From council office to sewing shop: Ex-Kano LG chair returns to tailoring

Abdullahi Gali Shitu, formerly the Chairman of Kumbotso Local Government Area in Kano State, Nigeria, has returned to his tailoring profession months after a court removed him from office. Known as Comrade Abdullahi Gali Basaf, he sees his return to tailoring not as a step down, but as a demonstration that politics should not be a sole profession or the only source of income.

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Tailoring is not a small trade. It is a major one. It sustains livelihoods. Even in politics, my tailoring business helped me financially to support my campaigns and organisations. Without it, it would have been impossible to sustain political activities.

Basaf, who served as council chairman until March 2026, told Daily Trust that politicians need sustainable income outside of public service. He emphasized that tailoring has been his primary livelihood for over a decade, even financing his political campaigns. "Tailoring is not a small trade. It is a major one. It sustains livelihoods," he stated, adding that without his business, his political activities would have been impossible.

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My goal is to modernise tailoring, establish a garment company, and employ fifty or more people. I want to contribute to the economy.

Currently operating a shop in Sheka Ward, Basaf supervises about 20 apprentices. His ambition extends to modernizing tailoring and establishing a garment company that could employ at least 50 people, thereby contributing to the local economy. He advises young people to value and modernize vocational skills, rather than solely pursuing politics or white-collar jobs, highlighting that tailoring offers more stability than the uncertainties of public office.

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My message is that they should not despise trades; they should value and modernise them.

Despite holding degrees in Political Science, Basaf's passion for tailoring drives his entrepreneurial goals. His prior political roles include founding the Kwankwasiyya Reporters platform, serving as Kano State chairman of the Alliance National Party, contesting for a Senate seat, and acting as Senior Special Assistant on Information for the New Nigeria People’s Party. He won the Kumbotso chairmanship election in 2024.

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Value your trade more than politics, because it sustains you and enables you to support your political activities.