nigeria particularly because the so-called success in
technology transfer achieved by some of these Asian countries, for example China, has
not been without underhand practices and in most cases, outright stealing best
describes the method by which such transfers have been achieved. In other cases
however, there have been genuine efforts and positive results in developing indigenous
technology and a case worth noting is the development of Glass technology in Firozabad
in India.

Development of the glass industry of Firozabad

India, just like Nigeria is notable for indigenous glass production, with the bulk of this
glass production taking place in Firozabad, a small industrial town located nearly
200km from India's capital, New Delhi, known for its glass industry, particularly its
famed bangles (See Plate I)
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Plate 1: Packing of Bangles for transmission to vendors

Source: Shafi (2015)

Adegbeye (2008) reports that:

The glass industry of Firozabad ... started in the 15th century when
invaders of India would bring along with them many glass articles.
These glass articles when discarded were collected by the Firozabad
indigenes and melted in a locally made furnace called Bhainsa Bhatti,
which used wood as fuel. These old traditional furnaces are still in use in
Sasani near Aligareh and at Purdal Nagar. During this time, only small
bottles and Kadechhal Ki Chudi bangles which had no joints, could be
made, one at a time.

The glass industry in Firozabad had a small beginning that was marked with crude
items that were not perfected as well as furnaces that were very basic (See Plate II).

Plate II: Working at crude Pot furnace

Source: Shafi (2015)

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However, things did not continue as they were because there were developments and
great successes recorded in the glass making activities that were carried out in
Firozabad as reported by Adegbeye (2008):

Slowly and steadily bangles, beads, kangans, kada and similar items
were produced in bulk for the general public and remain popular as
marriage items in Indian and international markets till date. Known as
the world capital for beads, the bead industry in Firozabad is famous for
the glass beads it produces which are exported all over the world for use
in all kinds of items such as clothing, accessories and shoes. Since 1989,
it started production of artistic glass ware in different colors and shades
and today about four hundred glass industries are registered in
Firozabad which export about 50% of their manufactured units to
different countries. Natural gas as opposed to coal is now used to fuel
the regenerative pot furnaces that characterize this blowing and
modeling industry (See plate III).

The glass bead industry in Firozabad now earns foreign exchange for India, besides the
empowerment it provides for the local people and freedom from dependence on
government jobs. Firozabad with a population of 279,102 boasts of having 75% of this
population involved either directly or indirectly in the glass industry and has come to be
referred to as The Glass City of India. From the humble beginning of the glass industry
in Firozabad where only simple glass items were being produced, today, the range of
glass products made in Firozabad includes: glass hardware for decoration purposes,
glass art-ware such as toys, candle-stands, crosses, Christmas trees, fruits, bird and
animal figurines and images of gods and goddesses, glass domestic wares such as
drinking glasses, beer glasses, wine glasses, dinner tableware are made both in cottage
industries and automated plants, scientific and laboratory glassware such as beakers,
flasks, containers made for college, university and factory laboratories; glass automobile
wares such as light bulbs, battery bulbs and other light and sight equipment for two and
four wheelers, Glass street-and-domestic light ware for urban and rural areas for
lighting and utility purposes are made including miniature bulbs and high power
voltage bulbs (Firozabad Glass City of India (n.d)).

Plate III: A typical Pot Furnace in Firozabad

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Dr. Emmanuel M. Alemaka

Source: Shafi (2015)

The paradigm
Bangle-making in Firozabad is a household business with traditional technique being
passed on through generations. Firozabad has been producing glass bangles for more
than 200 years now and is the biggest manufacturer of glass bangles in the world (Shafi,
2015). The bangle market in the towns Gali Bohran has rows of colorful shops selling
glittering, beautifully hand-crafted glass bangles (See Plate IV). Shafi (2015) reports that
there are more than 191 glass-bangle factories registered by government and in a single
factory there are around 200 people working to produce these bangles. Unlike the
Masaga glass bead industry, which is operated exclusively by men, the Firozabad glass
industry is operated by both men and women and is reputed to involve whether directly
or indirectly, about 90 percent of the population. Despite the apparent success of the
Firozabad glass bangle industry, there have been some initiatives by the government of
India to bring development to the glass industry. This initiative includes the setting up
of a Centre for Development of Glass Industry in Firozabad (CDGI, 2016) as a joint
venture project of the government of India, United Nations Development Programme
(UNDP), United Nations Industrial Development Orgranisation (UNIDO) and the
government of Pradesh.

