Guilds, used tires, and the remaking of an urban politics in Lagos, Nigeria
Côme Salvaire, USI visiting scholar
In 1970s Lagos, the promotion of private car ownership by military regimes played an important role in the formation of the Nigerian state and its assertion of control over the country’s largest city. It accompanied the expansion of its infrastructural power, the regulation of urban production systems through industrial development, and the integration of factory workers into coopted unions. By the 1990s, following Nigeria’s constrained integration to international trade, Lagos’ car economy shifted toward the importation of second-hand Tokunbo cars and parts. As the state gradually lost control over urban workers, economies, and deteriorating infrastructure, former auto factory workers transitioned to informal roadside mechanics, responsible for maintaining an aging vehicle fleet. From being closely tied to the state’s assertion of power over the city, Lagos’ car economy became increasingly embedded in urban politics, particularly as the city government regained political autonomy in the late 1990s.
Based on ethnographic research conducted in 2024 with vulcanizers—mechanics specializing in tire repair—I document the forms of collective organization and post-industrial relations that have reemerged as part of the remaking of Lagos’ urban politics. Specifically, I show how urban autonomization has coincided with the return of craft guilds, a long-standing form of labor organization in Nigeria that was largely eclipsed by trade unions in the 20th century. The guild formed by Lagos’ vulcanizers exercises a monopoly over the craft, regulates apprenticeships, issues diplomas, maintains an internal police, as well collects taxes on behalf of the Lagos government. By examining the work of vulcanizers and the functioning of their guild, this presentation explores the resurgence of a familiar socio-political configuration—one in which powerful guilds and autonomous urban governments operate in tandem.
Practical details
- When: Friday 25 March 2025, 12.30 - 2 p.m.
- Where: UAntwerp City Campus, room S.J.213, Sint-Jacobsmarkt 13
- A vegetarian lunch is included.