Description
Book SynopsisIbadan market women were active in political mobilization and they engaged in eclectic political actions during the decolonization process. Their leaders significantly swayed the electorate both in and beyond the market places. This study examines the historical development of the roles of Ibadan market women in politics between 1900 and 1995 with a view to establishing their contributions. By a thorough historical analysis, Ibadan Divisional and Provincial papers, and newspapers of the nationalists' era (1945-1960)-Nigerian Tribune and Southern Nigerian Defender from the National Archives Ibadan were consulted for information on the activities of Ibadan market women. Secondary data were obtained from the Women Research and Documentation Centre and other resource centres. Simultaneously, Ibadan market women were involved in party politics of the National Council for Nigeria and Cameroons (NCNC); Action Group (AG); and traditional power politics.
Trade ReviewMutitat Titilope Oladejo adds an important perspective from southwestern Nigeria’s regional powerhouse Ibadan. Moreover, by following market women’s involvement in local and regional politics from the colonial period to the more recent era, this study reveals more variety and complexity than comes solely from a focus on women’s anticolonial activism.... The insights of this book should be of interest to historians and others concerned with African women’s history, though in its details and other respects Ibadan Market Women and Politics is a book for specialists.... [G]iven the few existing studies focused on women in Ibadan’s past and especially its more recent present, this is a welcome contribution. * International Journal of African Historical Studies *
Based on an impressive set of data from Ibadan, the largest Yoruba city next to Lagos, the book traces the intersectionality between women and politics in the longue durée. It reveals how politics interacts with women’s business; how trade is shaped by non-market forces; and how daily activities cumulate into the architecture of national politics itself. From opportunities to profit, from resistance to rewards, from dialogue to negotiations, the work reveals changing contours of actions, events, and activities. -- Toyin Falola, University of Texas at Austin
Table of ContentsChapter One: Introduction Chapter Two: Women, Markets, and Politics in Pre-Colonial Ibadan Chapter Three: Ibadan Market Women and Politics in Colonial Nigeria Chapter Four: Market Women Organizations and Politics in the Period of Internal Self-Rule, 1951–1960 Chapter Five: Market Women and Post-Independence Realities, 1960–1995 Chapter Six: Market Women, Politics, and Development, 1960–1995 Conclusion
