By Japhet Madaki

Inside Wuse, one of the largest markets in Abuja,  are colonies of hundreds of hair dressers who now make brisk business, charging as high as N1,500 per person that appears for hair dressing.

The hair dressers mostly in their twenties engage in hair fixing or braiding in order to earn a living. Perhaps, many of them never dreamed of taking up the business as a means of livelihood.

Hair dressings were in the  past done free of charge by either parents or siblings for one another, but today, the story is all about how much it costs to fix hair as many young women now find themselves commercially attached to it because of the rate of unemployment in the country.

Raliat Mohammed, 23, operates one of the hair style shops in Wuse market and she told Peoples Daily that she started fixing hair when she was in Plateau state but relocated to Abuja recently as a result of the civil disturbances.

“I finished my secondary school in Jos and because of the hard economic realities I looked for government work and resorted to hair dressing vocation when I could not get the job.

“I have five sisters putting up with me and it is through this business that I am able to feed them. My parents died in the Jos crisis. I have been doing this for about three years now.”

Grace Achibong, 27, another hair dresser, and a native of Cross River state said: “I was schooling in Port Harcourt when my father was alive, but shortly after his death I was forced to leave school because there was nobody to assist me in my education.

“So my friends encouraged me to come over to Abuja to look for work, and when I came I did not get any good job. I decided to learn this from my friends”, she said.          

 Highlighting the charges for the various styles, Miss Achibong said: “The style determines the amount we charge, but the least goes for N1, 500.” 

Kemi Olubayo, a University of Abuja student, who patronizes them said: “I come here whenever I want to do my hair, they know how to fix well.”

A lady who was seen hassling over the high charges told Peoples Daily how they pay outrageously to have their hair fixed: “The charges are very high but there is nothing we could do. This is the only place that I have my hair fixed to my satisfaction”

Peoples Daily learnt that while the hair dressers wait for customers, they usually engage in various form of discussions and that as soon as a customer surface they would scamper towards her using such trade words like, “auntie, which style you wan do?” I sabi de work well, well; my own dey cheap; come make I do am for you,” among others.

While hairdressers are busy fixing hair, people hawking various items like sachet water, ribbon, bungles, eye glasses, snacks and recharge cards stream around the place to make brisk businesses.

Inside this crowded place are various sizes of umbrellas with different colours which are installed, supposedly to shield customers from the scorching sun.