AUTHOR Oladapo Okuyemi has given reasons why she wrote her debut biography, ‘Drawing His Strength: The Emiola Fakolade Story’.
During the book unveiling in Ibadan, Okuyemi said it was about her mother’s life and her 31 years of widowhood journey as she nurtured and trained her and her siblings.
During the book-reading sessions, Okuyemi read chapter 20, titled ‘Goes the extra mile’, which described her mother as being persistent, having a generous spirit and a gentle nature, and doing more than required.
“She believes she was able to pull through because of the loving family members and genuine people around her. And she pays it forward by exercising care in her dealings with people,” she said of her mother.
Okuyemi’s mother, Emiola Fakolade, is a 71-year-old retired civil servant, widowed since 1992, with six children and nine grandchildren.
While reading some excerpts of the book, Fakolade said she was happy her first child wrote the book about her to inspire other women and widows to emulate her life, which she admitted was not perfect but motivational.
Adejoke Oyekan, author and founder of Purplebloom Publishers, read a piece titled ‘An Older Widow’s Story’ by Professor Tana Odebiyi.
In the piece, Odebiyi narrated how she became a widow in 1987, her challenges, and how she managed and overcame them.
“To the young widow, be encouraged. God Almighty will never leave nor forsake you,” Odebiyi writes. “Truly, those who trust in God shall not see shame.”
Publicist and show development executive, Tonia Ohunyan, reviewed the biography. Ohunyan said that after reading the book, she was eager to see Fakolade, whom beautiful things were written about.
During the review, she spoke about widowhood and the dehumanising practices widows undergo in society. She enjoined widows to love and appreciate their late husbands, even in death. She charged them to obtain skills that would enable them to care for themselves and their families.
Oyekan and Ohunyan moderated a panel session. The panellists were the author, her mother, Folake Falana, Seunfunmi Joan-Stephen, Solomon Adewole, and Steve Ajaka. Two of the panellists joined via Zoom.
The panel discussed pressing societal, legal, economic, and cultural issues affecting widows/widowers while proffering solutions. The panel advised widows to mind the kind of help they sought from people and encouraged the government to support widows through effective laws and empowerment programmes.
The Oyo State Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Inclusion, Kafilat Olayiwola, represented by Ibironke Igeyin, stated that the government has several programmes targeted at widows, but they will have to register through support groups or non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to benefit from the programmes.
Igeyin also stated that the women’s ministry provides free psycho-social support for widows and encourages them to benefit from it.
READ ALSO FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE
and then