The original idea of aso-ebi was for the easy identification of family members during a party, but as our culture evolved, it became a means to create social identity and solidarity between peers. These days though, aso-ebi culture shows up in every part of our party and social life, to the point of showing up in every facet of social gatherings.
A cursory look at the industry and its purveyors reveals a billion-naira industry that seems to be undertaxed.
Alhaja Oshodi is an Ankara seller with a large warehouse-like store in the Bolade area of Lagos State. According to her, the market for aso-ebi fabrics is bigger than any other cloth business in Lagos or Nigeria.
“Every day when we open, people troop in to search for one colour or style of ankara or the other because I sell in bulk.
“Most days, I sell up to 500 bundles of Ankara. Each bundle is 12 yards which means 1000 pieces of six yards. If you calculate that at N3000 per six yards, that’s already N3 million. And that is on a day when sales do not move. If it is a Saturday, I can sell up to N10 million. In Lagos, there is no day people don’t buy Ankara. Of course, there are some days that the market does not move, but in a month I can make between N50 million to N80 million if there is no issue.
“Even during cashless, people were buying. We can’t stop weddings, burials, or even birthdays just because there is no money, all of these things are part of life. Once there is life and events are happening, aso-ebi must flow. These days, people even use aso-ebi for end-of-year parties and Thanksgiving in companies. It is a booming business. Though the profit is very small.
“The people who do parties also make money from it and that is why the culture can never die. Imagine that you buy an Ankara for N3000 from the market and you sell it to your guests at N7000. Or you add aso-oke and sell it for N15,000. You have already made over a 100 per cent profit.
“The people who also buy the aso-ebi know that money has been added, but they also see it as a gift to the party organiser or celebrant. No one wants to think of bringing a gift. But when you help them buy aso-ebi, you have indirectly supported them.”
Mrs Kemi Haastrup, CEO, Moacofexclusiveasooke an Ibadan-based business with international clientele, and she revealed that aso-ebi is a culture that unites Yoruba people.
“In Yoruba land, aso-ebi is the part of our culture that unites us. It is therapeutic because when you have a party and you pick aso-ebi, people put their worries and troubles aside to dress up, go there, dance, and make merry.
“The only hindrance for us aso-oke sellers is that the price of weaving aso-oke has gone up drastically and weavers are complaining. But in the midst of it all, people still do aso-ebi.
“About two months ago, aso oke weavers went on strike and did not weave at all both in Ilorin and Iseyin. These are the communities in Kwara State and Oyo State known for weaving aso-oke. This strike lasted for about two weeks. It was because the price of wool went up from around N450 to about N900. By the time you weave a complete aso-oke with bundles of wool, the amount would be so high.
“But despite it all, Nigerians would still find a way and would still demand aso-ebi anyhow, irrespective of what is happening. Aso-oke sellers were affected but now it is a bit more stable even though prices are higher.”
Going further, she explained that for many party organisers, the aso-ebi culture is a way to make extra income to spend on their party. “You can get a bundle of aso-oke from the weavers at N9,000, and that bundle will consist of eight long rows of the fabric. For a standard quality bundle, you will get two head ties (geles) and three caps. When they get it from us at N9000, those who do parties and sell aso-ebi to their guests can sell at N5000 per gele, and they sell the caps at N1000, or N2000 each. That means the aso-ebi seller can make as much as N7000 on each bundle sold. Some people now sell the gele at N7000, because a bundle of standard aso-oke is now N12,000.
“For an average party sometimes I can sell between 50 bundles to 300 bundles depending on the size of expected guests. This is also because not everyone uses aso-oke for aso-ebi. Some would use ankara only or lace only. When things became pricey, people switched to ‹seego’, a type of head tie that is ready-made in China, and this affected our market.
“When the weavers were on strike, they realised during one of their meetings that if China gets wind of a gap in the market, they would produce replacements to destroy our market. Aso-oke is still unique, which is why it has not been eroded yet.
“But despite all of these, I still turnover about N2 million monthly. But every month is different. During the cashless saga, my business survived because of my diaspora clients who placed large orders for parties they also had outside Nigeria. Our aso-ebi culture is now global.”
For a Lagos event planner with the business name Mamaz Place, the fuss people make about aso-ebi at Owambe is even more than Nigeria’s national budget.
