COVID-19: Ban on parties reduces demand for Aso ebi

By Olushola Okewole

Although making brisk business from face masks, tailors are lamenting the loss of their cash cow- sewing of party uniforms called Aso ebi- due to a lockdown regulation banning gatherings above 20.

They were complaining that the banning on social gatherings has really affected their sales as people have stopped sewing new clothes for social events.

Speaking with ECHONEWS, the NUT Chairman, Ejigbo branch, Mr. Waheed Adebayo, explained that tailoring is a seasonal work with its prime time being the festive periods such as Christmas, Ramadan celebration and others when people buy new clothes to celebrate.

According to him, normally, the tailors should be smiling as Ramadan ends as they usually have lots of clothes to sow, working overnight to meet up with their customers’ demand.

Lamenting that this didn’t happen this year, he said most of their members had little or nothing to do during the Eid- El- Fitri as just few people manage to buy new cloths.

He said: “Since the outbreak of COVID-19, our work as tailors has been affected because the government has banned all forms of social gathering, and that is what give us work.

“When there is an event like wedding, birthday, mosque and churches anniversary, people always sow the same cloth as uniform (Aso-ebi) for the ceremony which gives us lots of work to do as tailors and we get income from sowing cloths for people going for events on weekly basis.

“But since social gatherings have been banned, tailors have been at the receiving end, losing our main source of income. Even this time of Ramadan festival which is supposed to be our prime time when we always have lots to do, the lockdown has affected the purchasing power of everybody, no one is even thinking of clothes now but foods.”