Plate IV: Rows of Beautiful handcrafted glass bangles

Source: Shafi (2015)

The Centre for Development of Glass Industry in Firozabad provides both Physical and
Chemical laboratory services; The Physical Laboratory is equipped with equipment
used for the determination of Softening Point, Annealing point, Strain point, Liquidus
temperature and Coefficient of Thermal Expansion. In addition to these the Physical
laboratory is equipped with facilities for Petrographic Analysis to identify the defects in
Glass; Polariscope and Density Comparator are also available for Strain measurement
and determination of specific gravity of Glass. The Chemical laboratory on the other
hand is fully equipped to carryout qualitative as well as quantitative analysis of raw
materials, finished Glass, refractory materials etc. It is equipped with Flame Photometer
and Absorption Spectrophotometer. Batch formulation and melting facilities for
different types of glasses are also available (CDGI, 2016).
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There are several units or departments in the Centre for Development of Glass Industry
in Firozabad which provide certain services and these include:
Pollution Control Division: This division is equipped to carry out Stack
Monitoring, Ambient Air Quality Measurement such as Suspended Particulate
Matter (SPM), RSPM, Sulphur dioxide & Oxides of Nitrogen etc.
Combustion Engineering: This division aims at conservation of energy through
various measures. It has facility for combustion monitoring of furnaces through
waste gas analysis and also has the capability to design and construct various
types of fuel-efficient furnaces for application in the small scale glass unit.
Product and Technology Development Unit (PTDU): this unit was established to
demonstrate best practices of batching, melting, forming and finishing
technologies for glass units. Batch formulation, preparation of new glass
compositions and products are an integral part of the PTDU. The unit has
facilities for melting 2-1000kg/day glass in Pot furnaces and Day Tank furnace
and currently a studio glass facility is being installed for glass artists.
Pot Development Unit: having discovered that the quality of glass melting pots
used in Firozabad is much inferior in terms of glass quality and campaign life
compared to the pots used elsewhere, the Centre for development of glass
industry in India has developed a modern facility for manufacturing of glass
melting pots under the financial assistance of Department of Science &
Technology of the government of India and high quality processed materials and
finished pots are supplied to Glass industry
Consultancy and Troubleshooting Services: The Centre has a team of
professionals available to offer consultancy services in such areas as Plant Lay
out, Preparation of Project report, Furnace Design & construction, Equipment
selection, Product development, Batch formulation, Quality Control, Energy
conservation & Pollution Control etc. Troubleshooting services are also available
in the areas of Glass defect analysis, identification of its source as well as the
remedy.
Design and Decoration Units: an assortment of techniques for hot glass working
such as Glass Casting, Slumping & Fusing and Lamp Working as well as those for
cold glass working such as Glass Cutting, Engraving, Painting, Screen Printing,
Stained Glass, and Frosting by Sand Blasting, are being practiced at the Centre.
There exist facilities for training in all of the areas which have been listed out
above. (CDGI, 2016)

Currently the Centre for development of Glass industry in India is carrying out certain
developmental activities which center around:
- Design and development of gas fired glass melting furnace for glass beads
- Development of improved quality glass, compatible lamp torch and high surface
finish, dies and mould for glass bead

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The Nigerian indigenous glass industry

In Nigeria, glass bead making, occupies a prime position among the local indigenous
industries in Nigeria. Historically, two indigenous centres were reported to be involved
in glass bead making in Nigeria the Yoruba glass bead making centre located in Ife
(Ige, 2006) and the Nupe glass bead making centre located in Masaga in Bida. Presently
there is no available record or activity to suggest that the Yoruba centre is still
functional, however, the Nupe glass bead making centre, specifically located in Masaga
in Bida, which is still operational, functions only on a diminutive level. Harris (2014)
opines that apart from Egypt, Nigeria is the only other known place in Africa where
glass beads were not just recycled from imported glass beads or fragments but were
produced from sand, furthermore that Bida beads (Masaga furnace wound) of Niger
state, Nigeria are very popular as the tradition remains till this day (See Plates V & VI).

