The twists and tales of hair weavers in Gamboru market

Nwaigwe also gave Kanem Trust an insight into the category of people operating along with her. “Our clientele are made up of children and adults, comprising students, housewives and working class-women,” she said. Starting the business/new membership Mrs Okereke Okorie, a hair weaver at the market said starters required little money. “To start operating, you […]

Nwaigwe also gave Kanem Trust an insight into the category of people operating along with her. “Our clientele are made up of children and adults, comprising students, housewives and working class-women,” she said.

Starting the business/new membership

Mrs Okereke Okorie, a hair weaver at the market said starters required little money. “To start operating, you buy two crates of coke and two packets of cabin biscuits. A first timer is then required to pay her rent for the shop. Without paying for space, no person is allowed to operate. Everyone must pay rentals. No one is allowed to stay and operate without first paying for the space.” Okorie, who was a leader of the braiders in Gamboru market added, “I have been plaiting hair since 1981. I use the money to feed my family and train my children in school. However, since the Boko Haram crisis, the business has become less lucrative. We have a union, but the attitude of women makes it difficult to coordinate them. Because they would not obey rules and regulations, it looks like we do not have a union. Patronage is very low now.  This time last year, I made bank deposits twice or more weekly, but this year, I did not make any deposit.”

For a new entrant to be accepted, either as an apprentice or as a professional, that person must pay a due as a condition for her acceptance into their fold, according to a woman popularly referred to as Mama Blessing, who shares her shop with her daughter and another woman. “For those willing to join us here as new entrants, either as learners or practitioners, we have rules and regulations. First, they have to buy at least a crate of soft drinks. This we distribute to other neighbours and introduce the new comers to them. We collectively assume responsibility for the running of the shop. We pay the rent and other expenses in the shops,” Mama Blessing noted.

Kanem Trust learnt that acquiring skills to plait depends on an individuals capacity. On the average, it could take between two to six months, but not less.

Patronage and Services

According to Mama Blessing, the weavers plaited every day, saying that the patronage was very high when university students were in session because majority of their customers were students, workers, and children. “During peak periods, we stay until 12 midnight. Now, due to the lack of customers, the place is empty as early as 8pm,”she said.

After the festivities, she disclosed that it became almost impossible for them to make ends meet, as people hardly patronise them. “They only come in piece meal, the majority of them prefer to go to the local hair doers who reside within their communities to plait without any form of attachment at prices as low as N50,”she lamented.

Some clients also engage hair braiders at the markets in home services. Most times, when they engage their services, extra money are charged for the services rendered. “We also engage in home service for special clients on request. Nevertheless, they are responsible for our feeding and transport fares. They also add some extra amount, not less than N500, to compensate us for the inconvenience,” one of the braiders said.

For hairs that are infested by lice, Mama Blessing further said, “ we advice the people to go to the hair dressing salon and wash their hair. During drying, the heat from the dryer kills the lice. When that is done, we plait them. That way, the lice die. In the case of persons whose hairs have some physical defects, we advice them to plait or fix styles that would cover such defects. The customer is required to bring the particular hair cream she wants to use.”  

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Hairstyles and customer reactions

Hair styles are generally chosen by customers. “My customers determine the hair style they want plaited. We do not determine the hairstyle they choose. They could have seen it on their friends or on someone. In the past, wealthy people called us to their houses, but this year, nobody has called us,” Mrs Okereke Okorie said.

But while customers often choose their styles, there are some who are commonly requested by patrons. These styles include: Ghana weaving, two steps, fish bone, loose braid, Bob Marley, Rita Marley, basket Ghana, twins, water melon, touch and leave, shaba, one million braids and one thousand braids. The women also offer other services such as manicure; pedicure and nail fixing.

When Kanem Trust came in contact with Mercy Odom, 23, a regular client of Mrs Okorie and a student of Maimalari Secondary School, she said she chose to plait a different style called ‘water melon’. Of course, the style doesn’t require any implant of the usual water melon fruit on Mercy’s head as one may amusingly think. Her hair was weaved   with some attachments and later twisted to form a sort of egg shape on her head. “I chose the hair because many people said it fits me. I plait the hair style regularly and each time it costs me N1,000. I come to plait my hair every one or two weeks. At times, I change style and pay less, or more depending on the hairstyle I choose. I patronize Mrs Okorie regularly because I am satisfied with her skills. She knows how to plait very well. When she is not around, her boy or girl plaits my hair,” Mercy Odom said.

