By Johnson Babalola
Our Father, who art in heaven,
We gather before You today with fabric in one hand and frustration in the other. From Lagos to London, Abuja to Atlanta, your children have suffered grievously—not from famine or flood, but from Nigerian tailors… sorry, Fashion Designers.
Hallowed be thy name.
Unlike the names of many tailors which combine the sacred, the dramatic, the religious, and the confusing. Names like God’s Time Is The Best Couture, A Trial Will Convince You Fashion, No Rival Empire of Style, Heavenly Garments International, Jealousy Go Kill Dem Tailoring, and The Lord Is My Tailor—but Lord, You never disappoint. These ones do.
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.
In heaven, we believe clothes are ready on time, threads do not pull at first wear, and the hem is not an inch higher on one side. Lord, let that same professionalism descend upon our designers here on earth. Please let it be done in Surulere, Onitsha or Makurdi, as it is in Heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread…
…and not daily excuses. “Ma, the fabric has not arrived.” “Uncle, I’m on my way to the market.” “Aunty, abeg no vex, we no get electricity.” Yet the light came back, and still, the sleeve was sewn into the neck. Give them their bread, oh Lord, but not at the expense of our Ankara.
Forgive them their trespasses,
For they have trespassed into our wardrobes, altered our designs without consent, lied about completion dates, and ruined once-beautiful dreams. Forgive them, Lord, only if they repent, retrain, and rebrand their attitude.
As we forgive those who trespass against us…
Madam Joy forgave the tailor who ruined her second wedding gown—returning to her to make another dress for her. Brother Lukman tried to forgive, but his 60th birthday outfit disappeared mysteriously from the fashion house he has now renamed “New Management, Same Disappointment.” Aunty Bimpe, now known by her friends as “Fashion Designer Search Oloso,” hops from one tailor to another like she’s chasing salvation. Still, each one fails her harder than the last. Lord, heal her tailoring PTSD.
Lead us not into temptation…
…to sew clothes abroad or give up entirely. Especially not Sisi Maryam, who lives in the diaspora. Every trip home ends with disappointment and ill-fitting iro and buba. She has learned the hard way that “e ma binu” (don’t be annoyed) is not a customer care policy. Deliver her, Lord.
Deliver us from evil.
The evil of designers who learnt tailoring not out of passion but because there were no jobs. Now, clients are their daily affliction. They rush to open shops without basic training or manners, pushing work to apprentices, hiring incompetent workers, and taking more jobs than their machines can handle. Deliver us from the evil of last-minute adjustments and shapeless silhouettes.
For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory…
We know only You can restore order in this garment chaos. Only You can expose the bad needles from the good fabric. For those who still honor their work—those rare gems who communicate, keep deadlines, and don’t turn clients into prayer warriors—we thank You. Multiply them, Lord. Keep their zippers strong and their tape measures honest.
And Lord, before we close this prayer, a few specific petitions:
* Intervene in Alhaja Bintu’s marriage. Her husband has threatened divorce if she complains that another Fashion Designer has ruined her expensive fabric. Her only hope now is Lara, the secret tailor plug to find her a very professional tailor.
* Give the women in our society room to breathe, that their party conversations may return to wholesome things like love, health, and maybe… You. Not just “Abeg who sew this cloth for you?”
* Encourage the clients to stop lying too—saying, “I need it tomorrow” when they actually need it in two weeks. Their Fashion Designers have turned them into liars. They want to make Heaven, but the lies are dragging them backward.
* Speak to the mind of Dende the Tailor, who will add unsolicited designs to the buba of his clients rendering such unwearable for them.
* Finally Father, touch the hearts of clients that specialize in underpaying their tailors and in some cases, outrightly refusing to pay them under the guise of one excuse or the other, for no sinner will make Heaven.
Amen.
NB: Johnson Babalola, a Canada based lawyer, leadership consultant and corporate emcee, is a public affairs analyst. He is the Founder of JB Law and Life Compass (@jblifecompass), a mentorship platform for law students, young lawyers and professionals. Follow him for discussions on real life issues that affect us all:* https://substack.com/@johnsonbabalola https://medium.com/@jblawyer2021 https jbdlaw Website: www.johnsonbabalola://www.facebook.com/jbandthings
IG: @jbdlaw/@jbandthings
*You can obtain a copy of his book, REJECTED on Amazon, FriesenPress, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Google Play, Apple Books, Nook Store etc.*
