To Be a Man Is Not a One-day Job ─ Masculinity, Money, and Intimacy in Nigeria

Refrains about monetary hardships are ubiquitous in contemporary Nigeria, frequently expressed with the idiom “to be a man is not a one-day job.” But while men talk constantly about money, underlying their economic worries are broader concerns about the shifting meanings of masculinity, marked by changing expectations and practices of intimacy.

Drawing on his twenty-five years of experience in southeastern Nigeria, Daniel Jordan Smith takes readers through the principal phases and arenas of men’s lives: the transition to adulthood; searching for work and making a living; courtship, marriage and fatherhood; fraternal and political relationships among men; and finally, the attainment of elder status and death. He relates men’s struggles to fulfill both their own aspirations and society’s expectations. He also considers men who behave badly, mistreat their wives and children, or resort to crime and violence. All of these men face similar challenges as they navigate the complex geometry of money and intimacy. Unraveling these connections, Smith argues, provides us with a deeper understanding of both masculinity and society in Nigeria. 

Daniel Jordan Smith is professor of anthropology at Brown University. His previous books include AIDS Doesn’t Show Its Face, also published by the University of Chicago Press.