World of 77-year-old female cobbler

From her secondary school
days, Mrs. Patricia Abulu
wanted to be a shoemaker.
The opportunity came when
her husband was transferred
to Ilorin, and during their
brief sojourn she became
apprenticed to a shoemaker
who taught her the art.
Despite going to England for
a course in building
technology, she has
diligently produced shoes in
the last 40 years. Now 77,
Abulu confesses that nothing
can separate her from her
first love of making shoes.
“I left Nigeria for England
in 1962 and studied building
technology, so I am a
technician. After that I was
employed by the London
Council Highway Department,
where I spent some years. On
return to Nigeria in 1968, I
really wanted to practice
what I studied but my
husband did not like me going
out to work like men do. So I
established a fashion house
called Patrina Fashion
Institute in which I trained
many young people, ” she
narrated to Saturday Sun.
At the beginning, she
specialized in selling wears
and later sewed few for
special clients. “Some of my
clothes were sampled for
sale during the FESTAC ‘77.
Some of the foreign artistes
who participated in the
festival visited my shop and
they were very excited about
the high quality of my
products. Most of them
bought clothes. The shop was
unique because it also served
as my home. I had to use the
sitting room as my shop in
the day and convert it to
living room in the evening.
You would really think that
everywhere was the shop
because in the morning I
changed the look of the
parlour and fix the wheels
for the dresses and used
curtains to shield the rest
from the prying public. ”
Designing just came to Abulu
as a hunch fuelled by her
avid “craze for good clothes.
But after some years of
highly rewarding fashion
business, I thought I should
practice what I studied in
England, so I pleaded with my
husband, an engineer,
working in the aviation
sector then to allow me
fulfill that ambition. He
later agreed and I applied
for a job with an engineering
firm, called Comprehensive
Consultants Limited in Lagos.
I was invited for an
interview where they found
out that I was actually
qualified and employed me.
“The next day I went to work.
When I reported for work I
noticed that they did not
have any female staffer. I
was the first, and so enjoyed
a lot of attention. They asked
if I could go on tour to places
like Ibadan, so I said I don’t
mind but I hope I won’t be
sleeping there because my
husband would not like that
at all. They were quiet nice,
complete gentlemen.
“I left the business in the
hands of some of my
assistants to face the new
job. We travelled to Ibadan,
Akure and Abeokuta often for
work before I was
redeployed to the drawing
office. I was in charge of the
drawings so I checked the
building drawings to make
sure they were accurate, and
looked at the schedules to
ensure compliance. I never
worked at the building site
but ensured that the
technical details were not
compromised. At the close of
work, by the time I would
drive home it will be late.
“When the pressure of work
became unbearable, I
indicated to resign. I tried to
return to my fashion
designing trade but changed
my mind. Instead I moved
into dealing in religious
books. When I left the
construction job, something
happened in my life, I had an
encounter that changed my
attitude towards certain
things. I curtailed my passion
for clothes and make-up and
became deeply religious. I
started going to church
regularly and prayed more
than before. I ordered for
religious books, which I sold
to the public. I was very
happy with this because I had
people coming to me for
prayers, some with problems
for counseling. We shared
experiences, advices and had
joy and fulfillment.”
At this period her husband
was transferred to Ilorin.
When they got there, she
thought of how to get busy
most likely in practical
things. She recalled that way
back in England “I also was
very practical. In those days
most women went for
secretarial training but I
didn ’t fancy it at all so I
went for building technology.
People especially my peers
used to ask me what I
studying that for. It looked
odd. ”
As a matter of fact, she was
the only black girl in the
class. I was not good in a
particular mathematics
course called ‘building
mathematics’ and sometimes
we would go into group
sessions. One of the white
guys would look at me and
wonder why I did not
understand mathematics. So
when we came back the next
day, he would come to me and
say Pat, this thing we did
yesterday, this is how it
should be done. Through his
help I began to improve. But
courses like building
construction and drawing
were my favourites. ”
So when they got to Ilorin,
she thought of what to do to
improve her fashion
designing by making shoes,
bags and hats to compliments
the clothes. It was an old
idea she nurtured in
secondary school in Kaduna
many years ago. “In fact
when I came back from
England some of my
colleagues thought I studied
shoemaking because I vowed I
must learn how to make
shoes. I laughed at them and
said no, my penchant for
shoemaking was just an
hobby. At Ilorin I decided to
make shoes as a profession ”,
she said.
