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Abstract
Moments narrates the changes that have taken place over a span of four years, nine months, and four days in the life of a woman known as Mummy Ayesha who lives in Challenge, a neighborhood in Ibadan SouthWest Local Government Area. The experiences of Mummy Ayesha are drawn from Genurb (Urbanization, Gender & the Global South) Ibadan City Research Team data. Moments showcases the danger of a single story about poverty, illustrates the temporal and spatial dimensions of socio-economic inequalities, and offers insight on the city’s role in providing opportunities as well as bearing witness to one’s despair. Most especially, Mummy Ayesha’s story illuminates the intricate relationship between future orientations, relationality, care and well-being.
Chinese
《Moments》讲述了在四年零九个月零四天的时间里, 一位名叫Mummy Ayesha女性的生活变化。她居住在尼日利亚的伊巴丹西南地方政府区的Challenge社区。Mummy Ayesha的经历来自于Genurb(城市化、性别和全球南方)伊巴丹城市研究团队的数据。《Moments》展示了一个贫困故事的危险, 阐述了社会经济不平等的时空维度, 深入理解了城市在提供机遇、见证绝望中的作用。特别的, Mummy Ayesha的故事揭示了未来取向、关系性、关怀和幸福之间的复杂关系。
Spanish
Momentos narra los cambios que han ocurrido en un lapso de cuatro años, nueve meses y cuatro días en la vida de una mujer conocida como Mummy Ayesha, quien vive en Challenge, una barriada del Área de Gobierno Local del Sudoeste, en Ibadan. Las experiencias de Mummy Ayesha se reconstruyen a partir de datos del equipo investigativo de Genurb (Urbanización, Género y el Sur Global) de la ciudad de Ibadan. Momentos saca a la luz el peligro de una historia genérica acerca de la pobreza, ilustra las dimensiones temporales y espaciales de las desigualdades socioeconómicas, y ofrece una visión del papel de la ciudad en la provisión de oportunidades, lo mismo que de atestiguar de la desesperación propia. Más todavía, en particular, la historia de Mummy Ayesha ilumina la intrincada relación entre las orientaciones futuras, la relacionalidad, el cuidado y el bienestar.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This account draws on participant observation, numerous conversations, and interview-based data as part of field work for the feminist GenUrb research project. I am truly grateful to the women who have shared their lives and stories with me since we met in 2018. I would also like to thank the editor, Dr. Deborah Dixon, for introducing me to the article, “Sophie’s Story,” by Hester Parr and Olivia Stevenson. Finally, many thanks to the reviewer who also provided valuable feedback for strengthening the story.
Notes
1 Mummy Ayesha is a pseudonym. This pseudonym has not been assigned to any of the research participants in the project. Rather, this pseudonym is being used specifically for this story.
2 Motorcycle.
3 Medicinal herbal concoction.
4 Nonsense.
5 Although estate agents are not a new phenomenon in Ibadan, my research participants complained that it is only recently that they’ve had to pay agency fees and are no longer able to rent directly from landlords. In their minds, they’ve associated this practice of agency fees with Lagos. Moreover, they are not alone in their criticism of the exorbitant cost of housing: In 2021, a motion challenging the increase in housing costs and exploitation of renters was raised in the Oyo State of Assembly (Oyo Affairs Citation2021).
6 The Lagos-Ibadan railway became operational in June 2021.
7 Commercial tricycle also known as Keke Marwa.
8 The total package refers to the rental fees plus the agency fees; for example, it could cost 300,000 naira to rent a house and the total package could be 450,000 naira.
9 Ope refers to giving thanks.
10 What a shame.
11 Money requested from friends and family. It is sometimes a loan and often a gift (with expectations of reciprocity when it is the giver’s time to borrow). The individuals requesting often ask multiple people, as “2K,” or 2,000 naira, is considered a low amount, with hopes that they can amass a substantial amount of money without having to borrow from a medium that will impose interest and fees.
12 Granulated flour made from processed cassava root. It is usually soaked in water and eaten as a snack or meal.
13 Made from mixing cassava or garri flour with hot water, until it has a doughy texture.
14 Area or neighborhood.
15 These two malls are all “recent” developments in Ibadan. The Shoprite mall (formally known as the Palms Shopping mall) and Ventura mall were both opened in 2014.
16 Can you even sew clothes? Look at how you’re dressed.
17 Bone-straight wigs or extensions, made from perfectly straight, silky, firm human hair, began trending in Nigeria in 2020. They are expensive and seen as a status symbol.
18 Mummy Ayesha, you have become beautiful, or a fashionista.
19 I want to enjoy life a little.
Additional information
Funding
Notes on contributors
Grace Adeniyi-Ogunyankin
GRACE ADENIYI-OGUNYANKIN is an Associate Professor in both the Departments of Geography and Planning and Gender Studies at Queen’s University, Kingston, ON K7L 3N6, Canada. E-mail: [email protected]. Her current research examines contemporary urban transformations on youth identity, labor practices, psychosocial well-being, and future orientation in Lagos and Ibadan, Nigeria.