In Sheka ward of Kumbotso Local Government Area, the noise of sewing machines and the sound of scissors cutting cloth convey the story of resistance.
Popularly known as Comrade Abdullahi Gali Basaf, Abdullahi Gali Shitu spends his days overseeing trainees, cutting cloth and stitching clothes, Daily Trust writes.
Basaf was the Chairman of Kumbotso LGA of Kano State until March 2026, but lately decided to go back to tailoring full time, a trade he said is more stable than politics.
Basaf told our correspondent that he returned to his tailoring business to convey a strong message to the public that politics should not be the only thing to focus on.
He believes politicians should have a trade to support themselves and see politics as only a chance to serve the people, not a full time source of income.
Basaf wanted to make a difference in a place where you barely see a politician conducting what many will call a tiny business or may never want to be linked with it even after leaving office.
“Financed my political campaign through tailoring”
Basaf’s tailoring story started in his early years and has been going on for over ten years. He remembers buying the fabrics himself, stitching them himself and selling them himself.
Tailoring remained his favourite anchor even when he combined farming, painting and minor commercial enterprises.
Tailoring is not a tiny business. This is a big one. It keeps people alive. Even in politics my tailoring business helped me financially to fund my initiatives and organisations. Without this it would have been difficult to do any political activity,” he said.
Today his shop employs roughly twenty. His apprentices look up to him as a mentor and employer – and he has an ambition to grow bigger.
“I want to modernise tailoring, start a garment company and employ 50 or more people. “I want to help the economy,” he said.
WHY I CAME BACK TO TAILORING
Basaf’s switch to tailoring is intentional. “I want young people to view trades as dignified,” he remarked.
“My message is do not despise trades, value and modernise trades,” he stated.
He believes that tailoring is more stable than politics. He counselled: “Put more value on your trade than politics because it sustains you and enables you to support your political activities.”
For him, tailoring is not simply a job, but a philosophy. It is a chance to prove that honest labour can withstand the vagaries of political office.
Basaf said that even though he has a Bachelor’s and a Master’s degree in Political Science, and a network that could get him more suitable white collar jobs, he decided to return to his tailoring because it has always been his passion and he wants to build it to a higher level and make more impact on society.
Political history
His story is about tailoring. But Basaf’s political journey adds background. His career was shaped by love for the movement of Senator Dr Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, the Kwankwasiyya.
In 2015, he floated Kwankwasiyya Reporters, which became one of the strong voices championing the political movement of the former Kano governor on social media. He was the state chairman of the Alliance National Party (ANP), contested for a Senate seat under it in 2019 and later joined NNPP where he was appointed Senior Special Assistant on Information.
He fought and won the presidency of Kumbotso LGA in 2024. Basaf, in his year and three months in office, founded schools, introduced hospitals and financed the education of nearly 2,000 pupils.
The Kano State High Court, however, in March 2026 invalidated his Certificate of Return, stating that it was issued in contravention of an earlier judgement.
The court deemed Ali Musa (Hardworker) the lawful winner and ordered him to be sworn in immediately. Basaf’s time in the job was brief.
It was a quick and definitive call. The court insisted on prompt compliance on the ground that the certificate had been issued in the face of an existing judgement. In a matter of days Basaf was replaced by Hardworker.
Life outside the office
The court verdict was not the end for Basaf, but a turning point.
He went back into tailoring full-time, not as a fall-back, but as a statement.
He said, “Even being in politics is a less noble profession than making clothes.”
He is still into politics, but his number one is tailoring. His shop is now a hive of activity employing young people and making clothes that go outside of Kano.
His objective, he says, is to develop a clothing company capable of competing with factories abroad.
Tailoring is more stable than politics, says Basaf.
“Politics can turn in a day. You can be in the office today and gone tomorrow. Customising stays. “It feeds you, it feeds your family and it allows you to help other people.”
He views tailoring as a means to inspire young people to strike a balance between politics and trade.
‘Whatever they do, if they have a trade, they should value it more than politics,’ he suggested.
But he ruled out the notion of not returning to the political arena, noting that no one could run away from politics.
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