We don’t compete with modern barbers, but ... - Wanzamai
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- Category: Sports
- Written by Sikiru M. Jimoh & Imaobong Esu
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Local barbing, affected by modern tech, is taking a new dimension.
At the Jabi Motor Park in Utako District of the FCT, Abubakar Muhammad a local barber with 38 years working experience said first, he did the work for ten years in Bauchi his hometown; nine years in Jos and nineteen years in the FCT. He said many people including educated and wealthy persons who are familiar with local barbing patronize his small scale business of tools and modern clippers. He said, “I use packets of blades for the work. I use half of the blade for each person and dispose it after use. I have horns for extracting bad blood from the body and people come for that. Other tools I use include water and soap for softening the hair, cup for water, brush and a piece of cloth for cleaning the face. Appearance of bumps on the head or face depends on the sensitive nature of the person shaved. When some people come here for the first time, they complained of bumps, but the bumps no longer appear after subsequent shavings,” said Muhammad.Welcome to the world of commercial local barbing in the FCT where the local barbers called Wanzamai in Hausa are found even within the Central area competing with modern barbers, some of whom have gone sophisticated in operations.
However, Muhammad said there is no rivalry or competition between them and modern barbers, because many people patronize the local barbers when it comes to shaving. “Many people go to the modern barbers for their heads and proceed immediately to the local barber to shave their beards and faces. Their business activities have no negative effect on ours in any way.” said Abubakar.
The middle-aged man said local barbing has exposed them to some wealthy families in the FCT who invite them to render services to their families and pay them very well, adding that such rich families go the extent of asking their drivers to return them to their shops after the work. “There are some families who patronize modern barbers simultaneously,” he said, adding that though he is planning to embrace modern barbing saloon with a combination of local and modern tools as other wanzamai have done.
Instability in earnings as noted by Muhammad has made almost impossible for local barbers to save a reasonable amount after a day’s work because there were days local barbers went home with nothing and had to tamper with their savings instead of adding to it.
“Those of us with wives and children suffer hard times because of matrimonial responsibilities. Only the bachelors can be sure of saving daily from the earnings. Notwithstanding, the work can sustain a family because I have been doing it for more than three decades now, feeding my family members, but my saving is not consistent.”
According to him, dry season is the local barbers’ favourable time when all agro-activities have been suspended in anticipation of another rainy season. With farmers having less to do during this period, they are attracted to the urban centres to the advantage of local barbers. Muhammad said even with that, the normal charges of N150 is what they get to make a lot of money and save consistently.
Another Dan-wanzam Idris Muhammad at Jabi Park Mosque last Tuesday, said he was among the over 20 local barbers from the northern part of the country plying the trade at the motor-park. He told Weekly Trust that they all have their identification cards and work within the motor park. Idris, with 17 years experience, said he started the work in his hometown Kano before relocating to the FCT where he came across other wanzamai from the north and they moved from one environment to the other in Jabi.
“Though we make money in the business, many local barbers have made their money and modernized their businesses. There are many of them in the FCT who have modern barbing saloon.” Like other wanzam in his shoes, Idris said he attends to at least 20 clients daily charging between N150 and N200, “but there are some familiar faces who negotiate for N100 in time of economic hardship.”
On his daily income, Idris was sure of N2,000 and could conveniently save N1,000, because he spends only N100 on transportation from Jabi to Daki Biu . He said “the trade is more favourable during Eid-el-Fitr and Eid-el-Kabir when everyone would like to wear a new look. When festivities are over, only elderly people and those familiar with local barbers patronize us.”
Speaking on the fluctuating nature of the business, Idris did not hold the modern barbers responsible. He said like the modern barbers who attend to many customers in a shop, wanzamai enjoy working in groups, often conversing when an interesting topic was raised. They share available work to make the situation look as if patronage is low, but people are always coming. Modern barbers are not in any way competing with us, because many people would rather want to be shaved to the skull. Besides, we charge lower than them,” Idri observed.
At the Wuse Market in the FCT, where the local barbers seem to be more organized, Muhammad Auwal, 38, who claims to be in local barbing since 22 years ago - 15 in the FCT, said he works throughout the week, taking break at prayer times and has all categories of persons as his customers. “I attend to 20 people daily irrespective of the season and I charge N 200. However, I cannot give accurate estimate of my savings, because I am married with responsibilities and unforeseen expenses,” Auwal added.
