The Marriage Monitoring Aunties’ Association by Ola Awonubi
The narrative of The Marriage Monitoring Aunties’ Association by Ola Awonubi is a deeply textured exploration of the intersection between modern career-driven life, traditional Nigerian expectations, and the persistent quest for love and faith. The book follows Folasade (Sade) Sodipo, a fifty-year-old project manager living in London, as she navigates a significant health crisis, the “single-shaming” tactics of her extended family, and a burgeoning romance with a man who challenges her spiritual foundations. The Burden of Singleness and the Silent Struggle The story commences during the Christmas season, a time Sade describes as a “singleton” nightmare where her isolation is magnified by the cozy family units surrounding her. At fifty, Sade is an accomplished professional at Ryder & Hamilton in Canary Wharf, having used the PRINCE2 certification to escape a career in low-paid admin. Despite her success, she is perpetually scrutinized by her mother, Ebun Sodipo, and a collective she dubs the Marriage Monitoring Aunties’ Association (MMAA). This group of elder Nigerian women frequents community events to “spring out from corners” and ridicule unmarried women for their single status. Sade’s emotional fatigue is compounded by a physical crisis: she is suffering from debilitating fibroids that have caused her abdomen to …