FROM COUNCIL OFFICE TO SEWING SHOP: EX-KANO LG CHAIRMAN RETURNS TO TAILORING

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By; Sunmola Ganiyat

Former Chairman of Kumbotso Local Government Area of Kano State, Abdullahi Gali Shitu, popularly known as Comrade Abdullahi Gali Basaf, has returned to his tailoring business months after leaving office following a court ruling.

Basaf, who served as council chairman until March 2026, said his return to tailoring was aimed at demonstrating that politics should not be considered a permanent profession or the sole means of livelihood.

Speaking to Daily Trust on Wednesday, the former council boss urged politicians to maintain sustainable sources of income outside politics and regard public office as an opportunity to serve the people.

He explained that tailoring had been his primary source of livelihood for more than a decade and had also helped finance his political activities.

Basaf said his tailoring business provided financial support for his campaigns and political organisations, adding that sustaining his political activities would have been difficult without the business.

He currently operates a tailoring shop in Sheka Ward, Kumbotso Local Government Area, where he supervises about 20 apprentices.

The former council chairman said he plans to expand the business into a garment manufacturing company that could employ at least 50 people.

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

Basaf also encouraged young Nigerians to acquire vocational skills instead of depending solely on politics or white-collar employment.

He urged youths not to look down on skilled trades but to embrace and modernise them as viable means of livelihood.

The former council chairman maintained that tailoring offered more stability than politics because political appointments and elected positions could change at any time.

Despite holding Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Political Science, Basaf said he chose to return to tailoring because of his passion for the profession and his desire to transform it into a larger enterprise.

Before becoming Kumbotso council chairman, Basaf founded the Kwankwasiyya Reporters platform in 2015. He later served as Kano State chairman of the Alliance National Party, contested for a Senate seat in 2019 and joined the New Nigeria People’s Party, where he served as Senior Special Assistant on Information.

He won the Kumbotso chairmanship election in 2024, but his tenure ended in March 2026 after the Kano State High Court nullified his Certificate of Return and declared Ali Musa, popularly known as Hardworker, the duly elected chairman.

Although Basaf said he remains active in politics, he stressed that tailoring would remain his priority.

He said politics could change suddenly, whereas tailoring would continue to provide for him, his family and others who depend on the business.

Basaf, however, ruled out abandoning politics, saying he would continue to participate in the country’s political process.