Nearly 40 years after Nigerian-Cameroonian musician Prince Nico Mbarga released Sweet Mother; the classic song remains as popular as ever. Why wouldn’t it be? Named Africa’s favourite song by the BBC in 2004, Nico’s melodious tune is adoration to the most phenomenal personage in humanity — the mother. However, as fresh as the song still is, one cannot but notice that it is now, in several ways, limited in its expression of the role and responsibilities of mothers. They no longer just console their crying babies; mothers now contribute so much more to their children’s overall wellbeing. Thus, it’s not that Sweet Mother has lost its taste, it’s just that our mothers have gotten sweeter. It is no coincidence that global development has come at a time of greater empowerment for women. Successful corporations, business ventures, public and private institutions are populated with mothers nursing their organizations to greatness. Our mothers are not just managing homes, they are handling the welfare of nations. Our mothers have also taken to socio-political leadership with the same fervour that they have demonstrated in caring for their children and family. Political leaders such as Hillary Clinton, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, and renowned social activists like Aung San Suu Kyi and Oby Ezekwesili exemplify the empathy and endurance intrinsic in every mother. Botswanian Mom, Dr. Matschidiso Moeti recently became the first female head of WHO African region, a vote of confidence on the ability of mothers to take care of not just their offspring but the society at large. While there are real difficulties in merging increased societal involvement and devotion to family, mothers around the world are rising above the challenge. By tending us– their offspring, they make great people, and by tending our society they make greater nations. As we celebrate them today, let us appreciate their contributions, support their efforts, and most importantly fight with and for them against the challenges that continue to limit them. How better to fight for our mothers than to always remember their sacrifices. Happy Mothers’ Day. [myad]
President Goodluck Jonathan has promised to do better things for Nigerian women even as he wished them a happy Mothers’ Day celebration as they mark the day set aside worldwide to commemorate mothers and their great, unique and indispensable service to humanity. In a statement by his special adviser on media and publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati today, President Jonathan assured women that his government will continue to do all within its powers to further empower them to play their immense, God-given role for the greater glory of the dear nation. He reaffirmed that his administration will continue to progressively strengthen its affirmative actions in favour of girls, women and mothers while intensifying its actions aimed at promoting gender equality in the nation. The President who attended a special service at the Presidential Villa to commemorate Mothers’ Day with his mother, Madam Eunice Jonathan and the First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan, prayed to God to bless all Nigerian mothers and reward them for the immense love and care with which they continue to nurture and raise worthy children on whom the future prospects of the great nation will depend. [myad]
The governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC in Rivers State, Dr. Dakuku Peterside, has described mothers as God’s special gift to humanity and that by their nature and responsibilities, they guide society’s direction either for good or otherwise. He spoke today in Port Harcourt as the Anglican World marked Mothering Sunday. Peterside who spoke at St. Paul’s Cathedral Diobu; St. Thomas Anglican Church Diobu District and St Andrew’s Church Rumuola praised mothers for sacrificing selflessly for their respective families and society. “I am here to honour our mothers and our children. As I entered the church, I saw Lady Hannah Agunma, she reminded me of my childhood. Today’s event therefore reminds me of what mothers mean to all of us. “I celebrate you our esteemed mothers because of who you are and the sacrifices you make for us. I pray that God will remember you. You will age gracefully and the anointing will not leave you. And you children will also remember you. ‘In this season of elections, I call on you to continue to be our mothers in words and actions because you have a role to play. We have to make choices, the choices regarding those who will lead us. As we choose our leaders, we must decide to make the right decisions by agreeing to walk out of the bondage of violence, insecurity, joblessness and incompetence. We have to decide where to go. “I have offered myself to serve, make a choice that reflects the will of God. Anybody who wants to occupy the office of the governor must be God-fearing, humble and compassionate so that he can feel what mothers and widows feel. We must not vote for aggressive, conceited, hostile and disrespectful people because their reign will not glorify God. “But you must play your part. You must guide your children aright because when you guide them right, you guide the entire society. Though God chooses leaders, as mothers, God has given you an understanding to make decisions and your decisions will put society either on the part of peace or violence. He charged women to be courageous and to remember the roles slavery and freedom played in the history of Mothering Sunday, adding that Nigeria is in another kind of bondage today. Peterside called on mothers to join hands with progressive minded people who are working to free the country from the bondage violence, unemployment insecurity, corruption, cultism, underdevelopment, and impunity. He asked mothers to preach peace, love and good neighbourliness, and to also remember that the greatest gift today is the gift of the Good News. Responding, Venerable John Adubasin, Archdeacon of St. Paul’s Cathedral prayed for Peterside and his wife. “May God guide and protect you throughout this campaign. He has already started a good work in your life. In Rivers State, we want a governor after God’s heart and we are hopeful. No man of violence will rule this land. So may the will of God be done,” he said. Similarly, Venerable Eugene Nicholas and Reverend Cannon Sullivan Odike of St. Thomas and St. Andrews respectively also prayed for Peterside and wished him the very best in his political journey. [myad]
All Progressives Congress (APC) Governorship aspirant in Kogi state, AbdulAziz Omeiza Aliyu has been reportedly died in a fatal road accident at Jere town along Kaduna-Abuja federal highway yesterday. He was said to have died along with his younger brother, Salmanu Adeiza Aliyu.
