By Ochefa

After 17 years off the shelves, Okin Biscuits, one of Nigeria’s once-popular indigenous biscuit brands, is set to return to production as efforts intensify to revive the Ijagbo, Kwara State-based factory.

The planned comeback marks a significant attempt to restore one of the country’s old manufacturing brands while potentially reopening a major source of employment and economic activity in the community.

Founded in the 1980s by the late Chief Emmanuel Olatunji Adesoye, an illustrious son of Offa, Okin Biscuits grew into a household name with products including Okin Coasters, Shortcake and Okin Cabin Biscuits.

At its peak, the company provided direct and indirect employment to more than 2,000 people before production was eventually halted in 2009.

The shutdown reflected some of the structural problems that have continued to undermine Nigeria’s manufacturing sector, including harsh operating conditions, intense competition, inadequate infrastructure, vandalism and the theft of critical production equipment.

With the factory no longer producing, its products gradually disappeared from retail outlets and homes in Kwara, Lagos and other parts of the country.

Factory Undergoing Major Rehabilitation

However, the industrial facility is now showing signs of renewed activity.

A visit to the factory in Ijagbo showed that extensive rehabilitation work is underway across the complex.

The main factory building, which houses the production machinery, as well as the administrative block and other facilities, are undergoing comprehensive renovation.

The premises have already assumed a significantly different appearance, suggesting that the revival project has moved beyond plans and into physical reconstruction.

The management recently announced through its official Facebook page that production machinery was being test-run.

It said biscuits rolled off one of the rehabilitated production lines on August 25, 2026, marking the first production from the factory in 17 years.

The development is significant not merely as the return of a nostalgic consumer brand, but as an example of how the rehabilitation of abandoned industrial assets could contribute to renewed domestic production and employment.

For Nigeria, where manufacturers continue to contend with high energy and logistics costs, infrastructure constraints, foreign exchange pressures and strong competition from imported products, the reopening of an existing manufacturing facility could offer a potentially faster route to industrial capacity expansion than building an entirely new factory.

Community Backs Revival

…biscuits rolled off one of the rehabilitated production lines on August 25, 2026, marking the first production from the factory in 17 years.

The planned resuscitation has also attracted strong support from the Offa community.

The Aare Bobaselu of Offa, Chief Abdulatif Adekunle Ajeigbe, described the development as “heartwarming,” linking it to the broader Offa Mega City project championed by the Olora of Offa, Oba Muftau Mohammed Gbadamisi, Esuwoye II.

According to him, members of the community had made several efforts to revive the moribund factory, including exploring the possibility of group financing.

“We did our best to see that the factory came back to life, but it was the children of the late Asiwaju of Offa and the founder of the factory, Chief Emmanuel Olatunji Adesoye, who insisted on carrying on their father’s legacy through the factory,” he said.

Ajeigbe commended the founder’s children for their determination to preserve the family’s industrial legacy and bring the factory back into operation.

More Than A Brand Revival

The return of Okin Biscuits also highlights the wider economic value embedded in Nigeria’s abandoned industrial assets.

The company’s earlier success created employment not only within the factory but across its supply and distribution networks, including raw-material suppliers, transporters, distributors, retailers and other service providers.

A successful reopening could therefore have an economic impact extending beyond the factory gates, particularly if production eventually returns to significant capacity.

The bigger test, however, will be whether the revived company can operate sustainably in an increasingly competitive Nigerian consumer market.

The new investors will have to contend with production costs, energy supply, distribution challenges, consumer purchasing power and competition from both established domestic manufacturers and imported brands.

For Okin, the challenge is therefore not simply to restart the machines, but to build a commercially viable manufacturing operation capable of sustaining production, protecting jobs and reclaiming market share.

If successful, the return of Okin Biscuits could become more than a nostalgic homecoming for Nigerian consumers.

It could provide a practical demonstration that some of the country’s dormant industrial assets can be rehabilitated, modernised and returned to productive use.

After 17 years of silence, the sound of Okin’s production lines running again may therefore signal the beginning of a new chapter for one of Nigeria’s forgotten manufacturing brands.