•FCT tailors, fabric dealers groan over low patronage at Yuletide
From Charity Nwakaudu, Abuja
This Yuletide season is being ravaged by inflation, eroding the value of naira and sending prices of goods to the sky. In Abuja, many families can barely eat a meal a day and do not bother getting new clothes to celebrate the season.
That has affected tailors and fabric dealers. The usual December rush is becoming a thing of the past in the FCT.
Unlike in past years when clothiers had tons of fabrics to make and deliver amid tight deadlines, this year’s yuletide is the direct opposite. Clothiers are the ones scouting for customers and baiting them with slashed charges.
Some tailors who spoke to Abuja Metro attributed it to economic hardship and high cost of sewing materials. They added that most residents now prefer flea clothes.
Chidinma Okereke, a tailor at Wuse Zone 6, told Daily Sun: “This is supposed to be our booming season but this year nothing is happening. I normally stop collecting clothes from my customers in November. This is the second week in December I am still looking for customers. Even those who have given, some are yet to send in their advance payment. For some of us, this is our only source of income. I wonder what the celebration will look like.
“I don’t blame the customers. The cost of our service has really increased due to the hike in prices of sewing materials. We now make skirts and blouses from N12,000 above. It is not everyone that can afford it looking at the economic situation in the land.”
Another tailor at Jabi Upstairs, Naomi Ejembi, said: “In the past, my customers would have brought their clothes earlier to avoid disappointment. But as you can see, Christmas is less than a few weeks and we have just a few materials to sew because things are very expensive due to the high dollar rate.”
Ameh John, a tailor in Kubwa: “As the prices of everything have gone up, we are forced to increase our charges. The cost of materials and other accessories in making clothes have increased.
“Some people prefer to just buy ready-to-wear clothes or pre-owned ones, which in some cases, are a bit cheaper than buying fabrics, accessories and sewing.
“In previous years, by this time, I have stopped collecting clothes from customers and started sleeping in the shop to meet up with demands. This time, there is no need to sleep at the shop because the jobs are too few.”
Anthony Aku sells readymade clothing and shoes. He lamented that the scarcity of patronage and the pressure to put food on the table forced him to sell at prices lower than what he is supposed to sell: “People now prefer flea clothes for Christmas because of the high cost of living.”
Another clothes dealer at Utako market, Helen Terfa, testified: “It is true that the market has been very poor despite the season that we are in. Most Nigerians now prefer cheaper pre-owned clothes. This is because the cost of things is very expensive.
“Even myself, I can’t afford some of these clothes. They are very expensive and the money is not even available. The other day, I had to sell even cheaper than the real price. I needed money to settle some family issues.”
A customer, Lovett Abah, in Dutse, said: “It was cheaper to sew clothes for children before but with the hike in prices of things in the country, one can hardly sew. You can manage to get an African fabric for N3,000.
“When you take it to the tailor, their charges would be from N10,000 above. I couldn’t make it. I retired to second hand clothes this year because that is just what I could afford.”
Another customer, Joy Andrew: “I was very surprised when my tailor called asking if I wasn’t going to make clothes. This is a man that stops collecting clothes from November but this is December and he is even the one asking.
“The economic situation is affecting everyone. I haven’t even bought anything yet. Let’s look for food first and manage the old ones. I don’t think the increase in service charge is their fault. Everything in the country is expensive and they can’t be excluded.”
Katie Nneyi, a tailor at Wuse Market had a different story to tell: “I don’t know what they are talking about. Business is even better now. I stopped collecting clothes in the first week of November. Some customers are still coming to plead for me to make clothes for them.
“But I can’t because I don’t want to disappoint my clients. What you need to know about this work is that, once you are perfect in what you are doing, no matter the situation on ground, you will still have work to do.”