THE POWER OF AGBADA AFRICAN ATTIRE

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Traditional attire of Nigerians differentiates one tribe from another. It is the outfit that also distinguishes Nigerians from other Africans. The costume for the women is characterized by its elaborate head piece, wrapper, which is worn like a skirt and a scarf that matches the headgear or the skirt. However, the designs of the garments vary from one tribe to the other.

The traditional attire Agbada consists of three pieces of clothing: a pair of tie-up trousers that narrow towards the ankles (known as a sokoto pronounced "shokoto" in Yoruba) and a long-sleeved shirt and a wide, open-stitched sleeveless gown worn over these.

Agbada is often observed as an ordinary fashion wear but then there is actually more to agbada than just fashion.

Agbada symbolizes peace and unity as in most cases it is usually worn by all. Especially during special occasions like birthdays, weddings, festivals etc

Nigeria is made up of over 250 ethnic groups, with varying languages and customs, the largest ethnic groups are the Hausa/Fulani, Yoruba, Igbo (Ibo), accounting for 62 percent of population.

Even though the prints and patterns of the attire’s of these tribes may be similar, the designs are different.

The Hausa-Fulani men wear Babban Riga while the women wear colorful wrappers (abaya) with matching blouses.

· The traditional Igbo attire is usually called the Isiagu aka Chieftancy.

· The Yoruba women wear Iro and Buba while the men war Shokoto ati Ewu

Despite the language and culture differences obvious in all tribes in Nigeria Agbada has remained as an attire for all without any form of segregation to a specific tribe

Agbada acceptance by all preaches love and unity despite differences in culture, religion and tradition.

Cultural differences shouldn’t be the basis for relationships and it shouldn’t be allowed to split us as a nation.