Event

Do subalterns have the capacity to transform themselves into members of the elite? If so, what are the means of accomplishing the transformation? What strategic improvisations are critical in the process of such transformation? What does the interface of subalternity and elitism suggest about the nature of ethnic politics in postcolonial Africa?

In attending to these questions based on a long-term ethnographic study, the paper attempts to redress a lacuna in the anthropological literature on the subaltern and the Big Man by focusing on how a subaltern in Nigeria, Gani Adams—the leader of the ‘militant faction’ of the Oodua People’s Congress (OPC)—(trans)formed himself into a member of the elite. The paper locates the transformation of a carpenter and okada (motorcycle taxi) rider into the holder of the most prestigious chieftaincy title among one of the largest ethnic groups in Africa, the Yoruba, in the broader socio-cultural, economic, and political (trans)formations within which such a life unfolds over the long term.

It also examines the resources deployed in the successful (trans)formation and the structural and personal circumstances under which the (trans)formation was accomplished. The specific case examined reflects on continent-wide questions around the struggle for power, social movements, ethno-national politics, electoral politics, violence, culture, youth, social distinction, and upward mobility.