Book Reading, Signing for Pelewura

Fadekemi Ajakaiye

‘PELEWURA’ is a book about the life and times of Alimotu Pelewura, the founder of the Lagos Market Women’s Association, written by Femi Olugbile.
It is a work of ‘faction’ that celebrates one of the greatest heroines in the history of Lagos. It captures the essence of Lagos life in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, bringing to life such notable figures as Herbert Macaulay and Esugbayi Eleko, as well as Henry Carr and Bernard Bourdillon.

It describes famous battles such as the resistance against the Pullen Regulations of the colonial government which sought to control the price and supply of garri and other local staple foods, and the fight against the taxation of women. It captures the battle to wrest control of land from the hands of government back to the traditional landowners, a battle that went all the way to the Privy Council in London. There is also the story of the deposition of the Eleko by the colonial government, and the struggle to ensure his reinstatement. In all of these, Pelewura and her market women played a leading role, alongside the indefatigable Herbert Macaulay.

The book was launched at the NIIA on 15th November.
The Committee for Relevant Art (CORA), as part of its Book Trek series, is organising a Book Reading and Book Signing for PELEWURA on Friday 29th December at RovingHeights Bookstore, Retail Boulevard, Landmark Events Centre, Plot 263 Water Corporation Drive, Oniru, Victoria Island, Lagos. The event will take place from 4-6 pm. It will feature a live interview with the author, to be conducted by Mr Kunle Ajibade, a writer and critic. The author will be available to answer questions from the public, and to autograph copies of the book, according to the Committee for Relevant Art (CORA).