Fun won tan or Pepper dem?
Fashion means more than clothing. Fashion is an assortment of things both for the wearer and the observer. Dress and fashion have always been intertwined with politics, religion, economics, and more from time immemorial, both within the context of cultural nationalism of elite men and women in colonial Nigeria and postcolonial advocacy of "wear made in Nigeria." Dressing and changing names from Western Christianized to Indigenous names were some of the ways elite men and women in colonial Nigeria showed acceptance and rejection of colonialism and imperialism. Funmilayo Ransome Kuti rejected Western-style dressing in favor of Adire and other local fashion. Many early cultural nationalists "denounced their English names and adopted African names: David Vincent became Mojola Agbebi; Reverend S. H. Samuel became Adegboyega Edun, and George William Johnson became Tejumade Osholake Johnson. They abandoned European dress for African dress, even when they visited Europe" (Falola & Aderinto, p.64).
Professor Oyeronke's book on the gender of motherhood includes a section on gender and writing that uses the designation of dress to help us understand the power dimension that shapes knowledge production among non-academic historians. For instance, a male-educated person was called "Akowe," while their female counterpart was called "onibaka." Fashion can be a statement of value, ideology, disposition, feeling, temperament, stereotype, personality, and more.
Within my limited knowledge, it seems that adequate attention has not been paid to male fashion( I once saw something on Dino) except my mentor Professor Aderinto, who is highlighting the fashion, aesthetics of Sikiru Ayinde Barrister, fashion transgression of Obesere, and body care style of Aljahji Kollington( some say it is colorism, but Waka Queen Salawa said: "bi ebo oju ke bora ko ba awoje" (colorism does not ruin skin as long as you are evenly tone), does this apply to men? It is still questionable in feminine beauty repertories, though.
The other day in Nigeria, I went to do my hair in what, in retrospect, was a waste of money. I saw men of different ages, stages, and shades coming in for pedicures and manicures, something I have not done in the last year( yes, judge me). I thought to myself, whoever thinks masculinity is only about machoness and virility is missing something. By the way, someone should warn Asake from releasing another fire(Terminator); I am "losing" my spiritual and Christian values ("My banana, oh my bana, come chop my bana, shoni power). Sorry, I digress!
The other day, too, I was out with someone when we saw this guy struggling with a fork and knife at this "expensive" restaurant. He wasn't with any babe before haters would say he was trying to impress. Was this self-care for him?
The "turn" in male fashionability in politics is not new, as one can suspect; the "outrage" could be symptomatic of the deepening dissatisfaction of a young generation that is tired of old wines packaging themselves as new wines and trying to fit all parameters of youthfulness from sportfulness to showing being updated about on current events and more. The conversation about male dressing, especially older men, could be revenge or anger of a generation turning on another generation who have long defined them by specific profiling whether they can wear a suit (now it seems they can't wear a suit properly)rather than torn jeans, whether they kept low cut or keep dreads. If we turn this slightly on decolonizing dress (as per NBA event) within legal systems, the questions of wigs, suits, and robes, one is tempted to ask if politics is decolonized in the first place. Was the choice of Shettima another northern leadership by proxy or postcolonial leadership by proxy, given the perennial debate of northern hegemony and other matters?
Every time I dressed in the little way that I knew, my sister-mum would say, "Aburo mi, fun won tan," and another of my siblings would say, "Aunty Seyi don pepper them." Whether you think that Shettima fun won tan or Pepper them depends on multiple factors.
This was posted on Facebook on 23 August 2024 after a Vice Presidential Aspirant wore a suit on Canvas for a Nigeria Bar Association event.
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