How Okene women are weaving their way to the bank

Weekly Trust took a trip to Okene local government area of Kogi State and found out how this unique designs on the fabrics are been weaved to look attractive in the eyes when it is worn; mostly for occasions.   Mrs. Ize Salami is one of the old women who weaves the fabric and sells […]

Weekly Trust took a trip to Okene local government area of Kogi State and found out how this unique designs on the fabrics are been weaved to look attractive in the eyes when it is worn; mostly for occasions.

 

Mrs. Ize Salami is one of the old women who weaves the fabric and sells them out to wholesalers in bulk. She travels as far north to sell them and make profit.

She said she buys the thread that is used in weaving the  fabric from the local market and then arrange it carefully on a special stick that is used mainly for this purpose before weaving the supposed design that she is been asked to weave.

“I use at least a whole day to arrange the thread on the stick because you have to be very careful so that the finishing will look very neat, while I use a week to weave a whole roll of fabric with different designs attached to it” she said.

Mrs. Salami who has gone so far in the business of fabric weaving told Weekly Trust how she learnt to weave from her late mother, adding that it is a family thing which her mum inherited from her grandmother and she herself had passed the knowledge onto her daughter.

“I was about six years old when I started learning how to fix the thread on the stick popularly known as ochi so that my mum can do the weaving “she added.

She explained how she always sat close to her mother in the past whenever she was weaving the fabric which made her to develop interest in the trade. This made her mother to buy her the weaving stick as part of her wedding gift when she got married so she too can start the business on her own when she finally settles in her husband’s house.

“I got married at a very tender age of 13 years and since then I have never changed line of business as weaving is now part of me. In fact, I have been weaving for over 50 years now and am still making it,” she said.

The business of weaving among the Ebiras has been in existence ever since the first settlement was established in the land. Also, it is said to be one of the oldest trade even before the advent of slave trade in Africa.

“The business has gone over ages in history, it has been existing ever since during our forefathers time and it is still making waves in the market and it will continue to sell because different designs come up all the time” she added.

According to Mrs. Rabiat Salawu Inakakana a wholesaler who buys the clothes from these old women after weaving and sells them to costumers in other parts of the country, said the benefit of these business is that there is a lot of profit in it and people like to patronize them because of the unique way the fabric ts weaved and also the attraction it gets when worn to attend occasions.

She said she travels as far as Taraba, Kano, Maiduguri, Sokoto and many other places all the way from Okene to sell the fabric adding that she has really made a lot of money in the business.

“I am a single parent but I am so proud to say that out of this trade, all my children can go to school without any financial problem and I even bought land and built a house to my taste, so I really thank God,” she said.

Mrs. Salawu explained that the weaving fabric is meant for both male and female and it is mostly an occasional wear such as weddings, burials and other festivals. It is very mandatory in Ebira land for a bride to wear the fabric on her traditional wedding day she disclosed.

“Nowadays, just like the Ebira culture, most brides from different parts of the country especially among the Yorubas and the Hausas now wear the attire on their wedding day “she added.

As the weaving fabric is made of different categories, the one that is mostly used for weddings is sold for about N20,000 and it is made from different colorful threads which bring out the designs and patterns of the fabric. The ordinary designs can be sold for 5,000 only.

When asked what they needed to improve the trade in the country, she said the trade is well known all over the nation and it use to be one of the best attire of the late former first lady Mrs. Maryam Ibrahim Babangida during her regime as the first lady of Nigeria in early 90’s, so it will be a very good thing if the present first lady Dame Patience Jonathan can also add it to her wardrobe and even make way for them to export the fabric to different parts of the world so as to create business opportunities for more women who are jobless.

“We have Nigerians living in all parts of the world so if they can help in promoting our culture by making the trade boom in the international market, it will be of great impact in the nation building and promoting the Nigerian culture in the eyes of foreigners” she finally said.