Colonial Lagos was a city built on trade, and much of that trade depended on women. Markets across Lagos Island supplied the city with food and household goods, and women traders played a central role in maintaining the flow of commerce. Among them, Alimotu Pelewura emerged as one of the most influential leaders of market women in the first half of the twentieth century.
Pelewura rose from the fish stalls of Lagos Island to become a recognised organiser and spokesperson for traders. Her leadership showed how economic cooperation in markets could grow into a powerful form of civic influence.
Markets in Lagos functioned as structured communities rather than informal gathering places. Experienced traders supervised order within the markets, mediated disputes among sellers, and coordinated supply networks. Through these roles, market leaders became representatives of large groups of traders and played important parts in negotiations with both traditional authorities and colonial administrators.
Within this system, Pelewura gained respect as a trader and organiser whose voice carried weight across Lagos markets.
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Early Life and Rise in the Fish Trade
Alimotu Pelewura was born in Lagos, commonly dated to 1871, and grew up in a family involved in trading. Her mother worked as a fish trader, and Pelewura followed the same path as she entered adulthood.
Fish trading was a demanding profession that required dependable supply relationships and steady customer networks. Traders purchased fish from fishermen and wholesalers and distributed it through retail stalls across the city. Success in this trade depended on reliability, business skill, and reputation within the market community.
Over time, Pelewura became a leading trader at Ereko Market, one of the important commercial centres on Lagos Island.
Her standing in the market community received formal recognition in 1910, when Oba Eshugbayi Eleko, the traditional ruler of Lagos, honoured her with a chieftaincy title acknowledging her leadership among market women. Recognition by the Oba strengthened her authority in representing traders during discussions involving both traditional leadership and colonial officials.
Organisation of the Lagos Market Women’s Association
During the early twentieth century, Lagos markets became increasingly organised. Traders relied on cooperation to maintain supply networks, regulate prices, and protect their commercial spaces.
In the 1920s, the Lagos Market Women’s Association developed as a body representing women traders across the city. Alimotu Pelewura served as the association’s president and remained in that role until her death.
The association allowed traders from different markets to act collectively when confronting policies that affected their livelihoods. Market leaders could gather support from thousands of traders, organise petitions, and coordinate protests when necessary.
Through this organisation, market women gained a unified voice in discussions about taxation, market regulation, and urban administration.
Collaboration with Early Nationalist Politics
Pelewura’s influence extended beyond market organisation. She worked closely with Herbert Macaulay, the founder of the Nigerian National Democratic Party, one of the earliest political parties in colonial Nigeria.
Market women became an important grassroots base of support for Macaulay’s political campaigns. They helped mobilise crowds, supported political meetings, and encouraged participation in Lagos municipal politics.
Although many women were excluded from voting rights during the colonial period, their organised economic power gave them an influential role in shaping public political life in Lagos.
The Ereko Market Relocation Dispute
A major confrontation between market women and colonial authorities occurred when officials proposed relocating parts of the market trade, including the Ereko market, during the interwar period.
For traders, relocation threatened their established customer networks and supply systems. Many feared the move would disrupt their businesses and destroy the commercial relationships they had built over many years.
Pelewura helped organise resistance to the relocation plan. Market women protested the proposal and demanded that their trading spaces be preserved.
During the confrontation, Pelewura and several traders were arrested and detained. The arrests sparked protests among market women across Lagos, who rallied in support of their leaders. The detained traders were eventually released, and the episode strengthened Pelewura’s reputation as a determined defender of market women’s interests.
Protest Against the 1940 Income Tax Ordinance
Another major conflict arose in 1940, when the colonial government introduced an Income Tax Ordinance that included women whose earnings exceeded a specified threshold.
The proposal raised concerns among market women, who feared the tax would eventually expand to include a much larger number of traders. Leaders of the Lagos Market Women’s Association organised opposition to the policy.
On December 16, 1940, Pelewura led market women in closing markets and marching to present a petition against the proposed taxation. The protest demonstrated the collective power of organised traders within Lagos.
Following the protests, the colonial government revised the tax structure by increasing the income level required before taxation applied, reducing the number of women affected by the policy.
The confrontation became one of the most notable examples of organised resistance by market women during the colonial period.
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Wartime Economic Tensions
During the Second World War, Lagos experienced shortages and economic disruptions as wartime conditions affected trade and transportation.
Colonial authorities introduced regulations intended to control prices and manage the supply of essential goods. Market women often argued that these regulations failed to reflect the realities of supply and transport costs faced by traders.
Under Pelewura’s leadership, market women voiced their concerns through petitions and organised responses to policies they believed threatened their livelihoods. These efforts reinforced the growing recognition that market women were essential participants in the city’s economic life.
Public Recognition and Later Years
Pelewura’s leadership earned her significant recognition within the Lagos community. In 1946, she was honoured as the Lady President of the Koranic Muslim community. The following year, Oba Falolu of Lagos honoured her with the title Erelu of the common people, reflecting her reputation as a leader who represented ordinary citizens.
She remained an influential figure in Lagos markets until her death in 1951.
Her funeral drew a large gathering of traders, community leaders, and residents who recognised the role she had played in defending the livelihoods of market women.
In later years, a market on Lagos Island was named in her honour, preserving her legacy within the commercial landscape she had helped shape.
Author’s Note
Alimotu Pelewura built her influence from the everyday work of the marketplace. By organising traders and defending the economic systems that sustained families across Lagos, she showed that leadership could grow from collective responsibility. Her life illustrates how unity among ordinary people can protect livelihoods and shape public life even in difficult political circumstances.
References
Nina Mba, Nigerian Women Mobilized: Women’s Political Activity in Southern Nigeria, 1900–1965.
Kristin Mann, Slavery and the Birth of an African City: Lagos, 1760–1900.
Toyin Falola and Matthew Heaton, A History of Nigeria.
Halimat T. Somotan, Lagos Women in Colonial History: A Biographical Sketch of Alimotu Pelewura.
Cheryl Johnson Odim, “Madam Alimotu Pelewura and the Lagos Market Women,” Tarikh, vol. 7, no. 1.
