OKRIKA: A parody of second-hand clothing in Nigeria.

Listen, let me tell you a story.....

When I was 12 years old I noticed I became clothe conscious. Not that I wasn't conscious of what I wore when I was little, because I can remember vividly how I begged my mum for the latest pair of jumper (underwear that comes with shorts), that was in town. I was just four years old.
But when I became a teenager I wanted what my other peers were wearing, the teen-size lee jeans trouser, some trendy knickers, a pair of Trekkers, etc. sadly my mum could not afford it. But I would keep on yearning for it.

It would get to me when I had no "trendy clothes" to wear for summer classes and sometimes I would be ashamed of my locally made "chewing gum" lace. Mum of course did not even send me, because she had other pressing issues at hand. Then I began to wonder why most of my mates,whose parents I guess didn't earn as much as my mum did,could afford the kind of attires I wanted.

Years later when I was to enter university, I became so worried about what I would wear when I get to school. I decided to seek advice from a family friend. I asked her if she knew what was trendy on campus, she said I should not worry she would take me somewhere I could get the "happening wear". I trusted her judgement because she had entered the university some years before I did and she was a fashionista. I managed to get like a thousand nigerian naira from my mum to go to this "happening place".

Saturday came as planned, we left the house very early to our destination which was like a taxi to my house. When we got there I asked "is this the place?" She replied affirmatively. 

"Gawd" 

I was shocked and wowed.

I saw a group of hastily dressed people, "gunning" for second-handed clothes and other wears like shoes and bags.

Shocked!!! Was an understament.

I was excited! because now I know where most of my peers, their big sisters, and moms get all those almost trendy clothes I wanted.

I was surprised that my mother or older siblings never told me About the existence of the "happening place" Of course they knew, they were just embarrassed. They must have thought that hmmm... "Okirika or Tokunbo....bend down select" Mum still can't come to terms with the idea.

That zeros it down to the topic for today. OKRIKA or no OKRIKA, clothe na clothe!

The act of purchasing fairly used in a place like Nigeria or some other African countries is not a new thing. Many people trade in it and and many have directly made contact with it.

The term "okirika" or "tokunbo" has been used to describe second hand clothing imported from the west. As the name implies, it means a product that came directly from abroad/overseas/west. It also captures graphically what takes place in urban and provincial markets, as customers pick through the pile of imported clothes, selecting garments to satisfy clothing needs and desires.(Hansen 1995). This imported clothes can also be referred to as second-hand clothing.

During Europe's colonial days second-hand garments where exported to the colonies and locally, charity shops catering for the poor sprang up.

Since the 2nd World War the second-hand clothing trade has grown considerably globally. With enviromental issues being more prominent and fashion pollution noted, people learn how to be environmental friendly tand second-hand/pre-owned stores have become very fashionable and respectable in Europe and the US. The internet connectivity added strongly to the online trade of second-hand clothing.

With the use of the Internet many people in this generation now have greater access to this article of trade. And if they want they can avoid the stress of going to acquire it from a retailer.

With growing wealth and prosperity, people all over the world become more concerned with their self-image and their uniqueness. Mass produced garments and ready to wear high street fashion, at times becomes insufficient and less appealing to express our individuality and uniqueness.

While some people have viewed it has condescending, some see it as their only shot at getting what they like to wear. Some have even embraced it and now see it as either vintage or recycled. In the quest to differentiate ourselves from our peers, the fashion industry started to look at second-hand clothing, more in the light of vintage, eco clothing and recycling. This trend was taken up by celebrities around the world and, at the Oscars; actresses like Julia Roberts, Reese Witherspoon, Kirsten Dunst, Nicole Kidman and Colin Firth and his wife choose to wear vintage or recycled garments. Following in the steps of many celebrities are ordinary consumers, who find second-hand fashion exquisite to make their individual fashion statements.

In Nigeria, some shoppers believe that the failing textile industry is killing their fashion trends so they opt for the fairly used/trendy wears that come from the West. But the influx of this wears from the west may have killed the textile industry which was booming till the 90's.

Although people know, that the buying of these wears, is killing a part of the economy, they are still left with no choice because most people can't afford to buy quality clothes and would not want to buy less quality "Made in Nigeria" wears.

I know what is on your mind, you want to know why people can't go back to wearing indigenous attires like, Ankara, and adire? Even though I have an answer for that, I would rather explain it more in the next phase of this article.

My personal question now is that, despite the fact that people know that it is harmful to their health why do they still patronize?

Though it is difficult to stop people from buying and selling these clothes it is therefore necessary for governments, non-governmental organizations to partner with health practitioners to talk about these dangers and explain solutions to them.

Be it OKRIKA, Tokunbo or bend down select, of which "all nah packaging" as my people seldomely say. You might like it more than I do or you don't like it at all, conclusively bend down select  is a way of life. Do you agree?