Everyone knows Kasuwar Barci in Tudun Wada in the heart of Kaduna metropolis. And they know why they love to patronise it. They get a good measure of grains there, as well as a fine piece of furniture, even a rug or mattress.
That is not all. They love the used clothes of Kasuwar Barci. They stand the test of time, long after some so-called brand new ones have worn off. Students pour in there, as do even the well-off in the society, some coming in from as far as other parts of the North and beyond. Kasuwar Barci has since become the hub of secondhand clothing in the region.
The reality at the market seems to stand common knowledge on its head. Used fabrics at the market are, in many cases, much costlier than the ones bought brand new.
Why? Blame it on the popularity of the market and also on the durability of the items on offer.
Kasuwar Barci, which means a market of sleeping traders, is well known within and outside Kaduna as a place where clothing material needs are met. You can buy textile material and have them sewn and designed by some of the best tailors and designers in the state. The market caters for both new and secondhand textile materials while also serving the needs of residents in the area of new and used rugs and carpets, used and new household furniture including beds, mattresses, cabinets and even electronic appliances. The market also serves foodstuff needs of the community, offering Irish potatoes, yams, guinea corn, maize, beans, rice in bags and other measures, soup ingredients.
Cooking utensils such as stoves, mortars and pestles, sieves of various sizes, pots, aluminum, iron and earthenware, food warmers, warmers and preservers, animals like chicken, goats, sheep, dry fish, fresh and roasted bush meats. Jewelleries and other ornaments, slippers and children and adult’s sandals, plastic materials and containers, buckets as well as school materials such as exercise and textbooks, bags of various makes and sizes and school uniforms and children wears are also found in the daily market.
The market is divided into sections, each having a sectional head, though there is an overall chairman of all the traders. The sprawling market, in a mixed neighbourhood of residents and commercial workers, is linked by Chawai, Dustsinma, Powa and Poly roads.
Said to have existed for more than four decades, it competes for volume of business with Sheikh Mahmud Gummi Central Market, and also serves traders from Funtua, Zaria, Abuja and Katsina.
The state government built over 2,000 shops, some in storey buildings in the market, which boasts over 3,000 traders, artisans and other workers operating daily.
The Nation gathered that when it was decided to reconstruct the Central Market, the then military administration of the North Central State under the leadership of Military Governor, Brigadier Abba Kyari (rtd), evacuated the traders to other locations for the builders to do their work without hindrance. The government resettled the traders temporarily at two locations, namely the Police Barracks at Tudun Wada Poly Road by Chawai Road and the then Tudun Wada Market which later became Kasuwar Barci, according to the former secretary of the Central Market and now Sarkin Marna Sabongari, Alhaji Bello Rilwan.
Alhaji Bello served as Secretary of the Central market between 1973 and 1990 before becoming the Sarkin Kasuwar Barci, an office he held for 13 years.
He told our reporter that Kasuwar Barci derived its name from the fact that in its early days, the market recorded such low patronage that traders often slept most of the time, waking up for the Muslim prayers. He said a trader from Kano known as Alhaji Jayawa gave the market its name when he saw that his fellow traders often dozed off.
Alhaji Bello Rilwan said, “Kasuwar Barci came into being on May 8, 1973 when the market was moved from Central Market to Kasuwar Tudun Wada.
Those early days presented challenges for Kasuwar Barci traders. Few customers stopped by their shops. Other markets such as the in Dutse were thriving, but Alhaji said they took it in their stride. In time, the table turned.
“When Kasuwar Dutse was making brisk business while traders in Kasuwar Barci had nothing to do other than to sleep, we believed it was God’s will because we really could not fathom why the situation was so. But now there is no market in Kaduna State that enjoys business patronage better than Kasuwar Barci, not even Sheikh Mahmud Gummi Central Market,” Alhaji Bello said.
Students of Kaduna Polytechnic, Kaduna State University, Ahmadu Bello University and others enjoy patronising Kasuwar Barci. One thing they like the market for is the quality of clothing materials they obtain there. Some of the students our correspondents came across at the market said unlike before, traders in the textile market have realised that students and elite have come to like their products, so they have hiked the prices.
Abdulwaheed Yunus, a student of Kaduna Polytechnic, ýsaid, “Look, I don’t have any regret patronising this secondhand clothing market because this is where you get the desired quality. You see this belt I’m wearing, I bought it here about five years ago and I have about four of them, but if you buy the so-called new belt, be rest assured that you will change it in less than one year. But, my disappointment is that unlike before, clothes have become expensive here. A pair of shoes that we used to buy for, say, between N1,000 and N1,200, they tell you now sells for between N3,500 and N4,000.
Because they know students and even the elite now patronise them. But, one thing you cannot still take away from them is quality. I hardly buy shirts and trousers here, except I get a very unique one, but for my shoes, caps, belts and sport dresses, I can’t miss Kasuwar Barci. I also patronise this market for all my bed sheets and blankets because you get the best of them here rather than at Central Market.”
Another customer, Miss Mary Jatau, a student of Kaduna State University, said, apart from her native dresses, she gets all others from Kasuwar Barci. Why?
She said, “I have been patronising this market since I was born. My mum used to buy clothes for us from here to complement the new ones and they were always very nice”.
A secondhand clothes dealer who preferred anonymity, said, “Our products are now expensive because the government said it is contraband and so it has become more difficult and expensive to [bring] down to the country”.
He said, “I am not supposed to talk to you because it is our policy not to talk to the press, because we don’t want to expose our business to risk from government. We also enjoy patronage when our products were cheaper, but now, we don’t have any option other than to sell according to our expenses”.
The market is not without its challenges. Traders said they lack potable water and that their environment is dirty. That is not all. They also complained of insecurity at Kasuwar Barci.
