Following the Ekiti government’s directive on compulsory use of face masks as part of measures to curb the spread of COVID-19, fashion designers and traders in Ado-Ekiti have capitalised on the high demand for the safety product to make brisk business.
A correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ado-Ekiti, who monitored the development, reports that traders clutching different shapes, colours and sizes of locally made facemasks for sale had become a common sight on major streets of the state capital.
The high demand for the product by the residents had also provided a veritable avenue for fashion designers and traders to improve their income.
Some of those in the business in separate interviews with NAN described the development as heartwarming and a welcome development.
NAN gathered that the low price of the locally made facemasks and its durability compared with those made in factories might have accounted for the high patronage.
One locally made facemask now sells for N100 as against the N300 price for those made in factories.
Mrs Abigail Aderemi, a fashion designer, said she decided to venture into face mask business as the only alternative to sustain her family.
“Our fashion designing business, like other businesses, has been negatively affected since the total lockdown directive by government over COVID-19 pandemic.
“We hardly see customers coming forward due to the lockdown but with this face mask business, things have improved a bit.
“At least with the little profit coming from it, I have been able to put food on the table for my family,”she said.
Madam Rebecca James, another fashion designer, said the business had impacted positively on her income.
James, who decried the incessant raid by security personnel in the efforts to enforce the lockdown directive, said she produces an average of about 30 to 50 units of face masks per day.
Miss Bose Adebayo, a student, said the need to ward off redundancy occasioned by the lockdown, informed her venturing into face mask business.
“I’m an undergraduate, we have been at home for some weeks now doing nothing as schools are shut due to the lockdown over COVID-19 pandemic.
“I collected these (face masks) from a designer on contract basis to sell and in turn make some profit for myself instead of staying at home doing nothing and I have never regretted a bit.
“Aside the fact that the local face masks can be rewashed and used for a longer period, the difference in the price is also a contributory factor for its high patronage.
“The funniest aspect is that some people even go for two or three to ensure the colour of the face mask goes with a particular cloth,”she said.
NAN reports that Gov. Kayode Fayemi had in a state broadcast on Monday extended the lockdown in the state for another six days.
In the government’s fresh order, business activities are to resume for only three days in a week–Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays- and between 7a.m and 4p.m.
(NAN)
