Analytical Investigation of Patriarchy and Decision-Making Power in Urban Igbo Households in Lagos

The persistence or transformation of patriarchal household authority structures among educated urban Igbo migrants in Lagos represents a theoretically significant question about the conditioning of gender ideology by urbanism, education, and income. This study analytically investigates the relationship between patriarchal norms and decision-making power distribution in urban Igbo households in Lagos State, filling a gap in the empirical household sociology of Nigerian urban migrants. A sequential explanatory design was employed, with a quantitative household survey measuring decision-making power across six domains (finances, children's education, healthcare, major purchases, social activities, and marital relations) administered to 240 married Igbo couples, followed by fifteen qualitative interviews with couples demonstrating contrasting power configurations. The Feminist Household Economics and Gender and Power frameworks were applied. Results from intra-couple agreement analysis reveal significant discordance between male and female spouses' perceptions of who holds decision-making authority, with men systematically overestimating their own authority and underestimating wives' influence. Wife's employment and income contribution was the strongest predictor of egalitarian power distribution, increasing the probability of joint financial decision-making by 58%. Duration of urban residence was associated with modestly more egalitarian power structures, suggesting partial but slow patriarchal transformation. Education level was not a significant predictor when controlling for income, challenging the simple modernization narrative. Qualitative analysis reveals strategic deference performed by wives in public while exercising actual household authority through private influence channels. Keywords: patriarchy, household decision-making, Igbo households, Lagos, gender power.