Mama Pat as she was proudly referred to in the village, hurriedly finished her dressing as she prepared to attend the merit award ceremony organised by the Federal Government, in which her daughter Patricia, was an awardee. She momentarily felt a wave of sadness that her husband, Borokini, was not alive to witness this day. Patricia had brought pride and joy to the family and so also had David, her brother. She quickly thanked God for the children she had been gifted with and hurried into the car which was waiting to take her to the award ceremony.

Mama Pat had started her primary education at the local village primary school but had not been able to further her education because her parents had been peasant farmers and could not afford to send her to the nearest secondary school which was 6 miles away. She had been forced to learn the trade of pressing palm oil from palm fruits and had gone on to become one of the best palm oil producers in her locality. She had married Borokini, a palm wine tapper and together they had trained their two children Patricia and David, until he passed away. Borokini had passed quite early in their marriage but through the patronage of her childhood friend, Anthonia, she was able to subsist together with the children until fortune smiled on her. She spent time teaching her children true Christian values of honesty, fairness, hard work, and was good at administering appropriate discipline. She taught them to place their confidence in God and that all things work together for good for those who trust in God. Patricia would often return from school to help mama Pat with the oil press and her petty trade. Pat, a highly intelligent and cultured girl was favoured to win the Community scholarship that saw her through secondary school. She later obtained a scholarship admission to an Ivy league university in the U.S.A and the community once again rose up to the challenge of paying for her living expenses during her studies. She graduated Summa cum Laude in Public Administration and returned into public service in her home country. Her quality Service was now being appreciated by the merit award she was about to receive.

Mama Pat’s mind momentarily wandered to her friend Anthonia as she wondered how she was faring. The last she had heard she was bemoaning the fate of her son, Sotonye. Mama Pat and Anthonia had started life as closest friends having been classmates in their local primary school. Anthonia had left the village for the city after her primary education, to live with her aunt in the city. There she had gone on to Secondary school and to the Polytechnic where she graduated with a National Diploma in Business Studies. Thereafter, she had married a business tycoon in the city who had set her up in the palm oil business. She had a thriving business and had reached out to Mama Pat to be one of her suppliers. In partnership with her husband, she had given her three children the best education they could afford. Unfortunately, Anthonia had concentrated on wealth and the luxuries of life, to the detriment of inculcating the right value system in the children. She worked extremely hard and left their training to the school, maids, and cooks, and Sotonye, her youngest child was the most hit by the neglect. She had spoilt Sotonye silly in compensation for the neglect she guiltily acknowledged. Whenever he ran into trouble anywhere, she was quick to bail him out using her money as bribe and bait in diverse situations. Her motto was “money solves all problems”, and Sotonye had come to believe that any and everything could be handled by his mother to his benefit. She had paid for Sotonye to attend a private University in the U.S.A and after a long sojourn of about 8 years, had graduated with a bachelor’s degree in dance. Upon his return home, his parents had utilised their influence and connection to land him a Federal Government appointment. Three years into his office, he was indicted for fraud and mismanagement of funds and kicked out of office with ignominy.

Anthonia while bemoaning Sotonye’s plight, sat watching the Federal Government awards on television and was surprised to see her old friend – Mama Pat’s face among the crowd waiting to witness her daughter’s award. She broke down and wept bitterly. She muttered “Indeed the key to Nation building lies in the hands of women. Instilling the right values starts from home. I never spared the time to teach my children right and see where it landed me. Mama Pat kept advising me, but I ignored her in the belief she was not “forward looking”.

Havilah is of the opinion that mothers are indeed the KEY to Nation building as they have a responsibility to inculcate the right values in their children so that society can experience a positive impact. It is no gainsaying that even from biblical times, the impact of mothers on the values exhibited by their children, has always been evident. That is why, Lois and Eunice got a mention in the bible concerning the way they had brought up Timothy. They had impacted his life positively. I pray we connect the dots as to how we directly or indirectly impact our nation and assist in bringing up citizens with the right values.

Love

Havilah