Ex-Kano LG Chairman Ditches Politics for Needle & Thread After Court Defeat

A former chairman of Kumbotso Local Government Area of Kano State, Abdullahi Gali Shitu, popularly known as Comrade Abdullahi Gali Basaf, has returned to tailoring following his loss at the polls.

Naija News reports that Basaf, who was the chairman of Kumbotso LGA until March 2026, told Daily Trust that he chose to return fully to tailoring because it offers more stability than politics.

He argued that politicians must have a trade that sustains them and view politics as just an opportunity to serve people, rather than as a full-time means of livelihood.

“Tailoring is not a small trade. It is a major one. It sustains livelihoods. Even in politics, my tailoring business helped me financially to support my campaigns and organisations. Without it, it would have been impossible to sustain political activities,” he said.

Basaf currently has about twenty apprentices working with him.

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

The former LG chair explained that his return to tailoring is deliberate.

He said he wants young people to see dignity in trades.

“My message is that they should not despise trades; they should value and modernise them,” he said.

“Value your trade more than politics, because it sustains you and enables you to support your political activities,” he advised.

Basaf said even with his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Political Science, coupled with his pool of networks that will earn him more befitting white-collar jobs, he chose to go back to his tailoring because it has always been his passion, and he wishes to build it to a greater level and make more impact on society.

“Tailoring is a noble profession, even greater than holding political office,” he said.

His ambition, according to him, is to build a garment company that rivals factories abroad.

“Politics can change overnight. You can be in the office Today and out tomorrow. But tailoring remains. It feeds you, it supports your family, and it allows you to help others,” he said.