Abdullahi Gali Shitu, popularly known as Comrade Abdullahi Gali Basaf, has returned fully to his tailoring business in Kano’s Kumbotso ward after his chairmanship was nullified, saying trades offer more stability than politics.
In Sheka ward of Kumbotso Local Government Area, the hum of sewing machines and the rhythm of scissors cutting fabric tell a story of resilience.
Here, Abdullahi Gali Shitu, popularly known as Comrade Abdullahi Gali Basaf, spends his days supervising apprentices, cutting cloth, and stitching garments. Until March 2026, Basaf was the chairman of Kumbotso LGA of Kano State, but recently chose to return fully to tailoring, a trade he insists offers more stability than politics.
Basaf told Daily Trust that he returned to tailoring to send a strong message, insisting that politicians must have a trade that sustains them and view politics as an opportunity to serve, rather than a full-time livelihood.
His tailoring journey began in his youth, spanning more than a decade, during which he personally bought fabrics, sewed and sold garments while combining farming, painting and small business ventures.
“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.
Today, his shop employs about twenty people, and his vision is to modernise the trade, establish a garment company and employ fifty or more workers.
Basaf said he wants young people to see dignity in trades, advising, “Value your trade more than politics, because it sustains you and enables you to support your political activities.”
He noted that despite holding a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Political Science and having networks that could earn him white-collar jobs, he chose tailoring because it has always been his passion.
Basaf’s political career was shaped by his admiration for the Kwankwasiyya movement, having founded Kwankwasiyya Reporters in 2015, served as ANP state chairman, contested a Senate seat in 2019, and later served as Senior Special Assistant on Information under NNPP.
In 2024, he won the Kumbotso LGA chairmanship, but in March 2026, the Kano State High Court nullified his Certificate of Return.
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