Fashion Politics: Times Nigerian Politicians used Clothing to Make a Statement

On September 16, 2025, during the budget debate in the Dutch parliament, parliamentarian Esther Ouwehand appeared wearing a shirt with green, white, and black shirt stripes and a red collar. She took the podium but was immediately interrupted mid-speech by Parliament Speaker Martin Bosma who found her shirt problematic to the country’s neutrality on the Israel-Gaza war. ” It is offensive that you are standing here with that flag,” he said and requested that she change her clothes and return. 

Ouwehand returned wearing a shirt in watermelon print. The watermelon has become a  symbol of  Palestinian resistance. On close observation of the fruit, the why appears: its black seeds, red flesh, white rind, and green shell mirror the colors of the Palestinian flag . In this way, Esther Ouwehand’s shirt became a symbol of protest twice. 

Fashion, just like any form of art, has always had a political angle. From skirt lengths signaling  economic shifts or global clothing brands like Pretty Little Thing camouflaging their branding to meet modern day conservatism, fashion has always mirrored our political climate.

This raises the question: Have Nigerian politicians ever used their style to send a message to the public? Has clothing functioned as an emblem in the Nigerian political scene? The answer is an emphatic yes. While political influence is often measured through speeches and legislation, Nigerian politicians increasingly use fashion as a deliberate political statement.

Nigerian politicians using fashion as a political statement

Khaki to Agbada transition

The 1990s transition from military rule to democracy saw would-be political leaders swap their military khakis  for agbada (traditional civilian attire).  This transition, most famously, started with Sani Abacha. Abacha is popularly  known as Nigeria’s most cruel dictator. Like every authoritarian ruler, he clung onto power with his might and squashed any “rebellion” that attempted to comprise his grasp on Nigeria. Abacha might have had Nigeria in his palm, but in the global scene, his cruel and militant actions were met with sanctions. Abacha grew weary of the constant barriers placed on the country and began his plan to transition into civilian leadership, a different system of government. As he created the five political parties that were popularly described as the five fingers of a leprous hand, Nigerians started to spot him in public frequently in Agbada instead of his familiar green Khaki.

The Infinity Logo 

The embroidered infinity symbol often seen on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s apparel has raised controversies of alignment within the political class. To most Nigerians, any politician spotted with an infinity symbol on their apparel is simply sending a message without words,  and that message is that they have adopted Tinubu’s politics. When the governor of Anambra state, Professor Charles Soludo attended a meeting at the  Presidential Villa in Abuja, wearing a face cap featuring the infinity symbol, it generated significant attention and was seen by the people as an endorsement from Soludo, especially at a time when the president sought another term in office. 

This symbol also made President Bola Tinubu susceptible to allegations linking him to the Ouroboros occult vector. However, Tinubu asserts in a 2019 interview with the Guardian newspaper, that the prominent embroidery on his cap symbolises a broken shackle and depicts freedom. “Philosophically, it is my belief and faith in education, freedom fighting. On my cap is a broken shackle. It is freedom. The shackle is broken, and you can no longer put us in bondage. You have broken the shackles of poverty, ignorance, and disease,” he said.

A Representation of Origin

Nigerian leaders often adorn themselves in ethnic sartorial pieces to signal their roots and remind the electorate that though surrounded by the trappings of privilege, they are still one of them. The first Prime Minister of Independent Nigeria, Alhaji Tafawa Balewa was known for his flowing embroidered babaringa paired with a white turban. This style borrows heavily from centuries of Islamic tradition and is most popular amongst Northern elites in Nigeria. Nigeria’s first fourth republic president, Olusegun Obasanjo, who hails from Abeokuta in Ogun state often wore very colourful Agbadas and fila caps while he served as a two-term president. Goodluck Jonathan—Nigeria’s first president from the Ijaw ethnic group—frequently appeared in public wearing the wide-brimmed hat popular amongst the Ijaw people and other south-south communities. Although the hat is a borrowed fashion with no roots in precolonial Ijaw culture, it is still considered a traditional attire of the Ijaws.

