Alimotu Pelewura

Alimotu Pelewura
Born c. 1865[1]
Lagos
Died 1951
Monuments Pelewura Market on Adeniji Adele rd, Lagos
Residence Okepopo, Lagos
Nationality Nigerian
Occupation Women activist
Years active mid 1920s - 1951
Era Colonial Nigeria
Title President, Lagos Market Women Association
Term mid 1920s - 1951
Successor Abibatu Mogaji
Political party NNDP

Alimotu Pelewura (1865-1951) was a Nigerian trader who was a leader of a Lagos-based market women advocacy group, she was also a political ally of Herbert Macaulay.[2] The market women association of which Pelewura was the head was one of the most important women's organization in Lagos during the colonial period.[3]

Early life

Pelewura was born in Lagos to a large polygynous family, she was the elder of two children born by her biological mother. Her mother was a fish trader and Pelewura also chose fish trading as an occupation. By 1900, she had become an important market women leader and trader and in 1910 was given a title by Oba Eshugbayi Eleko. In the 1920s, she was leader of the Ereko meat market and with the support of Herbert Macaulay, she rose to become the leader of the newly formed Lagos Market Women Association.

LMWA

The Lagos Market Women's Association was founded in the 1920s by Pelewura and a few other market leaders. Pelewura, a fish trader was the alaga (head) of the Ereko market became the association's premier president. During her reign, LWMA protested against imposed taxation and price controls of produce both incidents she believed will impact negatively on the livelihood of women.

Politics and agitation against taxation

In the 1932, Pelewura led market women in protest against direct government taxation of women. When rumors surfaced about a proposed tax on women, Pelewura was a member of a committee that marched to the colonial government house in protest against taxation on women.[4] That same year and as a result of her leadership of the protest, she became a member of the Ilu Committee organized by the Oba of Lagos serving as a representation of women in the traditional council. In the mid 1930s, she led a protest against the relocation of the Ereko market to the Oluwole area of Lagos, Pelewura and some Ereko women attempted to physically block any relocation action by authorities which caused Pelewura and other protesters to be detained. The market women in Lagos rallied in her support and she and another women who were detained were released.

In 1940, the colonial government proposed a new taxation plan on women who earned above 50 pounds. Female taxation was a novelty in Yorubaland and the women again rose in protest, Pelewura and other women objected because of the novelty and the challenging economic difficulties as a result of World War II which had resulted in increased unemployment. Though not many market women among the 8,000 plus members of her organization earned above 50 pounds, she felt it could be a slippery slope towards full taxation of women. However, on taxation of women, the colonial government did not bulge but responded by increasing the taxable income to those earning more than 200 pounds.

In 1939, Pelewura became an executive member of the Nigerian Union of Young Democrats, a militant and youthful party that was closely aligned with NNDP. [5] She sometimes acted as a speaker in NNDP's rallies and spoke publicly on behalf of NNDP candidates even though women were disenfranchised. She was also briefly a member of the Oyinkan Abayomi led Nigerian Women's Party.

Price control

During World war II, inflation rose in Lagos as a result of food scarcity.[6] In 1941, to control the wartime economy, the government enacted a flexible price control policy on certain food produce that will be reviewed periodically. Due to widespread opposition and non adherence to the policy, the government made plans to control the sale of food produce through multinationals. The market women led by Pelewura objected to the policy stating that it will deprive women of needed income. However, the colonial government was adamant on keeping the price regulation of produce. The situation led to conflicts between LWMA and the colonial government.

Pelewura died in 1951, she was succeeded by one of her followers, Abibatu Mogaji.[7]

References

  1. ↑ Akyeampong, Emmanuel Kwaku, and Henry Louis Gates. 2011. Dictionary of African biography. New York: Oxford University Press. P. 88
  2. ↑ Johnson 1978, pp. 45.
  3. ↑ Bonnie G. Smith (2008). The Oxford Encyclopedia of Women in World History:. Oxford University Press, USA. p. 429. ISBN 978-0-1951-489-09.
  4. ↑ Johnson 1978, pp. 137.
  5. ↑ Johnson 1978, pp. 139.
  6. ↑ Johnson 1978, pp. 145.
  7. ↑ "Mogaji: A tale of politics and commerce". The Nation Newspaper. Retrieved 27 March 2016.

Sources

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