He equally lamented his desire for modern tools like electric clippers, generator, chairs and cabinet for keeping tools, and later unveiled how high rent charge in the FCT is frustrating his intention to modernize his business. Like others before him, he was sure modernization would boost his efficiency, create the most harmonious environment for the work and boost his income.
Musa Katsina said he prefers being shaved with blade, but he requested for clippers last Tuesday. “I enjoy the movement of the blade. Blade will remove everything on the head without any noise like the clippers.”
Ibrahim Yacob, on his part, said as far as there are choices at the local barbers’ saloon, he preferred clippers because he tried blades but was always having bumps on the head, but still patronizes the wanzamai. The bumps later stopped appearing. I now use both.”
Abubakar Wanzam, Chairman of Local Barbers at Wuse Market told Weekly Trust because local barbers can remove hairs from noses and ears is one of the reasons many people came for it. He said modern barbers cannot do that. Abubakar said he now uses both local and modern tools and is aiming to modernize his business in the near future. As Abubakar burned the sharp end of his clippers with a light, he told Weekly Trust that it is how they sterilize clippers before using it for another client. “The heat from the fire would get rid of all suspected infections. No member of the public will allow a barber to shave or barb him without doing something like this! Some even come with their personal clippers,” said Abubakar.
A patron disclosed that he started patronizing local barbers in 1992 when he felt continuous itching on his head. He said at the initial stage he thought it was lice, but years later, he discovered to be dandruff. “I treated it for a long time in the 1980s but it defied all treatment. I had the habit of leaving my hair bushy and expending heavily on maintenance, but I later discovered it was uneconomical and unhealthy. The dandruff was discovered for the first time by the local barbers. As I continued maintaining bushy hair-style, itching re-occurred and I became a regular customer of the local barbers. No one enjoys the use of water in the bathroom better than I do. Anytime I pour warm water on my head, I felt on top of the world. It is pleasant,” he said.
Articles
We don’t compete with modern barbers, but ... - Wanzamai
Category: Sports Written by Sikiru M. Jimoh & Imaobong Esu Hits: 776
Local barbing, affected by modern tech, is taking a new dimension.
At the Jabi Motor Park in Utako District of the FCT, Abubakar Muhammad a local barber with 38 years working experience said first, he did the work for ten years in Bauchi his hometown; nine years in Jos and nineteen years in the FCT. He said many people including educated and wealthy persons who are familiar with local barbing patronize his small scale business of tools and modern clippers. He said, “I use packets of blades for the work. I use half of the blade for each person and dispose it after use. I have horns for extracting bad blood from the body and people come for that. Other tools I use include water and soap for softening the hair, cup for water, brush and a piece of cloth for cleaning the face. Appearance of bumps on the head or face depends on the sensitive nature of the person shaved. When some people come here for the first time, they complained of bumps, but the bumps no longer appear after subsequent shavings,” said Muhammad.Welcome to the world of commercial local barbing in the FCT where the local barbers called Wanzamai in Hausa are found even within the Central area competing with modern barbers, some of whom have gone sophisticated in operations.
However, Muhammad said there is no rivalry or competition between them and modern barbers, because many people patronize the local barbers when it comes to shaving. “Many people go to the modern barbers for their heads and proceed immediately to the local barber to shave their beards and faces. Their business activities have no negative effect on ours in any way.” said Abubakar.
The middle-aged man said local barbing has exposed them to some wealthy families in the FCT who invite them to render services to their families and pay them very well, adding that such rich families go the extent of asking their drivers to return them to their shops after the work. “There are some families who patronize modern barbers simultaneously,” he said, adding that though he is planning to embrace modern barbing saloon with a combination of local and modern tools as other wanzamai have done.
Instability in earnings as noted by Muhammad has made almost impossible for local barbers to save a reasonable amount after a day’s work because there were days local barbers went home with nothing and had to tamper with their savings instead of adding to it.