Clothing styles of executive leaders tend to influence fashion trends in the country. President Obasanjo’s filas became widely worn across the country, even by ‘non-Yorubas’ during his presidency. Goodluck Jonathan’s hat was also popular. The senate president at the time, David Mark wore  similar hats, though he hailed from a different region in the country. Among Nigerian women, Aisha Buhari’s turbans penetrated the market and became mainstream amongst middle-aged ladies.

During election campaigns, candidates/political leaders often wear attires customary to the people of the region they solicit support from. They  meet with prominent leaders or voices to seek endorsement. Peter Obi,  a 2023 presidential aspirant,  visited the Emir of Kano, HRM Aminu Ado Bayero, wearing a Babaringa and a Hulla on his head. Fashion here carries the message that despite the candidate having no ethnic ties to the visited region, he intends to serve all ethnicities.

Senator Outfits

When the fourth republic began, the 1999 constitution created the House of Senate and the House of Representatives, bringing political leaders of different senatorial districts and constituents together. The male politicians needed clothing that both reflected the modernity of their new position and their cultural heritage. This led to the emergence of a matching set consisting of a sleeved tunic paired with trousers of the same fabric. The style offered the perfect compromise: dignified enough for formal settings and distinctively Nigerian. As more senators adopted this look it earned its famous moniker ‘Senator’. This style swept through the Nigerian political class  in the early 2000s, and was initially accessible to the wealthy, but has since become a staple important outfit for the average male Nigerian. 

A lot of politicians still wear the Senator style design. From the governor of Zamfara State, Dauda Lawal, to the Minister of Works, David Umahi. Both pair this outfit with a cultural cap. However, a politician who stands out in his approach to this style is Peter Obi. His Senators are consistent in not only style, but also colour, usually dark tones. Obi. wears his Senator outfits typically  without a matching fashionable cap. The former presidential candidate of the Labour Party began wearing these dark toned garments during his gubernatorial tenure in Anambra State. He often alternates between brown and navy blue, but mostly wears black. This preference can be framed as a continuity of his economic gospel—frugality. “We no dey give shi shi” was a slogan closely tied to Peter Obi’s 2023 presidential campaign. The simplicity of garments corresponds with his manifesto of a properly budgeted economy free of waste.  

During an interview in 2021, when asked about his love for black shoes, he explained that they were practical. He joked about his wife’s lateness and stress level when she tries to match her shoes to her outfits, while his black shoes match with all clothes.  Some of his supporters, known as ‘Obidients’, have shown up at functions dressed in black as a way of expressing allegiance.

Orange Beret 

Berets are a huge staple in African politics. Red berets dominate  in countries like Uganda and South Africa, popularised by figures like Bobi Wine (a former Member of the Parliament of Uganda) and Julius Malema (Member of the National Assembly of South Africa). However, in Nigeria, the orange beret has become the political symbol of resistance, popularized by the activist, Omoyele Sowore. After losing the 2019 presidential elections, the human rights advocate has continued to organize a series of protests tagged “Revolution Now,” calling for mass action against the ruling government. His followers are easily recognised by their orange berets. 

During the legendary End SARS protest, Sowore tweeted a picture of himself  in an orange beret at the protest ground with the caption “The black beret is killing our brothers and sisters across Nigeria, the orange beret is saying the killings must stop! but politicians are afraid and they want to dictate what you wear to the protest! #EndSarsNow #BuhariResign #RevolutionNow”

Fashion choices by politicians can also divert attention from important governmental issues, drawing public focus toward trivial matters. An example is the criticism directed at Desmond Elliot, a member of the Lagos State House of Assembly, for his AMVCA outfit. His voluminous gathered skirt with a central elephant print garnered more attention than his actual work in the state parliament. 

In Nigeria, political influence is not only exercised by the ruling class through polemics and powerful speeches: it is also worn.  What may seem like an ordinary garment is often loaded with intent, stitched with ideology, and steeped in cultural symbolism.  Here, fashion does more than sheathing a leader, it is an effective language of power. 

Jessica Onyemauche is a freelance cultural journalist who prides herself as an excellent interlocutor on tiktok @jessicapearll