Heritage of women and impact on nation building

THE International Women’s Day is celebrated all over the world with fanfare every year on March 8. This thoughtful celebration is to recognize the achievements of women, raise awareness to reduce biases and prejudices against them, and to inspire actions to close the inequality gap between women and men. I therefore salute the vision, courage and sagacity of women who are celebrated on this day. Heritage means the history, traditions and qualities that a country, society or an individual has imbibed for many years and which consequently form an important part of its character and culture. We have a rich heritage that should form a vital part of our nation building efforts. Though it is the responsibility of all, male and female alike, to build our nation, we find it imperative to encourage women to play their vital role in building a virile nation with their men counterparts on the occasion od the International Women’s Day for this year. From a religious perspective, women are created by God as ‘help meet’ and not as second fiddle to men. There is no doubt that women, by divine endowments and natural disposition, possess unique attributes which if wisely and consciously harnessed would enhance the building of a virile nation of our dream.

Women are custodians of our heritage and are at a vantage position to advance the cause of nation building. We can say concerning them, “To whom much is given, much is expected and required”. In the words of James Stephen, “Women are wiser than men, because they know less and understand more”. If the International Women’s Day would actually worth its salt, the issue of nation building should be uppermost in the heart of every woman and every good citizen of our nation.  Women are endowed with natural abilities to bear children. These children are to be nurtured to maturity in modestyand chastity, with motherly care and kindness. Child bearing or procreation as a biological phenomenon is peculiar to women: however, child rearing is shared with men. Women as mothers and children’s first teachers must go a step further as they are positioned to play a vital role innurturing, teaching and properly training children in the way of God to become assets to the nation. An adage says, “It is a child that we have failed to train who will sell off the house that we have built” (Omo ti a ko ni yio gbe ile ti a ko ta).As mothers,women are critical stakeholders in the home and they are custodians of the heritage of discipline. They have a great responsibility to train their wards to imbibe good character, culture and behaviour that are needed in a decent and egalitarian society.

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The rate of moral decadence among children and youth calls for mothers to check the excesses of children before they become young persons. The quotations below underscore the place of discipline in bringing up a proper child: “He who spares the rod hates his son, (child) but he who loves him is careful to discipline him”. “Discipline your son (child), for in that there is hope, do not be a willing party to his death”.  “Folly is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of discipline will drive it far from him”. Women are the custodians of the heritage of hospitality as home keepers and also due to their motherly care. Women are adept in hospitality, a phenomenon that makes them fantastic home makers/keepers.In view of this, they are saddled with the responsibility of providing adequately for their children. The scriptural admonition that “…if anyone does not provide for his family/relative and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith, and is worse than unbeliever or infidel” does not apply to men alone but to women as well. It behooves all good women to be kind, tender-hearted and this should manifest in their professions and trades as we collectively build a formidable nation of repute that we can all be proud of. Women being custodians of the heritage of hospitality extends to catering for the underprivileged children in our communities. Scholarships are necessary for brilliant children whose parents cannot afford to train them.One may state with confidence thatwe have failed God if we do not bring upour children well. In deserving cases, women must step up and do what needs to be done. A woman who trains a child trains a nation. There is no doubt that the future of a nation lies in the hands of women.

The heritage of chastity among our young ones should not be allowed to disappear or dwindle because of western civilisation. The menace of sexual harassment in the work environment must be tackled as it accounts for why some women have missed out promotions or other opportunities. As long as this is in vogue, the nation cannot forge ahead to in its quest for development. The heritage of modesty and contentment in life is a value that responsible women must pass to young ladies and men. This responsibility entails mothers protecting their children from anti-social behaviours like nudity and indecent dressing and inordinate craze for money. A woman’s role in this regard is a social value that instils decorum and decency in children and young persons. Sadly, many women today are failing in this responsibility. Women must equally rise up to condemn other anti-social behaviours like child (underage) marriage, incest and rape, the victims of which are mostly female children. On the other hand, the perpetrators of the above crimes are also persons raised under the care of the family where women play a critical role. The ability of the female children affected by these vices is impaired as they have been deprived of the opportunity to contribute their quotas to the development of the nation. This has a negative impact on our nation’s productivity.

The contributions of female children exposed to early marriage have been confined to the kitchen. Though provision of food is very important to life, yet there are other more important things to achieve after food for the development of the nation.

In conclusion, each time I take my pen to write on nation building in our country, my heart bleeds because of the prevailing moral decay or decadence. There is no doubt that for the celebration of the International Women’s Day to worth its salt, all hands must be on deck in promoting moral, spiritual, academic, scientific and infrastructural advancement of our dear and only country. It is not out of place, if the International Women’s Day is used to canvass for the total eradication of societal ills including nepotism, gender inequalities, cultic practices and negative and inhuman cultural practices that stare us in the face all the time. Posterity will never forget the missionary Mary Slessor for her godly role in eradicating the inhuman killing of twins in Nigeria. Through advocacy initiated by women we must eradicate cultural practices which are grossly counter-productive. The impact of women’s heritage on nation-building can only come to manifestation the moment an individual woman decides to be a role model of our deep and rich heritage.

• Ogungbemi, a cleric, writes in from Ibadan, Oyo State.