Tokunbo clothing: Treat of all times for users

Tag : Basic Blouses

It was the deal of the year 1993. Richly woven undies just for N2each? In no time, the delectable ladies of Lofiri Street, Ijomu,Ikorodu,Lagos State, had milled round the sweet-voiced, singing,13-year-old seller. The girl knew her onions.As each buyer madeher choice , she gave useful hints.The material would never wearout.

Even the Big Madams at the high-brow areas of Ikorodu such as LagosRoad, Olubi Street, Benson and Gbasemo had made their own purchasesthat morning.No one paid undue attention to the girl’sboastings.All that mattered were her wares.The ladies had everyreason to be ecstatic.

They had a good bargain.And the gold had come to meet them on theirown doorsteps, not that they had struggled for it. In no time, thegirl’s tray had become completely empty. As the ladies,including this writer’s sisters who must be grievouslyembarrassed should they come across this piece, sweated in theirexcitement and made lurid comments such as” If Babangida sawme in this, I’m sure he would de-annul June12” and“Do you think this would pack my goods(breasts)tightly?”, this writer and a few other young crooks in theneighbourhood began to sing offensive lyrics about fake ladies infake clothing.

The ladies took it in good humour, for anger was expensive at thatperiod in the nation’s history. It was necessary to laugh toretain one’s sanity, for the nation’s saintly-faced andgap-toothed dictators had thrown the nation into hell.The time wassad, bad and mad.And no one was glad.

The following day let loose a pathetic sight. Residents woke uponly to hear the wailings of a clothier, mother of the 13-year-old(of the previous day). “Have mercy on me o!,” the womanwailed ,”my goods are N5 each o!Please o, Ikorodu!! My waresare N5 each o!”. Pandemonium broke loose.

But while some ladies paid up the balance of N3, others told thewoman to go to hell! The time was hard. Where did the woman expectthem to get any money when Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, thenation’s military despot, had just thrown the nation intopanic and disarray by annulling M.K.O Abiola’s election?“If you like, you can go and invite D.P.O”, the womencried, ”on June12 we stand! Babangida must de-annul theelection!”

The women were bickering over mis-sold tokunbo (second-hand) underwear, the beloved clothing of the masses. Butwhy are tokunbo wears such a treat in Nigeria? Nigerian Tribune’s investigations presented interesting answers.

From the university to the farm, from mosques and churches to theancestral shrines (recently, this writer saw some masquerades in tokunbo jeans on the streets of Ibadan), and from Lagos to Kano, Nigeriansparade tokunbo jeans (trousers and jackets), blouses, tops andwind-breakers, shoes, stockings and even brassieres and pantieswith fanatic passion.

It was this penchant for tokunbo clothes that informed the hit-track, ” Dem go dey pose ”, by the Nigerian hip- hop musician, Friday Igwe (popularly calledBaba Fryo), which became a regular drug for Nigerians in 1997.Inthat track, the song merchant ridicules the pretentiousness ofthose Nigerians who flaunt a non-existent wealth while clad insecond-hand clothing. The track caught on like wild rumour.

But why do Nigerians buy tokunbo wears?According to Mr. Kayode Olawoyin, a 400-level student ofpolitical science at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, OsunState, “ Tokunbo clothes are popular among Nigerians for two major reasons. First,they are relatively more durable than the so-called new clothing. Ihave one I bought about two years ago. If you see it, you’dthink I bought it only last month. The second reason is that theyare cheaper”.

Miss Stella Ayeomoni, a 400-level student of English at the sameuniversity, echoes Olawoyin’s views. She believes tokunbo materials are much more better than new materials, ” whichare frequently of inferior quality. Some of my friends buy atOjuelegba and Yaba in Lagos but I buy mine at Dugbe market inIbadan.”

Asked whether tokunbo underwears are more qualitative than non- tokunbo ones, she explains that “ people do not buy tokunbo underwear because they are less expensive. As a matter of fact,they are often more expensive, far more expensive than newmaterials .The point again is that they are more durable, andpeople like durable things.”

In a chat with the Nigerian Tribune at Mayfair roundabout in Ile-Ife, some of the second-handclothiers revealed that tokunbo business could be very profitable but the competition isstiff.”You know say no be bad business but people plenty weydey do di business. But we dey manage small small, one of theclothiers, who simply identified himself as Mr. Chukwudili, said inNigerian Pidgin.

Asked if he had ever contemplated a time when tokunbo clothes andshoes would go out of fashion, the clothier said although anythingis possible in Nigeria, it is not likely that tokunbo materialswould go out of fashion in the nearest future.

Taking a historical look at the tokunbo phenomenon, Madam OdunolaJegede, a 70—year —old trader at the popular Dugbemarket in Ibadan, said that tokunbo materials had not always been popular in the country. ”I canremember that when we first began to see this kind of clothing inthe markets in Ilesa, it had no appeal.

We used to call it “ gbegbinro ” (filth hanger or receptacle of filth). No self-respecting persondared to buy them. If anyone bought tokunbo , such a person was an object of ridicule.It was a sign of extremepoverty. But now things have changed, really changed”, shesays in a painful tone.

Indeed, the times have changed. According to Mr Olajide GbengaJulius, a post-graduate student at the University of Ibadan,“second-hand clothes and shoes are a product of foreigninfluences and the downturn in the Nigerian economy. Our people arevery poor and these materials provide a convenient way of meeting abasic necessity of existence.It’s highly unfortunate butthat’s the situation”.