Festive period is usually a time where people sew new clothes to celebrate with their family and friends.
Tailors in Nigeria are tagged heartbreakers especially during festive period, despite the outcry of economic hardship in the country, there is a high patronage of sewing and high rates of disappointments from tailors in Kano state.
Less than 24hours to Sallah, residents of Kano are already groaning due to inability of tailors to meet their demands.
Kano residents in a cross section interaction with Daily News 24 expressed mixed reactions.
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Halima Musa, a resident at Danladi Nasidi, Mariri who was spotted with her tailor waiting patiently for her cloth to be completed said “I have been with this tailor for the past 2hours, am pissed, very pissed, I bought three sets of clothes to him prior to Ramadan but here I am, I feel so disheartened.
“I even told him I will be going to Kaduna for my festive celebration,” she lamented.
Sa’adatu Jalo, another resident of Danladi Nasidi said “my tailor is loyal to me as I am to him. I always give him my clothes whether sallah or not and he delivers them on time.
“I gave him my clothes not upto a week with his #6000 for two Ankara, I came to collect the cloth and it is ready, after all “da tsohuwar zuma ake magani” she added in Hausa.
Another lady, at Sabon Gari market who looks disappointed at her own tailor narrates her ordeal.
“I came all the way from Hotoro to give her my clothes two weeks ago, and now she is telling me that I have to come back the next day.
“The most annoying thing was that I called her on Thursday and she said it was ready, I should come. I came on Friday and now she is telling me it is remaining one that i should either wait or come back the next day.
“This was exactly what I was running away from. I wished I gave my tailor back at home, I would have saved a lot of time, energy and money”.
Umar Shuaibu, a young boy at Mariri spotted with his sallah clothes in a polythene bag expressed that “I am happy, am happy I got mine, unfortunately the tailor was not able to complete my brother’s own, he asked us to come back on monday after Eid”. He said.
Our customers are unfair to us – Tailors
Some tailors argued that customers have been unfair by putting all the blame on tailors.
They argued that bringing clothes late, not depositing reasonable amounts of money, too many demands from customers are some reasons they get disappointed.
Malam Nura, a Tailor at Danladi Nasidi explained that “some customers can be very annoying, how can someone bring three sets of clothes or more without depositing half of the money. I will not touch the person’s clothes, it is a sign that the customer will not pay and I do not see myself sewing for free”. He said.
“Things are expensive, landing, zip everything and customers do not understand, they even bargain on price, but Alhamdulillah i got more patronage to last year”.
Another tailor argued that he gives his customers who paid cash top attention.
”Sometimes when customers bring many clothes and deposit half payment after coming to collect one or two clothes, they will leave the rest to you and until you see them again, when they need that ankara for something.
“Customers will bring their clothes prior to days before sallah and expect you to do magic and complete the sewing as if we do not have any other thing to do”.
“Definitely as a tailor, one will want to use this festive period to make money, so we won’t tell customers to stop bringing their clothes, we will sew what we are able to sew”.
Maman Sadiq, an indoor tailor explained how she can not call herself different, as sometimes circumstances warrant a tailor to disappoint their customers which is most times beyond them.