A family spokesman, Abubakar Aliyu said the 36 year old politician was returning from Abuja to Kogi with his younger brother when the chattered vehicle they were riding in got involved in the accident. All occupants in the car died.
According to the family spokesman
“Omeiza spoke with his father around 1.30pm Saturday few minutes into the ill fated journey and barely half an hour, we received the shocking and sad news of his demise from a samaritans from the scene of the accident. From the report we received none of the passengers on the ill fated Sharon car survived and they have been given mass burial at location at Jere town.” [myad]
Today, March 15, the whole world stands for mothers in commemoration of the Mother’s Day, observed all over the world to honour mothers and indeed, motherhood. The celebration of Mother’s Day began in the United States in the early 20th century. The Day is set aside across the world to reflect on the roles, and above all, the influence of mothers in the societies across the worlds. Of course, the modern celebration is widened to include honouring mothers, motherhood and maternal bonds. Though Mother’s Day is celebrated on various days in many parts of the world, most commonly in the months of March or May but the message it carries remains the same everywhere. In some countries, Mother’s Day has become synonymous with the older traditions that occurred throughout the world over thousands of years, such as the Greek cult to Cybele, the Roman festival of Hilaria, or the Christian Mothering Sunday celebration (originally a celebration of the mother church, not motherhood). Of course, the general thread that primarily runs in all mothers is tenderliness towards their children, whom they brought forth after about nine months of pregnancy: with all the discomforts, sickness, anxiety and so on. Nature also thrusts on Mothers the responsibility of being gentle, fair, loving, caring, peace-making and many other positive traits. God, from the beginning of creation, probably intended to make mothers the central point for the positive development of humanity, and that was why he endowed them with such attitudinal postures as earlier enumerated. For, as God says Himself, train a child the (right way) so that when he grows up he would not depart from it.
Come to think of it, the Holy Qurán says that after Allah and his Messenger, the most beloved and respected person to a Muslim should be his MOTHER! Allah has given the mother such status that He says: “Paradise lies under the feet of mothers.”
Obedience and respect towards your mother is a very important duty in Islam and is similar to performing Salaah and keeping fast. To hurt your mother in any way is the second biggest sin and those who commit this evil sin will be harshly punished by Allah in the hereafter or maybe even in this world!
Only Allah knows what your mother does for you, He sees your mother feeling pain whilst she tries to give you whatever you want. He sees your mother’s love and kindness. Pleased by your mother’s actions, Allah has given her a very high status and many virtues and rewards.
Allah also sees that many of us are not thankful to our mothers. He sees many of us being disobedient towards them. Therefore, Allah has ordered us to be good towards our mothers; he has not advised us but ordered us; we have no choice; therefore we have to be good towards our mothers! To encourage us to do this, Allah Taa’la has promised paradise for those of us who are obedient towards our mothers. At the same time, Allah has threatened to severely punish those of us who do not listen to our mothers or hurt them in any way.
And in the Holy Bible, Proverbs 31:25 says: “Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she laughs at the time to come. She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue. She looks well to the ways of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: “Many women have done excellently, but you (Holy Mary) surpass them all.” … this is even as Isaiah 49:15 says: “Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you.”
Indeed, if mothers play the roles God Himself assigned to them naturally: humility, fairness, caring, peace-making, loving and affection, the society would develop into a beauty to behold, where everyone is his own brother’s keeper, where love permeates, where everyone cares for and treats fellow human being with respect, humility, fairness and justice resulting in an ideal society where peace and tranquility reign. Of course, where the society becomes disorganized because the people in it hate one another, insult one another, cheat, steal, pursue wealth with all the indices of corruption, does it follow that mothers in such society have abdicated the finest roles God bestowed on them naturally? Does it follow, in the specific case of Nigeria that disrespect for elders, irrespective of the circumstance, which now dominates the way life is conducted is as a result of the failure of mothers to influence the lives of their children positively? As a matter of fact, it is not enough for the modern day mothers to join in the pursuit of the worldly things just so that they would keep up with the Jones, but it is still very important that they return to their original roles as ordained by God, so that the drift of the society to the precipice is halted.
