AKWAETE: OUR VERY OWN. Why not?

NnewiUSA Akwaete--------unbeatable.

We, as a people spend lots of money buying our traditional attire. The kind of money we invest in these fabrics and accessories that go with them has made many rich. A non Nigerian in Boston, many years ago, started selling lace and george materials from a suitcase on Sunday afternoons. He visited Nigerians in their apartments, showing and selling these fabrics. Before long, it became a family business with the man quitting his job and selling fabrics to Nigerians full time. He makes good money and many of us know him very well. Years after moving away from Boston, I still receive his brochure in the mail whenever he has a promotion or sale going on.

The sad part of this picture is the that the fabric we buy at such high prices are made in countries other than Nigeria or Igboland. This means that we are giving our business and our money to people other than our own people. Most of the lace we love so much are made in Europe, while the george materials come out of India. Nobody comes to Nigeria to buy our tie-dye or the ashoke/asoke or the hand woven Akwaete. These sell in Nigeria, but hardly enough to create jobs for people. When will we learn to patronize ourselves and create work for our own people ?

Don't get me wrong. I am not in any way discouraging people from buying what they like for whatever reason, neither am I trying to spoil business for those of us who sell these materials. I am just wondering why we don't wear our own, take pride in it and improve it to measure up, if the problem is the quality of it. Most of the textile mills in Nigeria have shut down.

In other cultures, people wear their own. Indians wear their sari, which is what we copy when we enrich them tremendously by buying their george. Even the abada is imported from Holland and England. They weave these specifically for Africans, hardly wearing the fabrics themselves. The Chinese and Japanese have theirs. It is imported from Africa or anywhere else. They make their own fabric. So, what is wrong with us? Is it because our people used to run around naked or wearing leaves and the intruders came in gradually clothed our people with fabrics they brought in? I am just curious.

I will zero in on the fabric which is specifically woven in Igboland, Akwaete to be exact. This beautiful fabric which is hand woven with cotton thread can be worn many ways and looks very elegant. Recently, some weavers have moved on to weaving akwaete with silk thread and the finished product is not as good as the original cotton. Even ashoke weavers are now weaving what looks and feel like akwete, thereby causing confusion as to the authenticity of the fabric.

Recently, NnewiUSA adopted the akwete as their official wear. The motive is to put our money where our mouths are by sending business back to our own people. Every good thing starts with one first step and this is a step in the right direction. Last December, NnewiUSA blazed a trail in Medical Missions by joining hands with Medical colleagues on the ground to provide needed care to many who ordinarily would not have had it. Technology techniques were transferred and the impact on the community is still resounding. It did not take a whole army of volunteers, it took a handful of dedicated individuals and a handful of dedicated individuals on the ground. Neither did it take a ton of cash.

With this move to use our own fabric, thus promoting ourselves and providing livelihood to the weavers, NnewiUSA is setting another example. If handled properly, with the motive not being gain, we can revive the akwaete weaving industry and raise it to a new height. Why not?

To be continued------ with more detail of NUSA akwaete depicting the four villages/quarters of Nnewi.