After getting the husband’s
nod, she went in search of
where to acquire the trade.
“ Eventually I found one
young man and told him what
I wanted to do. He laughed
and said madam, you cannot
do it. I said I could. I admired
the shoes he had made which
were displayed on the rack.
That time they used Jeans
materials to produce shoes
and this fascinated me. I
insisted that he must teach
me, so he asked me to come
back in a month ’s time.”
After one month, she resumed
apprenticeship to the
surprise of her trainer.
“ He had to tell me how much
it would cost and inquired if
I would be apprenticed for
six months or one year. I told
him that I would pay his full
fees and stay only for three
months. He doubted me. My
husband agreed but he did
not know where I did the
apprenticeship. Sometimes
my new boss would give me
home work to losen a shoe for
repairs. When I get home,
after my house chores and
after attending to my
husband, I would do my home
work till late in the night. I
married early at twenty
three so by now all my
children had finished
schooling and were in Lagos.
This habit helped me during
my fashion business days. I
used to give homework to my
students and this greatly
improved their rate and
mastery of the profession.
I did all my home work and
learnt how to sew shoes like
the Hausa do. I learnt how to
sew with his guidance.
Sometimes the man was not
able to explain certain
patterns or reasons why
things were made into
specific designs, but I took
all in good faith. I learnt how
to make cover shoes and the
day I made something and
showed him, he did not know I
was the one who produced it.
Within three months, I learnt
so much. When he wanted to
teach me certain things he
would stand up but I insisted
he should sit down and teach
me since I was the student,
and he, the teacher. We had
this understanding and I
actually learnt fast and got
all he wanted to put across. ”
One day as her husband was
driving past, he spotted her
in the workshop and asked in
surprise what she was doing
there. He simply felt
disappointed that the wife
could choose such a place to
learn the trade. She had to
convince him that that was
the best place she could get
what she wanted.
” We were lived in the GRA
part of Ilorin then and on one
ocassion, a lady who used to
bring shoes for mending
came and I requested for a
lift home. As we were driving
home she told me the
shoemaker I learnt the work
in his place was good and
encouraged me to take him as
client too. She was shocked to
hear that I was an apprentice
with the man. I didn ’t care
much because I wanted to
learn. That was my passion
for shoe designing. I was
happy with the shoes I made
and I didn ’t stop at that. I
also made hats for women,
because it was in vogue. I
made a handful and through
the help of my daughter who
was in Lagos, I had an outfit
and made more for sale. In
this way I had a booming
business in Lagos while
residing in Ilorin.
I combined all that and after
three years we were sent
back to Lagos. I reopened my
fashion business and added
shoemaking to it and with
hats made by me I had a one-
stop-shop for women.”
she says her sitting room
doubles as workshop
especially when renting
shops ion Lagos has become
very expensive. “When you
do something you like or
zealous about you feel
fulfilled and happy about
it. ” That is actually how the
builder feels making shoes
and hats.
But can the husband of a
woman of such standing just
stomach it and watch the
wife come so low to make
shoes and some other things?
The question is not an issue
to the lady cobbler as she
noted that the husband never
felt bad. Or if he did, he
never showed it “because he
knew that I wanted to do the
things I liked. It did not
bother him so much because
having slept well at night,
the next morning he would be
off to work and I would be at
home. I detest idleness unlike
girls of today. So as soon as
he had gone I would return to
my duty post. Sometimes my
children would come and say,
‘ Mummy you need some rest’
and I would reply that
daytime is not for rest but
for work. ”
She later went back to
England to learn more trades
like wine making. On her
return, she had a change of
mind on work and said
enough because she was
getting so old for all those.
“ I decided to give out most
of my machines and tools. I
gave them to some of the
Hausa shoemakers living
around me in Satellite Town.
I taught them how to use
them and they were happy. ”
But not quiet long after her
return, the longing to make
shoes came back. “I began to
warm up again for my
business. I did not regret
disposing of my old tools
since God has given me life,
am well and my hands are
strong, I went back to Mushin
and bought a new set of
machines for making shoes. I
bought a couple of things as
well as materials and started
all over. But because I left
the production for a long
time I had forgotten certain
things. To overcome this I
went to some of my
benefactors for refresher
course and they were elated
to put me through again but
they kept on looking at my
age and till now they cannot
understand why a woman who
is over 70 should bother
herself with shoe making
business. This time I did not
buy filling machines, rather
when I design shoes; I send
them out for filling while I
put finishing touches to them.