Monitoring Desk
LAGOS/ABUJA: Too stylish for political party caps and T-shirts, some fashionistas in Nigeria are donning the beautiful colours and faces of their preferred candidates for a presidential poll this month on designer outfits.
Ahead of the February 25 vote, campaign events and political rallies have become catwalks for colourful printed fabrics twisted into elaborate dresses, headscarves, and tunics.
For several, it is also an opportunity to wear stylish spins on traditional dress rather than the casual, Western-style clothes most city residents use for daily life and work.
Nigeria political leaders participating in colourful events
Opposition Labour Party (LP) leader Kennedy Ahanotu participated in an event in Lagos in a white tunic called “babban riga”, which means flowing gown in local Hausa.
Ahanotu wore an LP-emblazoned, green, red, and white version of a traditional hat and held a wooden walking stick often used as an accessory among Hausa men.
“You can see the stick here, this means I am a full Lagosian under this campaign in Lagos,” Ahanotu said.
At a rally organized by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) party in the capital Abuja, women in green head wraps and dark sunglasses staved off the heat with silky fabric in All Progressives Congress colors mounted into fans.
Personal assistant to the minister of Nigeria’s capital territory, Fatima Suleiman, wore a black hat as part of traditional outfits worn by the Gbagyi ethnic group.
