Right from 1987 in the United States of America, the month of March is observed as the World’s Women’s History Month. Therefore, apart from March 8th, a day set aside to celebrate the International Women’s Day around the world, there are usually other events in the month of March meant to celebrate the achievements of women world over. As our humble contribution to this noble cause, we will continue to celebrate women on the cover page of IWA’s March edition annually, God willing.
Therefore, on my desk in this edition, I want us to examine one of the primary and crucial positions that the woman occupies in the structuring of nations. Since a nation is defined as a large body of people united by common decent, history, culture, or language, inhabiting a particular state or territory. It is logical to say that the development of nations is directly linked to the development of homes.
Home has a lot of definitions, but for the sake of this piece, let us look at the home first from the perspective of the computer which sees the home as the starting point of the cursor, or even from the point of view of a place where an animal is most common or indigenous. We can also see the home as the place where something originated or is based.
Looking at origins, it is apposite to link the above definitions to the fact that every child that will eventually start his or her own home is a product of one home. Interestingly, the first contact with the home that every child who comes into this world has is with the mother since the mother is the one who carries the child in her womb for nine months. The mother is also expected to breastfeed the child for up to two years of age, according to the recommendations of the World Health Organisation (WHO).
Furthermore, it seems that the home is generally seen as the woman’s “theatre’’ such that, however, the final productions of the home turn out, whether in the short run or long run, it is directly attributed to either the success or failure of the woman’s managerial skill and wizardry.
I think it is for the above reasons and much more that great men such as Stevie Wonder have been quoted to have said: Mama was my greatest teacher, a teacher of compassion, love and fearlessness. If love is sweet as a flower, then my mother is that sweet flower of love.” George Washington also said:My mother was the most beautiful woman I ever saw. All I am I owe to my mother. I attribute all my success in life to the moral, intellectual and physical education I received from her.” For Abraham Lincoln: “All that I am or ever hope to be, I owe to my angel mother.”
Let me conclude this piece with Pele’s quote on success which says, Success is no accident. It is hard work, perseverance, learning, studying, sacrifice and most of all, love of what you are doing or learning to do. In the same vein, success in nation building will not happen accidentally and as Africans we have to make deliberate effort in our quest to rebuild Africa. Like it is anywhere in the world, the primary solution to our plethora of problems or what I will call complicated affairs’’ in Africa should be ‘home-grown’. It is on the ‘home-grown’ solution that our hope lies. I am particularly happy that African countries have finally decided to put their signature to an agreement that will launch the African Continental Free Trade Area (AFCFTA) in Kigali, Rwanda, on Wednesday, March 21, 2018.
This is the first edition of Inside Watch Africa (IWA) this year which fortuitously is our 10th anniversary on the newsstand and as we look forward to the next ten years, it is gratifying to note that we have been able to serve without breaking the chain of communication and we are eternally grateful to God for this feat as many media outfits have closed shop. I can assure our esteemed readers that you will particularly enjoy this edition replete with juicy and educative stories. Enjoy!