Not only Mercy feels water melon is a good style, several others feel same way, too, as another customer who simply identifies herself as Abigail also said she chose to plait ‘water melon’, because it looked beautiful on her friend and she felt it would look beautiful on her as well. Curious about the style, one of our reporters enquired about the steps involved. An old hair braider, who refused to say her name, helped out with the steps, though reluctantly. First, she began; the hair was braided using artificial attachments. It was then held in sizeable bands, inter-twined and twisted. Each sizeable bunch was then dipped in hot water to soften and allow the hair coil. Afterward, gel was applied to the hair to strengthen and dry. Our reporter was so fascinated with the hairstyle that he opted for a braid too. Unfortunately, his hair was shaven, and had no single hair, so he wasn’t quite lucky to have ‘water melon’ on his flat head.

No age limit for hair weavers

In virtually all the shops, women and young girls, mostly school leavers braid hair for customers. Kanem Trust observed that most of the young girls who plaited at the hair weaving market did so alongside their mothers. A woman, who identified herself as Mama Deborah, explained, “Engaging them makes them independent with a reliable source of living. It also keeps them away from all sorts of social distractions. Most of all, it makes them responsible.”

The majority of the women either do not want to announce their surnames or their names. Thirty-year-old Deborah, an indigene of Ekpoma in Edo State is not any different. She has just completed her remedial studies at the University of Maiduguri and is awaiting placement into a degree programme in the institution. As a student, she combined her remedial studies with this vocation. Like Blessing, she works with her mother, too. According to her, “the majority of the women who plait here are from southern and eastern Nigeria.”

Men, too, are not left out in the braiding

Hair plaiting is not the exclusive skill of women at Gamboru market. A few young men were sighted braiding for some ladies. Interestingly, the guys were happy engaging in a sort of female enterprise after all, men could introduce their own clichés ‘what a woman can do, a man can do even better’. “I learnt how to braid hair from my mother since I was s small boy. I take it as an occupation. Though I do not have my own shop, I am helping my mother who gives me some money at the end of the day. I enjoy doing “one million” braids  and twisting. It takes six hours to do this type of braidind. I feel normal as a guy while braiding women’s hair. I enjoy doing it,” James Okorie, 22-year-old student of Sir Kashim College of Education, Maiduguri, said.

Challenges

“At times, our customers become impatient and quarrelsome when we are unable to complete their plaiting on time,” Blessing Nwaigwe recounts.

Some of the braiders have had to contend with some disasters in the market as Mrs. Okereke Okorie shared her ordeals and that of her fellow colleagues with Kanem Trust. “My shop got burnt three weeks ago. My shop was not like this (pointing to the empty shade made up of zinc and wood).  The goods lost in the fire were worth N100,000. If you add the cost of zinc and wood, the total loss is over N150,000.”

But another challenge facing the braiders is their seeming disunity- everyone is a boss and no one wants to submit to anyone as a leader and for that they have no union to speak with one voice.

“I know that if we had a union, we could have mobilized ourselves to seek help from the authorities, but because we are divided, we could not do that”, Okorie lamented.

Operating Environment

The hair braiders operate beside a huge drainage. The surrounding is unhygienic. The wastes from the hair attachments used were seen falling into large drainage. Though they have shops, the spaces are unable to cater for the population. Therefore, while they stand or sit on a more projected stool, their clients squat on lower ones. They make use of the drainage, which is left uncovered. The implication is that at the slightest slip, they could fall into the drainage. Used hair attachments were also sighted falling along with other debris and wastes in the gutter. This could eventually block the free flow of the drainage. During rainy season, it could lead to flood situation and cause damage to property and lives. As it appears, the Gamboru market hair braiders operate in a dirty environment even though they make many women look beautiful.