By Maria Famakinwa
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In the past, wearing fairly used clothes was viewed with disdain, but today quite a high percentage of Nigerians especially ladies go for them. Surprisingly, Nigerians do not only shop for used clothes but also for second hand underwears regardless of the well publicized health implications.
Findings revealed that sellers of fairly used ladies pants and bras in many parts of the country are making brisk sales as most naturally endowed ladies now settle for them.
It is a well established fact that foreign underwear are more durable and of a better quality. However, their prices are not affordable due to the high exchange rate of naira to a dollar. Hence, the rush for these products might not be divorced from the debilitating effect of the economic crunch that the country is going through presently as the prices of underwear among other commodities skyrocket.
Therefore, the okrika business has become a very viable one and many Nigerians, both male and female are venturing into it in many states of the countries with Lagos being the headquarters.
Akure, Ondo State capital is not different, a visit to Oja-Oba where fairly used ladies underwears were sold revealed the obvious preference for Okrika underwear as ladies were seen fighting over who picked what among the pants and bras heaped on the floor.
Some ladies who were lucky to have picked their choices went to a nearby corner to try them on to be sure it was their size before making payment.
One of them Clara Ibeh, spoke with The Hope why she left her house at Oshinle very early and arrived at the market early to buy fairly used bra. “Right from time, I didn’t like patronizing fairly used clothes not to talk of underwears but my large breasts left me with no choice. Most new bras I bought hardly last a month before it wears out. I mean it was difficult to get cheap, new quality bra of my size.
“Until two years ago when I discovered that I could get my size of bra from fairly used ones, I buy new bra almost every month because my breasts size made new bras slack on time. Unlike the fairly used ones with stronger straps which help to pack my breasts better. If I can get quality brassieres of my size from new ones I don’t mind it even if it is expensive. I hate the idea of rushing to the market to buy fairly used brassieres. Another thing is that okrika brassieres are cheaper when compared with the new ones. With N10, 000, I am sure of getting some first grade bras that will last longer.
“As you can see that my breasts are well packed courtesy of okrika bra which make me feel comfortable walking around. Before I decided to be using okrika bra, I had been embarrassed on several occasions as my brassiere would break leaving the mounds on my chest to run free due to the large size.
‘Since I cannot change it, I should accept and look for how smart I can package myself to be presentable. Most ladies that patronizes fairly used bras are people with big breasts. l also shop for pants because I have big buttocks as well. The fairly used pants are also cheaper than the new ones. You can get it for N1,000 depending on the grade,” she said.
Temitope Ogundare, who was also at the market explained that most naturally endowed ladies find solace in okrika underwears aside the fact that they are affordable. She added that gone were the days when ladies were shy to buy okrika pants and brassieres. She claimed that ladies of all categories now prefer fairly used bras and pants. “Ladies with big breasts and buttocks prefer buying fairly used pants and brassieres to make their packaging look firm. Besides, they are durable and can get good bargain from market. Also, most of the fairly used pants and bras have trendy designs, colourful and unique.”
When reminded of the health hazards of patronizing fairly used underwears, she said: “Once you are able to soak it in water with detergent and disinfectant, there is no problem. As you can see for yourself that most ladies who are here are either blessed with full chest or full back and the only place to get extra large sizes to pack them firm is okrika market. We have to come very early to make our choices otherwise, others would have picked them. Though it is cheap, agreed, but my preference for fairly used underwears started two years ago when the hook on the new bra I wore to the office pulled out and my breasts fell off which was noticed by everyone. Since then I switched to okrika brassieres and pants. That is the secret.”
An undergraduate, Oluwatoyin Dada sighted with two nylons, one for okrika brassieres and the other for pants hinted that she would be taking them to school to sell for her classmates. The lady who disclosed that she has been selling fairly used underwears before she gained admission added that students patronizes her on campus because she goes for first grades.
Her words:“I have been selling fairly used pants and bras before I gained admission and I cannot leave it because I want to keep my customers. I buy from different sellers and sell them to ladies on campus. My friends and classmates who knows about my business also patronize me and tell others which make funding my education much more easier. I manage my time so that my academic will not be affected. Ladies with big breasts or buttocks irrespective of status opt for fairly used underwear not only because it is available and affordable but that is where they can get extra large sizes for packaging,” she disclosed.
Some dealers of the used underwears at market admitted that the sales has been encouraging due to its durability. They insisted that no new pant, girdle tight, bra among others could be compared to used stuff. They added that the okrika business has come to stay due to the high patronage from low and medium Nigerians who formed a huge patron of the market.
A bra seller at the market, Mr Mike Anayo, said that despite the ban on fairly used clothes in the country, it still enjoy high patronage. “Most women find solace in fairly used underwears because it is durable. Some of my customers are ladies with big breasts who could not find their bra sizes except they buy used ones. I have some of the phone numbers of these endowed ladies and I call them when I am about to open a new bale. Anyway you want to look at it, we are providing succour to women with big breasts. The first grade stuff of bra is the toast of these naturally endowed women and they are ready to pay any price to get them because it last longer,” he said.
Mrs Anuoluwapo Abiodun, who has been selling okrika pants for more than nine years shed light on ladies’ preference for fairly used underwears. “I was selling fairly used clothes when I just started the business, but after sometimes, I observed that ladies with big buttocks always come to ask for pants of their sizes. This was why I changed to selling fairly used pants for these type of ladies which I have not regretted. Some of my customers also bring their friends to me. In order to carry everyone along, I opened a WhatsApp group for them so that they can be around anytime I want to open a new bale.
“I have customers who leave money with me to get them quality pants. In the past, ladies who buy used underwears didn’t like to be seen with us but today, they come to fight over it as you can see for yourself. Our customers are made of the low, middle and working class, and these obviously are both the learned and uneducated.
In fact, we have more of the learned-university and polytechnic students, graduates, sophisticated and polished as customers. Ladies/women with well packed full breasts are our customers,” she boasted.
Health implications of wearing tokunbo undies.
A study conducted by researchers at the Department of Microbiology, Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko, Ondo state, Nigeria, noted that second-hand clothes are potential carriers of pathogens for skin and other infections.
The study titled “The Microbial Diversity of Fairly Used Wears Sold In a Lagos Market, Nigeria” was led by a Senior Lecturer in the department of AAUA, Festus Olajubu, and published in the Journal of Pharmacy and Biological Sciences.
The researchers said clothes have the potential, just as any other hand contact site, to be a component in the chain of infection transmission during normal daily activities.
They said “Okrika” as it is fondly called, is highly patronised by Nigerians, and yet, there is very little information on the attending health implications and what to do to reduce it.
They concluded that “diverse potential pathogens were isolated from the second-hand clothes with bed sheet and panties been the one with the highest microbial count for bacteria and fungi respectively.
“These isolated pathogens are also incriminated in life-threatening diseases. Though the use of detergents in re-washing the fairly used wears reduced the microbial load, it never removed them totally.
“The flare for fairly used clothes because of the assumption that they are cheaper and of better quality than new ones will have to be weighed carefully in view of the likely attending health implications,” they said.
