Today, the 27th of March is Mother’s Day. It is usually celebrated on the 4th Sunday in Lent in the Christian calendar. However, the celebration has gone beyond the four corners of the church into various spaces. It evokes several meanings to various people.
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The modern holiday was first celebrated in 1907 when Anna Jarvis held the first Mothers’ Day service of worship at Andrews Methodist Episcopal Church in Grafton, West Virginia. In Nigeria today, the Mothers’ Day celebration is overwhelming and a great delight to many families with a mother figure around. Churches all over Nigeria will have their mothers celebrated: I remember my childhood days in Sunday School, children were made to do a whole lot of presentations ranging from drama to choreography and even Bible memory verse recitation.
I fondly remember the most popular Bible memory verse recited on every Mothers Day – Proverbs 31: “Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies…Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her.” Also, the most played music which spiced up the atmosphere and rang so many nostalgic feelings during this celebration is the evergreen “Sweet Mother” by Prince Nico Mbarga.
Mothers’ Day celebration for a child like me that grew up in Lagos was a festive period. My mother will always surprise us with so many delicacies: from Chapman drinks to rice, chicken and ofe Aku soup spiced with plenty of dried fish. Before my siblings and I were treated to these special delicacies, we would dress up in our best attire and be ready for church. My mum would wear her Mary Sumner blue wrapper, white flowery blouse, and a matching blue head-tie. This was the universal uniform for all mothers, at least in Nigeria and elsewhere in Africa where Mothers’ Day was celebrated.
At churches, mothers would prepare jollof rice and chicken and drinks for all, and in turn, many would give them gifts. As a child, I looked forward to celebrating mothers because of the treats I would get. But as I grew up, I began to view Mother’s Day with deeper meaning and philosophy tied around motherhood and sacrifice.
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Mothers’ Day should be a period when we remember our mothers and many mothers around the world. Their daily struggles are real. For me, I don’t wait for this period to reflect and think deeply and appreciate the sacrifices our mothers make just to ensure that the balance of the world is sustained. Just walking down the streets of Lagos and elsewhere in Nigeria, I see women – mostly mothers – running about their daily activities, trying to make ends meet. Their daily struggle is to put food on the table and send their children to school. They are in the markets, in the corporate world: they are hawkers of wares and general managers in various offices and institutions.
The truth is that since the civil war (1967-70), mothers have taken the central role of being the breadwinners in most families. And sadly, they’ve been underappreciated in all spheres of life. There are countless widows, most of whom are mothers, whose daily struggles can make one cry. They have been deprived economically and socially by society. Most mothers struggle from childhood to adulthood up till they breathe their last. Most mothers in Nigeria are archetypes of Nnu Ego in Buchi Emecheta’s Joys Of Motherhood. They are the most vulnerable. Abused at home, abused at work, abused on the streets.
As we go on celebrating also, let’s remember that mothers are often the greatest casualties of conflicts and wars. In areas that stretch between and around the northeastern area of Nigeria and the middle belt, many mothers have been widowed and made motherless by Boko Haram, bandits and killer herdsmen. Women are raped, abused and maimed. It’s now eight years since the Chibok School Girls Kidnap incident, celebrations like this can only bring back sad memories. As we celebrate our mothers, building a society where women and girls are protected is a duty we must engage ourselves with. Mothers bring balance to our world. A world without women is barren and unfruitful.
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