The Human Cost of Scarcity
In early 2023, a macro-economic shift—the naira redesign—unfolded into a micro-narrative of struggle for the most vulnerable. This project is a visual and research-led inquiry into how market women in Kaduna navigated a severe cashless crisis.
Year
2023
Location
Kaduna, Nigeria
Client
INDEPENDENT RESEARCH
Role
DIRECTOR/RESEARCHER & PHOTOGRAPHER
Deliverables
10+ images
Duration
Half-Day
The Story Behind the Shoot
Moving beyond surface-level news, the photography aims to document the resilience, exhaustion, and 'individual truths' of women whose livelihoods were pushed to the brink by systemic exclusion." This series was less about capturing an event and more about documenting a socio-political condition through a human-centric lens. My process began with long-form dialogues in the marketplaces of Kaduna, using my background in UX research to build trust before picking up the camera.
Each image focuses on the quiet tension of the marketplace—the empty hands, the expectant gazes, and the material reality of financial scarcity. By bridging the gap between formal research and visual storytelling, I aimed to ensure these women weren't just data points in a policy report, but individuals whose stories demanded to be seen and felt.
