Osinbajo: It is not the ability to father a child that makes you a father

Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo said on Sunday that men must honour
women and to stop treating them as their subordinates.

He noted that men and women were born equal. Osinbajo said to
father a child was not the only factor that made one a man.

However, Osinbajo acknowledged the important roles played by men
in the family setting and the society at large.

He spoke in Abuja at a service to mark Father’s Day at the Aso
Villa Chapel.

The VP’s mother, Mrs Olubisi Osinbajo, the Deputy President of
the Senate, Ovie Omo-Agege, and the Secretary to the Government of
the Federation, Mr Boss Mustapha, were among dignitaries who joined
him at the service.

Speaking to State House Correspondents, the VP stated, “I think
the responsibility of the father is incredible indeed and I think
what is most important is to teach our men, young men growing up,
that they must honour women, not just their wives.

“Of course, you must honour and love your wives, but I think
that it is very important that we honour women.

“We don’t treat them as subordinates to us; they are created
equal to men.

“But, most importantly, we must honour them and recognise their
role as partners, not just in families, but in the society as
well.”

He noted that to be a father implied taking up the
responsibilities of a father, whether one was a biological father
or not.

Osinbajo explained, “It is not the ability to father a child,
the ability to have a child that makes you a father; it is the
courage to bring up one, ability to raise one.

“That’s what really makes you a father and I think the
responsibilities of fatherhood are so many, whether one is a
biological father or whether you are one who wants to take care of
other children.

“I think that all of us, as men, have a role to play in the
lives of so many, not just our biological children but so many of
them who have no fathers; even to some who have fathers to who we
have responsibility to set example to lead exemplary life, to bring
them up as scripture says in the way of the Lord.”

The 1st Reading of the service was taken from Malachi 1: 3-6 by
Omo-Agege.

The deputy Senate President said children learnt a lot from
their parents by seeing the life the latter led.

“It is not what we tell our children, but the lives we lead and
they see us lead”, Omo-Agege added.

Mustapha too gave his own perspective, saying that men were both
the spiritual and physical head of their families.

He spoke further, “It is not about the celebration; I think it
is a constant reminder about our responsibilities as fathers.

“We are reminded of the fact that, first, we are the priests of
our homes; so we ought to pray for our families.

“And when you have children that are aware that as a father, you
are praying for them, the chances of their drifting will not be
there because they know that the eyes of their father are
constantly on them.

“Constantly, you are reminding God that He has entrusted you
with this responsibility and you ought to live up to the
responsibility.

“The second thing is that, as fathers, we are supposed to
exemplify the life of Christ in the lives of our children because
we are just like letters that our children read on a daily
basis.

“It is not about how much we say, or what you say; it is about
our lifestyle.

“The other reminder is that we are breadwinners in our families
and we ought to provide for our families.”

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African Child Celebration: My Government Will Prioritise
Quality Education, Good Nutrition for Kwara Children-
AbdulRazaq

Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq on Sunday said his
administration would boost school enrolment and support good
nutrition for the children.

“We maintain that access to quality education and good nutrition
are key to the future of our children,” Rafiu Ajakaye, chief press
secretary to AbdulRazaq, said in a statement commemorating the Day
of the African Child.

“It is for this reason that our administration is seriously
considering joining the National School Feeding programme to boost
good nutrition and school enrolment
for our children.

“Also, Kwara will henceforth pay better attention to the quality
of education our children get.”

In a veiled reaction to concerns about the rising number of
school-age children roaming the street, the Governor urged parents
to avoid anything that could jeopardise the future of their
children and the state.

“The Child Rights Act is domesticated in Kwara and thus applies
to every child. What this means, in part, is that it is unlawful
for any parents to not enrol their children in school. On our part,
we’ll do our utmost to boost economic activities to create wealth,”
the statement stated.

Declared in 1991 by the Organization of African Unity (now AU)
in honor of hundreds of school children killed in Soweto, South
Africa, for demanding better education, the Day of the African
Child has been celebrated on June 16 every year since 1991 to
demand improved welfare for children.

The event, now known as the Soweto Uprising, occurred on June
16, 1976, drawing international outrage against the then apartheid
government of South Africa.

Signed:
Rafiu Ajakaye
Chief Press Secretary to the Kwara State Governor