Gowon, Oke advise mothers on child development

A former Head of State of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, General Yakubu Gowon (retd.), and the immediate past Chairman, Board of Directors, A.G Leventis Plc., Chief Joseph Oke, have called on mothers across the country to pay more attention to the feelings and development of their children.
The two respected figures gave the advice in Lagos on Friday during the public presentation of the autobiography of Oke titled: ‘A rose for my mother’.
Gowon, who was the chairman of the occasion, said children, being the future of any family and society, must be well nurtured and looked after, especially by mothers so that they could fulfil their potentials.
Making reference to the book where the author wrote vividly about how his late mother took up the responsibility of training and seeing him through the various stages of life, including giving him quality education after the death of his father when he was two years old, the former Head of State said mothers, being the closest to their children most of the time, must use every resource at their disposal to bring them up in the right way.
He said, “Mothers play a crucial role in the life of any child and even society. If you go through what Chief Oke has written in his autobiography, you’ll see how clearly this is highlighted.
“Our society is faced with a lot of problems today and in the process, most mothers are not being able to properly look after their children and have an input in their upbringing. I think this should change; mothers must, in fact, give more attention to their children.”
Author of the book, Oke, while paying tribute to his mother for the role she played in his upbringing and overall development, said the Nigerian society would be a better place if fathers support their wives in properly training children.
He said, “Mothers are so special in our lives, not only because they carried us in their wombs for nine months, but because they are the ones who understand us through and through without pretence or prejudice.
“Fathers may pretend on certain issues or may be prejudiced against the children, but mothers will always spill the beans and discipline us if they have to in order to make us better persons. This is the role my mother played, which I think also mothers of today should adopt to get the best out of their children.”

SOURCE.. PUNCH