Oluwakemi Adesina

Nigerian nurses began migrating from the country in the early 1980s when Nigeria's economy was in crisis. The nursing profession, a predominantly female profession, witnessed a departure of its members searching for greener pastures. This study looks at migration by Nigerian female nurses from the prism of the lucrativeness of nursing jobs in the Global North and Remittances. This study seeks to understand the intricate interplay of gender as these female nurses assumed the roles of breadwinners in a patriarchal society. It examines the Push/Pull factors on the one hand and the Stick/Stay factors on the other. This historical study relies on qualitative and quantitative methods through reliance on oral interviews (structured/unstructured), newspaper articles, google forms, other primary and secondary sources. It concludes that economic considerations prompted the movement of Nigerian female nurses, majorly, the worth of the remittances, in the face of a monetary crisis.

In 2000 and 2002, two women – Safiya Hussein and Amina Lawal – were tried and convicted for Zina in Northern Nigeria. The verdicts handed down was death by stoning; the punishment for adultery (zina) by Islamic law. Zina is considered one of the greatest sins in Islam. Thus, Islamic law prescribes stoning as the penalty for a married person, while the punishment for an unmarried male adulterer is one hundred lashes or being exiled for twelve months. The basis for the chastisement is the Qur‘an, while the source for the punishment is found in the Hadith. The immediate reaction of the people of Northern Nigeria was that of happiness. Several reasons have been adduced for this feeling. According to Ogbu Kalu, the sentences were considered ―a mark of identity, a measure of mobilization of the Islamic ummah, hope for greater social security, employment for shari‘ah enforcers, belief that it would engender development and true religious commitment‖. (Kalu, O.:2004) Meanwhile, Section 1 of...

This article provides a critical assessment of explores the significance of the struggle for gender equality for the Ikale woman. The importance of the subject of gender equality has been mirrored in the extensive discourse on the matter in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. It has become so pervasive that it has gained a momentum of its own. This work contributes to the debate by exploring from historical and empirical perspectives, the current debate in gender within an interpretative framework that privileges the continued relevance of tradition in a modern milieu. The discussion concluded by highlighting the significance of tradition and modernity for the modern Ikale woman in the age of global search for gender equity.

This work seeks to explore the influence of modernity on social change among the Ikale. Modernity classically refers to “a post-traditional, post-medieval historical period” This highlights the question of agency, space and sexuality. A characteristic feature of the analysis of women empowerment in modern Nigeria is to create and affirm women’s identity as a display of modernity and empowerment. However, extant works have neglected to demonstrate how in some locale, certain practices and codes operate to circumscribe and inflect agency in particular contexts. One of such societies is Ikaleland where gender boundaries and societal norms have been defined and redefined by societal norms. An examination of the place of women in any culture is predicated on the relationship between women and men, and this has very deep normative cultural values. This study is based on analytical and theoretical synthesis of historical, anthropological, sociological and gender approaches. The sources for...

Previous studies on the history and culture of the Yoruba have dwelt mainly on the issues of conflict, political institutions, warfare, and social structures. However, not only have they treated Ikale beliefs, practices and customs as an appendage of Oyo-Yoruba history, gender relations in Ikaleland have equally been largely ignored. This study, therefore, investigated the parameters of social structure, which developed over a hundred year period along gender lines among the Ikale. This study, a synthesis of historical, anthropological, sociological and gender approaches, was based on African feminist theories. Primary data were obtained from archival materials, such as intelligence reports, personal papers, newspapers and periodicals, pamphlets, Ondo and Okitipupa Provincial files and bulletins. Secondary sources were biographies, autobiographies and books on Ikale history and culture. Structured and semi-structured interviews were also conducted with 100 purposively selected respo...

... This recourse to a more sophisticated trans-national sex trade in Africa's most populous nation has been increasingly ascribed to the Edo people of southern Nigeria because Edo State, populated by ... Full Text: HTML PDF JENdA: A Journal of Culture and African Women Studies ...

The Fulbe are one of the most mobile pastoral groups in the world. They are spread throughout West Africa, even extending across the continent to the eastern parts of the Republic of Sudan (Boesen 2007: 31). The group has for centuries been part of the history, sociology, and ecology of West Africa, maintaining and also spreading their distinctive ways of life and identity. The Fulbe have historically been classified racially into two groups, comprising the Fulani pastoralists, and the sedentary Fulbe (Ajayi & Espie 1965). Keywords: cross-cultural; ethnic conflict; farming; immigration; political economy; postcolonialism

ABSTRACT This is a historical inquiry into the relevance of gender perspective in understanding the thoughts of Mary (Ma) Slessor and her mission in the Calabar region of Nigeria. In 1876 the “white African mother” and “Queen of Calabar,” Mary Slessor, arrived in Calabar as a missionary of the United Presbyterian Church of Scotland (UPC)—now the Presbyterian Church of Nigeria (PCN)—marking a decisive moment for the mission work in Calabar and its environs. Today, she is perceived as a heroine among many Nigerians—especially, within the contemporary PCN. Her bravery, goodness, and kindness have been widely acknowledged in African history books. Being the saviour of twins was another. However, extant literature on this brave woman has neglected to dissect the roles she played in her missionary works within the context of gender inequality and patriarchal control. The chapter takes a critical look at some of Slessor’s legacies within Nigeria and demonstrates how the contemporary PCN and Nigerians are appropriating them. It looks closely at the gender politics of the nineteenth-century religious missions and assesses the extent of its impact on Slessor’s work. By combining the historical approach with gender analysis, the study highlights the exemplary contributions of Mary Slessor to social change in Africa during an age characterized by ritual killings, degradation of native women, and overbearing patriarchal attitudes and postures.

Beginning in the late 1930s, there was a growing concern about the increase in the number of “girl hawkers” on the streets of Lagos, Nigeria. Although hawking of wares was a traditional occupation for boys and girls, by the late 1930s, it was clearly linked to prostitution. Girls as young as nine years of age were being lured into prostitution. This chapter explores the efforts of the colonial government in association with local women’s groups to prevent girls from working as prostitutes. These efforts included the creation of a social welfare system, the establishment of juvenile courts, and provisions for the training of girls as domestic servants.