Elochukwu Benjamin
Awka
Mothers in Alor Community, Idemili South Local Government Area of Anambra State, have been urged to take greater responsibility for the moral upbringing of their children and ensure they grow up with discipline, respect and the fear of God.
The newly inaugurated Women Leader of Alor Community, Lady Ifeoma Uzokwe, and other stakeholders made the call during the 2026 Alor Women August Meeting, where they also advocated a return to the traditional Igbo system of communal child upbringing, promotion of the Igbo language and acquisition of vocational skills.
Delivering the keynote address, a former Chairman of the Anambra State Universal Basic Education Board (ASUBEB), Dr Nkiru Nwadinobi, said the traditional Igbo society had a strong communal system of raising children, in which co-wives, umu ada, umunna and other members of the extended family collectively helped to instil discipline and good morals.
Nwadinobi lamented that the system had weakened over the years, leaving many parents to shoulder the responsibility of raising children alone.
“Like before, the extended family members should be involved in training a child. Those days, neighbours on the streets helped to train and correct other children by reporting their bad behaviour to their parents.
“If you see a child half-dressed, don’t curse; rather, correct in love,” she said.
She challenged mothers to revive the culture of hard work among their children, urging them to use long vacations to learn practical skills instead of relying solely on holiday lessons.
“It seems we have failed as mothers. Igbos believe in hard work. Allow your children to learn a skill during long vacation. Do away with holiday lessons.
“Your child should be fluent in their mother tongue, Igbo language, before any other language,” Nwadinobi said.
Earlier, Uzokwe urged mothers to begin correcting negative behaviours in their children from an early age, while also encouraging women to be industrious and contribute to the economic wellbeing of their families.
“Our children do not go to church anymore. Child upbringing should be taken seriously. Our women should sit down and start retraining their children in the fear of the Lord and inculcate moral values in them,” she said.
Uzokwe attributed the renewal of confidence in her leadership to the unity, transparency and inclusiveness of her administration, saying its programmes were designed to have a direct impact on women in the community.
She listed some of the achievements of her administration to include the successful hosting of the second Inyom Alor Worldwide Summit, construction of 12 lock-up shops at the market to promote women’s economic empowerment and revenue generation for the community, and installation of nine gates and construction of a perimeter fence around Nkwo Alor Market to check the activities of hoodlums.
She also said the women benefited from interest-free soft loans facilitated through the President-General of Alor Community, Agbaigwe, to support their businesses.
According to her, many women and daughters of Alor had also enrolled in skills acquisition and empowerment programmes through collaborations with non-governmental organisations and the local government council.
Uzokwe further highlighted the spiritual empowerment of women as a key priority of the administration, noting that the August Meeting featured messages from three ministers of God.
She urged members of Inyom Alor to patronise Alor Microfinance Bank, which, she said, had been upgraded to support digital and interbank transactions, thereby reducing the need for customers to travel to commercial banks in Nnewi.
She disclosed that the next major project of the women would be to floor the Nkwoka Alor Market to address the muddy condition of the market, particularly during the rainy season.
Uzokwe also called on women to remain focused, purposeful and kind-hearted in their dealings with others.
Also speaking, the APGA candidate for Councillor, Alor Ward II, Mrs Kosisochukwu Akubueze, described mothers as the “gatekeepers of the family,” urging them to devote adequate attention to the upbringing of their children.
“As mothers, we are the gatekeepers of the family. When our husbands go out in search of work, we should stay to train the children so that they don’t pick certain vices,” she said.
Akubueze expressed concern over the growing number of young people involved in drug abuse, street touting and other social vices, attributing part of the problem to poor parental supervision.
“So many children are out in the streets today addicted to drugs, touting, not because they do not have mothers, but probably their mothers were weak, pampering their children and hoping they would change without training.
“Now, they have outgrown their parents to become a menace in society,” she said.
The newly inaugurated seven-member executive of the Alor Community women is headed by Lady Ifeoma Uzokwe as Women President-General, with Mrs Lucy Uzoegbunam as Vice President; Mrs Chiamaka Igwebuike, General Secretary; Mrs Chinwe Okoyeobele, Assistant Secretary; Mrs Benedicta Nwoyegbuzue, Financial Secretary; Mrs Nkiru Oyeudo, Treasurer; and Mrs Esther Okonkwo, Publicity Secretary.
