Abiwumi Owoade, wife of Alaafin of Oyo on Wednesday, said that her husband, Oba Akeem Abimbola Owoade, the Alaafin of Oyo, would encourage and support any activities that could improve women economically.
Abiwumi noted that the proposed empowerment would be done in such a way that it would enable women to develop high-esteem and give them more confidence to exhibit their God-given potentials.
Addressing women in Oyo on the imperatives of women in nation building, the Alaafin’s Wife stated that “many women had displayed ingenuity and creativity in finding alternatives to any situation, individually at the household level, and collectively at the social level, thereby creating conducive atmosphere for democracy and democratic governance to thrive.
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“As women, we constitute a dynamic breeding ground within the framework of any perspective for change. Women perform indispensable roles in the society as mothers, custodians, and shapers of the society. In Nigeria, women population is presently put at about 55 million, which is significant, considering the total population of about 140 million. It is indisputable that empowering women is empowering the nation, as they are indispensable group in the development of any nation’’, she said.
In a release issued by Bode Durojaiye, the Director of Media and Publicity to the Alaafin of Oyo, the Alaafin’s Wife went further to say that: “there is hardly any culture, East or West, where women are not home builders. As home builders, we are therefore ‘nation builders’. Besides the five sensory organs given to every human being by God, women are also endowed with distinct ability, which is the power of adaptability to perceive and prevent their families from danger.
‘’Wise woman builds her house, but the foolish pulls it down with her hands. To build a happy home successfully, a woman has a major role to play and it is also of great importance to know that it takes wisdom to build a happy home.
“‘A woman is expected to love her husband and to love her children. In building a happy home, a woman should display a high level of love to her husband and children. By this, I mean unconditional love. A woman should not show love to her husband mainly because of what she is getting from him or based on the fact that things are rosy. Likewise a woman must be available to her husband and should not deny him of his right”.
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While admitting that women have comparable qualities and strengths as men, she, however, said that God had ordained that wives should submit themselves to their husbands.
“Every woman has the role of being a wife and a mother, nurturing godly children, and teaching her children in Godly ways. It is her responsibility to teach and train the children—both boys and girls. Indeed, a good wife is meant to be a trusted confidant and a valuable counsellor to her husband. God expects us to be trusted helpers and wise counselors’’, she added.
She further warned the womenfolk, that, ‘’even if you are the ones paying all the bills, when you are being provoked, control your tongue. You cannot sell members of your household cheaply, and still expect to buy back at a high price with gain. God expects us to be trusted helpers and wise counselors’’.