“At some events, aso-ebi is your invitation card that is how seriously people take it. You have heard the saying, ‘ko ra ankara, ko je semo’. Meaning, you don’t buy ankara, and you don’t get to eat semovita at the event. It is real. Even the security placed at the entrance to the venue won’t question you or ask for your invitation when you show up in aso-ebi. It is just our way.
“Those who do come without aso-ebi many times are not treated as well as those in aso-ebi. I have had clients whom I begged to simply give people a colour theme to wear for their event so that we take away the aso-ebi stress, but the refuse. That lavish owambe style party is in our DNA as Nigerians, it is part of our culture as Nigerians, not just Yorubas anymore.”
An aso-ebi shopper who helps families and organisations procure aso-ebi, while speaking on the Lagos market said the industry cannot be quantified.
“Mrs. Alimat Ladele whose business involves aso-ebi shopping and procurement said, “Let’s leave other states or areas and focus on Lagos, Idumota market to be precise. That market cannot be quantified. Have you noticed that those women who own shops in those markets sit in their shops and their customers come to look for them? They wear good clothes and jewelry. They wear the biggest and best gold, and you don’t think it is a billion Naira industry?
“Sometimes, when I am in the market and I pick just 300 bundles for my client, I see people come in to buy 500 bundles, 1000 bundles. And it was not one or two people. Sometimes five different people come in the space of two hours, each person spending millions on aso ebi. And that is just ankara.
“Lace sellers are another species. You see them casually calling a 15-yard lace N60,000 at wholesale price. They may buy up to 100 bundles of that. And that is for the regular buyers. The high-end parties can buy fabric of up to N50,000 per five yards. By the time they add aso-oke, they can sell it for N100,000 to their guests.”
As big as the industry is though, some believe that the government should tax it more to generate better income.
However, Dr Oyebade Oyedepo, a finance expert, public affairs analyst, and author disagrees. The past Zonal Chairman of ICAN for Southwest, a former member of ICAN National Recovery Council, and presently serving Oyo State as a board member of Oyo State Anti-corruption Agency believes that any attempt to impose more taxes would amount to double taxation.
He said, “Taxes are obligations, and the obligation is on the part of the individual and corporate organisations. They are used for developmental purposes, either for capital or recurrent. In Nigeria, we have not been able to generate enough revenue from taxes because of tax leakages, corruption, tax evasion on the part of the people and public organisations, as a result of the fact that many companies are also not doing well. However, the government can still do a lot in the collection of taxes.
“In respect to aso-ebi, we have companies that are into service, those that are into production, and those that are into extraction. The production of aso-ebi fabric falls under the productive category, and taxes are already paid by the organisations that are involved.
“But we must appeal to the government to reduce or remove completely the taxes on locally produced fabrics. The reason is that these are the things we have in Nigeria that we can improve upon to sell to other parts of the world. Taxes on these things make them less competitive in terms of prices. Also, our people may not be favourably disposed to buying them instead they will favour imported at the expense of local production. If we truly want to develop made-in-Nigeria goods, particularly fabric, one of the ways we can do that is to waive any form of taxation on them. That way, the prices would be relatively cheaper.
“There are three categories of taxes available in Nigeria now. We have taxes payable by small organisations, those payable by medium organisations, and we have those payable by large organisations. The government has been able to segment the organisations into three. If a company falls in the small category, that is their income falls below N25million per annum, then they are exempted from paying corporate tax.
“That kind of organisation is not supposed to deduct value-added tax from the items sold because they want them to remain competitive, and that is the only way by which they can compete with large organisations and companies that are also importing materials from abroad. This takes away the burden of the tax.
“Medium-sized organisations are companies whose income is above 25 million. They also have a threshold and they pay about 20 per cent corporate tax. Large organisations pay about 30 per cent tax.
“So for someone who buys ankara or adire from a small company that is into the production of fabric, they are not going to charge you VAT, neither would they charge company income tax or any other tax. The reason is that the company is exempted from payment of any tax. That will only happen if you patronise a medium or large organisation. When you do buy from medium or large organisations, what you are buying is already taxed and it will amount to double taxation if you pay tax on aso-ebi again.”
The aso-ebi industry is one heavily supported by Nigeria’s owambe culture. Whether under-taxed or an unnecessary lavish show of wealth, it is a billion Naira culture that has come to stay.
