– Sodiq Yusuf, Sodiq Lawal
Parenting can be quite an arduous adventure. It is hard enough with a committed partner, but when you are doing it alone, especially in Nigeria, the difficulty rises to a whole new level. It can be tricky, maintaining good mental health, thriving as an individual and nurturing your children in the best possible manner.
There are quite a number of women in Osun State who are single mothers through the death of a spouse, divorce, abandonment or choice. Single mothers often shoulder multiple responsibilities, including childcare, financial support, and household management, which can be both rewarding and challenging.
In this report, OSUN DEFENDER chronicles how single mothers in Osun state are surviving amidst the ongoing economic hardship.
For Rashidatu Lawal, a single mother resident at Ojoyin area in Ile Ife, Osun State, who became a single mum as a result of divorce, the journey so far as a single parent has not been easy.
She said, “In my own case, It was as a result of divorce. I was married for six years but then it didn’t work out, So I left the marriage.”
When asked how the economic hardship has impacted her daily life and her children, she said: “I am blessed with two kids. The economic hardship has seriously affected us. We now feed once in a day. And the food we do eat are not that nutritious.”
For Alade Tolu, a resident of Isokun area in Ilesa, who also became a single mom through divorce, also notes that the journey has not been too easy.
Tolu, a mother of two told OSUN DEFENDER that having to combine work and taking care of the children as a single parent is physically and psychologically tasking.
She said, “I and my husband are divorced and I took custody of the children. Having to take care of them has been very challenging both in terms of resources and giving them that attention and care that they deserve.
“For instance, I am expected to be at the office at 8am daily, while the kids also resume at school almost the same time. So, what I do is to drop them at school in the morning on my way to work.
“By the time they close from school at 2pm, I would be expected to go and pick them, bring them to my office most times and take care of them while working until office closes at 5pm every day.
“When we get home, I will prepare dinner, sort out their assignments, wash their uniforms and lunch boxes and then prepare against the next day.
“Sometimes, I break down because I have no one to assist me in doing some of these chores. I have had reasons to engage house help but I discovered that many of these house helps end up becoming part of the problem rather than the solution one is seeking.
“It is difficult to get a committed house help to work for you. Some of them are lazy while others will end up maltreating your children. I once had such experience and it’s very painful.
“And to the financial challenges, it has not been easy. Everything is getting costly day by day. But I am trying our best to survive.”
For Victoria Peters, a resident of Wakajaye in Ede, being a single mother is not an easy experience because one would have to multi-task to be able to survive amidst the economic hardship.
She added, “Being a single mother is not easy, especially if one works a lot. I had to multi-task to make sure I’m there for my kids. Expecially, in this period if economic hardship, I do many tasks together in order to survive. Seriously it is not easy at all.”
