The Wife of Ondo State Governor, Mrs Betty Akeredolu, has decried the rate at which many Nigerian men abandon the responsibility of training children to their wives alone.
Mrs Akeredolu said this on Saturday while declaring open the 2019 Family Conference organised by the Blissful Home Initiative in Ijapo Estate Akure.
She lamented the increasing number of single-parenting in Nigeria, saying mothers were over-burdened with the task of raising children alone.
According to her, many men are absentee fathers which is the reason we live in an imbalanced and unprosperous society due to the absence of healthy families.
She emphasised the need for a progressive society where there was mutual respect and genuine love in the family noting that for a man to respect and value his wife did not mean he was weak.
“l always leverage on my position as the First Lady to promote a healthy family where both parents are actively involved in the care and development of their kids.
“As one of our activities in this regard, we included a family game that requires the participation of the father, mother and their toddler in the 2nd FOWOSO Summit scheduled to hold on the Dec. 4, and Dec. 5,” She said.
Mrs Akeredolu knoted that the family game known as Crawlers’ competition was aimed at strengthening the bond between both parents and their kids.
”In preparation for the event, my team went to all the local governments in Ondo State to select families that will participate in the crawlers’ race.
“Their visit to the local governments has really shown that most men are unconcerned in the care and development of their children,” She said.
She expressed hope that the competition would expose the dysfunctional and lack of love and affection within families.
The governor’s wife, therefore, described the theme of the conference, ‘Conjugal Bliss: A Panacea for Peaceful Societal Peace’ as instructive.
She urged men to “man-up” and show true love to their wives to jointly care for the children.
She commended the Convener of the conference, the Chairman of the State Christian Association of Nigeria, Rev. John Ayo-Oladapo, and his wife, Esther, for promoting good family values through the programme for the past nine years.
Rev. Ayo-Oladapo appreciated Mrs Akeredolu for her motherly support for family issues in Ondo state while affirming that enhancement of family life values remained part of her vision since she became the first lady of the state.