By Edith Igbokwe
The Lagos State Barbers Association (LASBA) has appealed to the government to lift the ban on their operation just as other businesses have been allowed to operate.
The barbers lamented as the effect of the Covid-19 lockdown has continued hitting them harder since they have been cut of business.
Barbing is one of the professions which have not been allowed to function after the lockdown ease announced by the government as a measure to contain community spread of coronavirus.
Lamenting on the challenges faced by the barbers, the LASBA chairman, Oshodi branch, Mr. Jamiu Ayinla complained that they could no longer endure the situation.
He said the government should also allow them to operate even if they were given stringent guidelines for them to be able to make ends meet.
According to him, barbers have been keeping clean environment even before the outbreak of coronavirus.
He stated that it has always been the norm for them to sterilise their clippers before and after use to avoid transmission of infection from one customer to another, promising that they would improve on it and comply with other guidelines to curtail the spread of the virus.
Earlier, the affected artisans including the barbers had, last month, appealed to the government through Community Life Project (CLP), a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) in charge of the grassroots affair led by its Director, Ngozi Ewerem who promised to present their requests to the federal and state governments by writing on their behalf.
Ayinla said they have to cry out to the government again since their request has not been granted, stating that they could not pay their bills without operating.
“Just like others, we also have to eat and feed our families, pay shop/house rents, pay electricity bills and pay Lagos State Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) bills. All these expenses depend on the income we make from the profession which has been locked down for us to attend to the financial issues listed and others,” he complained.
He lamented that while other barbers on the inner streets in some other communities might have been working “illegally”, many members of LASBA in Oshodi, Mafoluku, Shogunle, Airport road and other areas could not open their shops to operate since they are strictly monitored by the government officials.
He promised that if allowed to operate, they would maintain the social distancing order as not more than one or two customers would be allowed into the shop at a time and that they must go through the process of hand washing at the entrance with the use of face mask.
He added that LASBA, as a disciplined body of professionals, would always abide by the government directives to avoid the spread of Covid-19 in the community, pleading for the opportunity to resume to their business.
