THE senator representing Edo North in the National Assembly, Adams Oshiomhol, has denied ever being a tailor at any point in his life.
The Edo State former governor was responding to Asue Ighodalo’s claim that he started his life as a tailor. Asue Ighodalo is the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate in Edo State.
Mr Oshiomhole said though he was never a tailor, he however expresses pride in being described as one. He highlighted the importance of tailors in society, noting that they are well-known and trusted members of their communities. He cited the example of people going to tailors to sew clothes for special occasions like Salah and Christmas, emphasizing the relevance and value of the profession in people’s lives.
He said in a live coverage by TVC, “I had a good laugh when he (Asue Ighodalo) said I started my life as a tailor and he started as a Board Chairman. It is not true that he started as a Board Chairman and I was never a tailor.
“But I’m very proud to be described as a tailor because in matters of politics, it is who the people know that they will vote for. In every community, a tailor and a mechanic are the two people everybody just knows. If you want to sow clothes for Salah and Christmas, you just go to the tailor. So it tells you about the relevance of tailors in our society.’’
Eighteen-Eleven Media reports that Mr Oshiomhole was a factory worker with Arewa Textiles in Kaduna. His colleagues soon elected him union secretary. In 1971, responding to bad labour practices at his workplace, he led a shop-floor revolt. Four years later, he had become a full-time trade union organiser. Around this time, he left for the UK to study labour and industrial relations and industrial relations at Ruskin College in Oxford.
Later, he would also study at the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPS) in Kuru, Plateau State.
In 1982, Oshiomhole was appointed as the General Secretary and Chief Executive of the National Union of Textile Garment and Tailoring Workers of Nigeria. As a 2017 report into the union’s fortunes would note: “At its peak in the 1980s, the textile industry employed up to 500,000 workers directly, making it the second largest employer after the government.” This made Oshiomhole one of the most powerful trade union leaders in Nigeria.
He was later elected as president of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) in 1999.
Edo State goes to the poll on 21 September 2024 to elect a new governor.
Eighteen-Eleven Media