Who Will Tend the Vine? Pentecostalism, Parenting and the Role of the State in “London-Lagos”

Abstract

We explore the tensions evident among Nigerian Pentecostals in London between social and ideological insularity on the one hand, and a more outward-oriented, expansive orientation on the other. Analysis of these stances is complemented by the exploration of believers' actions within a material but also metaphorical arena that we term “London-Lagos.” Such themes are developed specifically through a focus on believers' relations with Nigerian and British state systems in relation to child-rearing—an activity that renders parents sometimes dangerously visible to apparatuses of the state but also raises key dilemmas concerning the proper and moral location of socialisation into Christian values. We show how such dilemmas are embodied in a play, written by a Nigerian Pentecostalist, termed “The Vine-Keepers.”

Challenging Global Geographies of Power: Sending Children back to Nigeria from the United Kingdom for Education

“…He claimed that the only way to ease intergenerational frictions between parents and children is to send the latter back to Nigeria for training, without which it is difficult to instill in children a respect for elders: “In England if you beat your child, for this reason or another, they call it child abuse. In this country [Nigeria] it is ‘training!’” 19 His beliefs, like those of Mary and other parents, reveal the Nigerian diaspora's ambivalent, hesitant, and fraught relationship with the British state, in which the latter is seen to dictate appropriate childrearing practices through child protection measures, and thereby undermine Nigerian parenting strategies (Maier and Coleman 2011; McGregor 2008; DeLoach and Gottlieb 2000; Carling, Menjivar, and Schmalzbauer 2012). 20 Indeed, many parents feel that the problems and protracted crises they face in their relationships with their children stem partly from state education and flaws in British society (a lack of discipline, moral values, and respect for elders), rather than from their own parenting methods.…”

“…Within the current period of neoliberal globalization, many people are subjected to precarious working conditions and various forms of social protection are becoming the preserve of “highly skilled workers, corporate capital, or those with inherited wealth” (Gill 1995: 401). Consequently, in the transnational social field that Maier and Coleman (2011: 453) call “London-Lagos,” children move in order to obtain an adequate education, networks, and cultural dispositions that will help give them the best start in life (see MacGaffey and Bazenguissa-Ganga 2000).…”

‘The best of both worlds’: Lagos private schools as engaged strategists of transnational child-raising

“…Furthermore, the account underscores that strict monitoring is what proper care for children looks like to both Nigerian educators and many diaspora parents. Whilst close embodied surveillance can be read as a legacy of colonial educational institutions (Kea and Maier, 2017;Newman et al, 2019), it also reflects emphases on strict adult authority in Nigeria (Fafunwa, 1974) and that (foster) parents' 'toughness' has been perceived as good for ensuring children's long-term success and ability to fulfil intergenerational social responsibilities (Bledsoe and Sow, 2011;Coe and Shani, 2015;Maier and Coleman, 2011).…”

“…Amid this moral imaginary Nigerian educators advocated their schools as providing the foundation necessary to handle the 'risks' of 'the international environment'. Educators applauded those who chose, even if they could afford otherwise, to leave a child in Nigeria until the end of secondary school, where the 'easily moulded, tender' child (School Counsellor, Upper-Range school) would be strongly rooted in values before migrating (Ayling, 2017;Maier and Coleman, 2011), but also praised 'homeland' sojourns as a means to prevent or correct 'loss':…”

Pentecostal pastorhood as calling and career: migration, religion, and masculinity between Kenya and the United Kingdom

“…Central to Pentecostal notions of masculinity is the image of men as husbands and fathers. With the family as the basic building block of a community, men are encouraged to take seriously their role as the heads of their families and to provide their children with a morally stringent upbringing (see Maier & Coleman ). Kenyan Pentecostal men contrast this ideal image with their perceptions of men in the United Kingdom.…”