There is no denying the fact that today’s challenges of living have thrown up women that have to jump into men’s world to support or even keep the families going in some form of comfort, which of course brings the society into a dilemma: for you cannot eat your cake and have it. It is too bad that the original concept of motherhood, from God Almighty, has been turned up-side-down either by the accidental incidences or challenges facing many homes or by the new concept of equality thrown at the world by the western culture or both. There has to be a way out, which today’s celebration of Mother’s Day should address. Happy Mother’s Day, all the same. [myad]
The wife of President Goodluck Jonathan, Dame Patience Jonathan has made it clear that her husband would remain in office for eight years to complete his two terms in office.
Dame Patience Jonathan who spoke during the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) women rally under the auspices of Women for Change and Development Initiative in Benin, Edo State today, said that the Presidency had been occupied for eight years by other geopolitical zones and wondered why the South-South should be denied the opportunity.
She claimed that the Jonathan-led administration had performed creditably in various sectors such as in transport and education, and by her assessment, the president’s performance had been satisfactory.
Dame Patience described the present administration as a gender-sensitive government, which has prioritised women development through the appointment of several women in key positions, the Subsidy Re-investment and Empowerment Programme and the YouWin Initiative.
She stressed that re-electing her husband was an opportunity for Nigerian women to appreciate his good performance, adding that the opposition party was not dependable and had nothing to offer.
The President wife was accompanied by national and state leaders of the party. Women, drawn from different support groups across the state turned out for the event as early as 9am.
Some had left the stadium at about 1.30pm when Dame Patience. Jonathan arrived at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium, venue of the rally.
Unable to bear the scorching heat, two women fainted but were later revived by a medical team provided by the party.
A mild drama ensued shortly before the President wife’s address when two men, said to be aggrieved PDP youths, tore down some banners bearing the image of the President’s wife.
They were, however, whisked away by some security operatives at the venue. [myad]
Nigeria league champions, Kano Pillars who were robbed a couple of weeks ago, bounced back to defeat Bayelsa United 2-0 in their first game of the season today.
Pillars, which began its title defence began the math today with some measure of caution resulting in goalless first half. Both teams were unable to find the cutting edge needed to score.
However, Adamu Mohammed gave Pillars the lead in first minute of the second half when he connected Rabiu Ali’s cross.
Ubong Ekpai doubled the lead for Pillars with a powerful shot off Promise James pass in the 50th minute. [myad]
The presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), General Muhammadu Buhari has promised to make retirement for civil servants a thing to look forward to with joy and operate pension administration that will bring smiles to the faces of pensioners across the country. General Buhari, who spoke while being presented with petition signed by a group of ex-servicemen protesting their treatment by the PDP-administration in the country, said that he is “saddened by the current situation of military, police and all other pensioners.” He said that it is unconscionable to allow senior citizens, who have served the country with zeal and patriotism in their youth, to be subjected to indignity and suffering while waiting to be paid their gratuity and pension, with some even having to engage in protests in their quest to be paid. The APC presidential candidate also said: “a situation where corrupt officials of state outrightly embezzle funds meant for payment of pensioners or delay such payment in order to fraudulently earn interest from deposit placements with banks will not be tolerated” and promised to put a stop to it. General Buhari vowed to invoke provisions of Article 1.5 of the APC manifesto to ensure that months before retirement of any officer, his or her entitlements would be worked out and accruing gratuity paid on the effective date of retirement while pension will follow as at when due. He said that the way and manner a society treats its aged and infirm is reflective of the civilization and decency of its people as a country, saying that Nigeria must strive to provide for the youth and build a strong future for retiring senior citizens. This, he said is his covenant of service which he has pledged to uphold. [myad]
Senior Special Adviser to Vice President Mohammed Namadi Sambo on media and publicity, Alhaji Umar Sani has announced the decamping, by a member of House of Representatives (from Gwale local government constituency of Kano state), Hon. Bashir Husari and special assistant to Governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso on empowerment programme, Hajiya Maryam Umar Kofar Mata from All Progressives Congress (APC) to Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Hajiya Maryam is also former APC Women Leader in Kano State. In a statement today, Umar said that several other members of APC also left the ruling party in the state to join PDP and were received by Vice President Namadi Sambo. Umar said that Namadi Sambo welcomed the decampees “to the shade provided by the Umbrella,” even as he told them that PDP umbrella is large enough to accommodate anyone interested in joining the party. Namadi Sambo, who was in Kano on visit met with several stakeholders and enjoined them to reach out to the people and inform them of the achievements of the President