Plate V: Neck Beads

Source: Alemaka (2009)

Plate VI: Glass Beads and coiled snake figures

Source: Alemaka (2009)

Glass beads produced by the Masaga Guild of glass makers are produced at a beehive-
shaped furnace which is built up with red clay and constructed on the ground (See Plate
VII). The primary fuel for this furnace is wood while the combustion air for this furnace
is supplied by a manually worked cloth bellows attached to the furnace (See Plate IIX).
After producing the glass articles, the guild of glass bead makers then display these
items in a small showroom, which doubles as a shop, for would-be buyers; most times

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these articles are made by different craftsmen from various glass making families within
the cluster in Masaga in Bida, Niger State (See plate IXa and IXb).

Plate VII: Beehive-shaped Clay Furnace

Source: Alemaka (2009)

Plate IIX: Cloth Bellows for providing combustion air to furnace

Source: Alemaka (2009)

Plate IXa: Outside the Masaga Bead makers showroom

Source: Alemaka (2009)

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Plate IXb: Inside the Masaga Bead makers showroom

Source: Alemaka (2009)

As it is currently at the Masaga glass bead industry, the state of affairs is not any
different from what was obtainable in Firozabad at the early stages; the craft is
currently being practiced by indigenous people who had glass bead making as part of
their tradition for a very long time. The trade currently enjoys some level of patronage
by tourists from Europe and other parts of the African continent.

The imperatives for developing the Nigerian glass industry

What is required, inter alia, is for the Federal government of Nigeria to develop and put
in place appropriate national policies that will encourage the development and
promotion of indigenous crafts, also researches should be directed at how to integrate
modern equipment, methods and materials into these indigenous crafts and slowly
build up indigenous technology. Importantly, there is the need for a joint effort of the
Federal government of Nigeria and the Niger state government, with assistance from
such international bodies as the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and
United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) to create a Centre for the
development of the glass industry in Nigeria with similar mandate(s) as earlier
discussed with respect to that of Firozabad in India. Obviously, there is the need to
introduce some form of modification in the tools that are currently being deployed in
the process of glass bead making; additionally, the furnace as well as the fuel (fire wood
in this case) need to be upgraded and redesigned for greater efficiency these will
provide viable research areas for research institutes as well as tertiary institutions
involved having such research focus. Currently production of the beads and other
articles of glass is carried on manually and as such the output in terms of volume of
products is small and this may require that some form of automation be introduced into
the production process for better output in terms of volume of production. There is also
the need for aggressive production promotion on the international arena and one of the
most potent means to achieve this is through the instrumentality of the Internet,
currently information relating to the Nigerian glass bead industry is scarcely available
on the Internet. In addition to the aforementioned imperatives, there is also the need to
exercise patience and to carefully nurture our indigenous technologies until they attain
international standard; needless to say that the nation must as a matter of duty be the
first on the line of patronage of made in Nigeria products so as to create an enabling
environment for the growth and development of indigenous technology.

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Conclusion
In order to attain a fully developed and thriving glass technology sector of the national
economy and to achieve the first of the Millennium Development Goals, that is, to
eradicate extreme poverty and hunger, there need to be efforts geared towards research
in indigenous technology. It is also advocated here that systematic development in
indigenous technology to international standards will result in significant impacts on
the national economy. The development of indigenous technology, which was
experienced in Firozabad, is unlikely to result without a systematic developmental
strategy in terms of modification of certain facilities like the furnace and introduction of
better fuels like natural gas in place of coal and wood and glass forming methods. If it
worked in Firozabad, there is a high possibility that it will work out in Nigeria as long as
the necessary conditions for the development of indigenous technology are put in place.
The advantage of developing indigenous technology is that indigenous technology can
easily be maintained without recourse to expatriate recommendations and consequent
foreign exchange dissipation.

References
Adegbeye O.O. (2008): A Comparative Analysis of the Development and Prospects of Small
Scale Glass Bead production in West Africa with a focus on Massaga glass bead
making in Bida, Niger State; unpublished undergraduate Project submitted to the
Department of Industrial Design, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.
Alemaka E.M. (2009): Field trip to the Masaga Glass Bead works in Bida, Niger State.
Centre for the Development of Glass Industry in India CDGI (2016): About CDGI,
Firozabad Centre for the Development of Glass Industry retrieved from
www.cdgiinda.com, 7th September, 2016
Essien C.F. (2011): Empowering Indigenous Industries for National Development: A
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June 2011
Firozabad Glass city of India (n.d): An Introduction The Glass City of India Firozabad
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2014
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