“Those of us with wives and children suffer hard times because of matrimonial responsibilities. Only the bachelors can be sure of saving daily from the earnings. Notwithstanding, the work can sustain a family because I have been doing it for more than three decades now, feeding my family members, but my saving is not consistent.”
According to him, dry season is the local barbers’ favourable time when all agro-activities have been suspended in anticipation of another rainy season. With farmers having less to do during this period, they are attracted to the urban centres to the advantage of local barbers. Muhammad said even with that, the normal charges of N150 is what they get to make a lot of money and save consistently.
Another Dan-wanzam Idris Muhammad at Jabi Park Mosque last Tuesday, said he was among the over 20 local barbers from the northern part of the country plying the trade at the motor-park. He told Weekly Trust that they all have their identification cards and work within the motor park. Idris, with 17 years experience, said he started the work in his hometown Kano before relocating to the FCT where he came across other wanzamai from the north and they moved from one environment to the other in Jabi.
“Though we make money in the business, many local barbers have made their money and modernized their businesses. There are many of them in the FCT who have modern barbing saloon.” Like other wanzam in his shoes, Idris said he attends to at least 20 clients daily charging between N150 and N200, “but there are some familiar faces who negotiate for N100 in time of economic hardship.”
On his daily income, Idris was sure of N2,000 and could conveniently save N1,000, because he spends only N100 on transportation from Jabi to Daki Biu . He said “the trade is more favourable during Eid-el-Fitr and Eid-el-Kabir when everyone would like to wear a new look. When festivities are over, only elderly people and those familiar with local barbers patronize us.”
Speaking on the fluctuating nature of the business, Idris did not hold the modern barbers responsible. He said like the modern barbers who attend to many customers in a shop, wanzamai enjoy working in groups, often conversing when an interesting topic was raised. They share available work to make the situation look as if patronage is low, but people are always coming. Modern barbers are not in any way competing with us, because many people would rather want to be shaved to the skull. Besides, we charge lower than them,” Idri observed.
At the Wuse Market in the FCT, where the local barbers seem to be more organized, Muhammad Auwal, 38, who claims to be in local barbing since 22 years ago - 15 in the FCT, said he works throughout the week, taking break at prayer times and has all categories of persons as his customers. “I attend to 20 people daily irrespective of the season and I charge N 200. However, I cannot give accurate estimate of my savings, because I am married with responsibilities and unforeseen expenses,” Auwal added.
He equally lamented his desire for modern tools like electric clippers, generator, chairs and cabinet for keeping tools, and later unveiled how high rent charge in the FCT is frustrating his intention to modernize his business. Like others before him, he was sure modernization would boost his efficiency, create the most harmonious environment for the work and boost his income.
Musa Katsina said he prefers being shaved with blade, but he requested for clippers last Tuesday. “I enjoy the movement of the blade. Blade will remove everything on the head without any noise like the clippers.”
Ibrahim Yacob, on his part, said as far as there are choices at the local barbers’ saloon, he preferred clippers because he tried blades but was always having bumps on the head, but still patronizes the wanzamai. The bumps later stopped appearing. I now use both.”
Abubakar Wanzam, Chairman of Local Barbers at Wuse Market told Weekly Trust because local barbers can remove hairs from noses and ears is one of the reasons many people came for it. He said modern barbers cannot do that. Abubakar said he now uses both local and modern tools and is aiming to modernize his business in the near future. As Abubakar burned the sharp end of his clippers with a light, he told Weekly Trust that it is how they sterilize clippers before using it for another client. “The heat from the fire would get rid of all suspected infections. No member of the public will allow a barber to shave or barb him without doing something like this! Some even come with their personal clippers,” said Abubakar.
A patron disclosed that he started patronizing local barbers in 1992 when he felt continuous itching on his head. He said at the initial stage he thought it was lice, but years later, he discovered to be dandruff. “I treated it for a long time in the 1980s but it defied all treatment. I had the habit of leaving my hair bushy and expending heavily on maintenance, but I later discovered it was uneconomical and unhealthy. The dandruff was discovered for the first time by the local barbers. As I continued maintaining bushy hair-style, itching re-occurred and I became a regular customer of the local barbers. No one enjoys the use of water in the bathroom better than I do. Anytime I pour warm water on my head, I felt on top of the world. It is pleasant,” he said.