Goodluck Jonathan led administration and the laudable programmes of the PDP. The Vice President was said to have advised the decampees to work hard for the victory of the party in the forthcoming elections so that the party and the administration would continue to move the country forward. Vice President Sambo, who described the PDP as “the party of Nigeria with the most people oriented programmes that has been transforming the socio-economic wellbeing of Nigerians in the right direction, also added that PDP is Nigeria, and Nigeria is PDP. “If you go to every corner and the remotest part of Nigeria, PDP has a system in place. Umar said that in their response, the decampees said they defected from the APC because the PDP and the administration of President Jonathan and Vice President Sambo have been delivering more and better dividends of democracy to Nigerians through their Transformation Agenda. They pledged to work tirelessly to move the party and the country to greater heights. [myad]
Nigeria Vice President Mohammed Namadi Sambo has given assurance that the government of President Goodluck Jonathan has designed strategic programme of actions to revive the fortunes of the Northern region and make it great again. Namadi Sambo who spoke today in Kaduan in a lecture delivered on his behalf by Kaduna state Governor, Mukhtar Yero said that agriculture has been restored to its pride of place in the region through the administration’s Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA) where agriculture is now treated as a business and not a programme. At the lecture organized by the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) and the Arewa House’ Centre for Historical Research and Documentation, at Arewa House, Kaduna, said that the Jonathan government has also articulated a long term strategic development blueprint, tagged “Nigeria Vision 20:2020,” saying: “this is our homegrown strategic development agenda for stimulating economic growth, diversifying the economy away from Oil and launching the country onto the path of sustainable and rapid economic development. One key element of the vision is the specific recognition of Regional development. This is being complemented by the Transformation Agenda, 2011-2015, which is the medium term strategic plan of the Federal Government.” The Vice President reiterated the administration’s commitment to a sustained improvement in the economic management of the country, which he said had impacted positively on the performance of the north and the country at large with a robust growth averaging 7 percent. Apart from agriculture, the Vice President said, the administration has made deep inroads into the development and improvement of other sectors of the economy which included Education, Healthcare, Transport and Healthcare as well as anti-corruption, employment and wealth generation in the country. On Education, the Vice President said, Federal Government has approved the sum of N1.5billion, in addition to the Tertiary Education Trust Fund to further support the improvement and development of all federal and state-owned universities across the country, while the sum N297billion has been expended under the Universal Basic Education Programme (UBE) to the development of infrastructure, learning and teaching materials as well as capacity building in basic education institutions. On power and irrigation, Namadi Sambo added, work has commenced on the construction of the 700mw Zungeru Hydro-power project awarded at the cost of N200billion while contract has been awarded for the 3050mw Mambila Hydropower at the cost of USD6billion He said that in tackling corruption in the country, the administration has made laudable progress using what he called: “preventive approach.” “Our approach to corruption is Preventive rather than Curative. We are aware that we have to deal with impunity and we are taking a systematic approach. With seeming lack of institutions, systems and processes to block corrupt action, we are using technology and biometrics to prevent its occurrence.” He said that corruption convictions under the Jonathan administration has increased by 88 percent while the nation has recorded about 91 percent drop in illegal currency outflow which he said is an all-time low record in the country. On leadership, Namadi Sambo insisted that the North has never lacked Visionary leaders who have instilled the culture of peace order and good governance in the region. The Vice President recalled the years 1959-1966, as golden era of the North and extolled the visionary leadership of the late Sardauna of Sir Ahmadu Bello and the Premier of Northern region whom he said, ensured the Unity and Prosperity of the region. “With his maxim of One North one Destiny and his Northernisation policy, the late Sir Ahmadu Bello, the Sardauna of Sokoto and the first and only Premier of Northern Nigeria, ensured the unity, uniformity and prosperity of the region to the admiration of all.” In a keynote address, the Chairman of the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), Alhaji Ibrahim Coomasie said that at the time the North attained self-government, it was led by selfless, hard working and committed individuals who channeled all their energies to build the region without recourse to ethnicity, religion or any other primordial ties. He called on the present generation to wake up from their deep slumber, reminding them that each individual has a duty to the country. “Each of us has a duty to our community and our country; we can either fulfill or betray it. And when we are tested, as all will be, the judgement of history cannot be evaded. And so, I say to you too that we cannot deny the evidence of our own eyes.” The lecture with the theme: “The North and the Nigerian Federation: Past, Present and the Future” was organized to commemorate the 56th anniversary of self-government in Northern Nigeria. [myad]
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