Introspecting Father’s Roles In Societal  Dev

The Father’s Day observance and celebration  have become a universal phenomenon. In some climes,  it is observed  in June every year, to honour fatherhood and parental bonds. It is also designed to honour the influence of fathers in society. In Catholic countries of Europe, Father’s Day is celebrated on 19th March as Saint Joseph Day, since the Middle Ages. In the United States, Father’s Day was founded by Sonora Smart Dodd, and celebrated on the third Sunday of June for the first time in 1910. The Day is held on various dates across the world and different regions maintain their own traditions of honouring fatherhood according to when they deemed it necessary. Thus,  Father’s Day is a recognised public holiday in Lithuania and some parts of Spain and was regarded as such in Italy until 1977. It is a national holiday in Estonia, Samoa, and equivalently in South Korea, where it is celebrated as “Parents’ Day”. The holiday complements similar celebrations honouring family members, such as Mother’s Day, Siblings’ Day and Grandparents’ Day.
However, in Nigeria and some other African countries, public holiday is yet to be granted by the Federal Government to mark the event. According to Aurelia Scott, Father’s Day was not immediately accepted when it was proposed and it did not become a national holiday even in the United States until 1972 during President Richard Nixon’s administration. With the history of America as a developed economy and a civilised democracy one might assume that a holiday recognising the invaluable roles of men in societal development will be seamlessly and perfectly acceptable. Afterall, men dominated American society in the early 20th Century. In addition, a “Father’s Day” or a day that recognises the role of a father in the family is an ancient tradition in history books; there is mention of a southern European tradition dating back to 1508. Perhaps, Nigeria will soon see the need to declare a public holiday to mark the day even as there is a strong advocacy for “Paternity Leave” for husband whose wife is delivered of a child.
Certainly, in modern days, people do not give Father’s Day a second thought. In America, for instance, it has been about 50 years since President Richard Nixon’s administration declared the third Sunday in June a day to recognise and honour the role of fathers in society- that took place in 1972. Interestingly, Father’s Day was not immediately acceptable when it was proposed. One would wonder why the apathy that characterised the acceptance of the Father’s Day initiative. Mother’s Day came first. It was officially recognised in 1914. So, men in the early 1900s associated such a tribute to women and found the idea too effeminate or womanly to their liking. It is essential to state that Mother’s Day was couched in terms of femininity.
In 1914, President Woodrow Wilson called Mother’s Day a way to recognise “the tender, gentle army – the Mothers of America”. Men viewed the idea of Father’s Day like that of Mother’s Day, which was popular with flowers. For fathers, it did not have the same sentimental appeal. According to Lawrence R. Samuel, the author of American Fatherhood: A Cultural History, men had a different role in the family during the first half of the century. It was patriarchal, so they felt a special day to exalt fatherhood was a rather silly idea when it was mothers who were underappreciated. However, that sentiment changed over time for several reasons.
The first known Father’s Day service was held in Fairmont, West Virginia on July 5, 1908 after hundreds of men died in the worst mining accident in the United States’ history. According to information accessed on the new age media,  Grace Golden Clayton, the daughter of a dedicated minister proposed a service to honour all fathers, especially those who had died. However, the observance did not become an annual event and it was not promoted; very few people outside of the local area knew about it. Meanwhile, across the U.S. another woman was inspired and burdened to honour fathers. In 1909, Sonora Smart Dodd of Spokane, Washington was inspired by Anna Jarvis and the idea of Mother’s Day. Her father, William Jackson Smart, a farmer and Civil War Veteran, was also a single parent, who raised Sonora and her five brothers by himself, after his wife Ellen, died giving birth to their younger child in 1898. While attending a Mother’s Day Church Service in 1909, Sonora, then 27 years old, came up with the idea. Within a few months she had convinced the Spokane Ministerial Association and YMCA to set aside a Sunday in June to celebrate fathers. She proposed June 5, her father’s birthday, but the ministers chose the third Sunday in June so that they would have more time after Mother’s Day (the second Sunday in May) to prepare their sermons. Thus, on June 19, 1970, the first Father’s Day event commenced.
Sonora presented gifts to the physically challenged fathers, boys from YMCA, decorated their lapels with fresh cut roses (Red for living fathers, white for the dead fathers) and the city ministers devoted their homilies to fatherhood. Governments of independent nations and various Christian organisations in the world in consultation with stakeholders and members however, schedule the Father’s Day celebration on dates that vary from that of the Catholics’ stipulated 19th March and the United States’ third Sunday of June. Some Christian denominations, such as the General Council of Assemblies of God Nigeria, have since decades ago established the Men’s Day patterned after the Father’s Day. It has also earmarked  the second Sunday of September every year, to honour the roles of men and fathers in the building of society and as agents of socialisation and positive changes.
Consequently, last Sunday, September 11, 2022, the about 18,000 churches of Assemblies of God Nigeria with a population of over 2.4 million members marked their traditional Men’s Day with the theme, ‘Stand in the Gap’. The District Superintendent of Assemblies of God Nigeria, Rivers District, Rev. Dr Daddy Ibulubo, gave the biblical definition of a father as beyond mere headship of a family. According to Dr Ibulubo, a father is a carrier of God’s mandate concerning the family that consists of husband, wife and children in the nuclear setting, and stated that the roles of a father are, “to protect, provide for the family and discipline the child when necessary”. However, some Christians and religious leaders see a father from the perspective of the divine mandate on the man, to be the head as the first human to be created. From the biblical account of Abraham’s encounter with God, God attested to the spiritual credentials of Abraham as a man who is in control of his family and who will intentionally disciple his household on the laws and statutes of God.
This Abraham did. Not only to his immediate family but to the 318 servants and their families, he trained. This is the testimony of God concerning Abraham, “For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him and they shall keep the way of the LORD, to do Justice and Judgement, that the LORD may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him.” (Genesis 18:19) Today, the primordial sentiment that beclouded the noble idea of fatherhood has changed for the better. It is now innovative to celebrate the fathers who actually bear the brunt of the family upkeep and value orientation. The fatherhood or Father’s Day concept is no more viewed as a ‘feminine model’, with flowers. It is now a universal event of giving honour and recognition to men or fathers for their invaluable roles in family and societal development.
The change from the feministic view of Father’s Day is partly due to the way society has evolved. The modern roles of fathers have now changed so that mothers and fathers are seen as partners, each taking more responsibility within family life. Fathers are now seen as significant influences on children. We know from many studies what happens when a father figure is lacking in a family. In a sense today, Father’s Day helps to demonstrate the importance and value of fatherhood – and the gifts beyond material goods that a father bestows on his children and family. Today, Father’s Day concept is also christian denomination and Pastors’ affairs. Christians  now deem it necessary to celebrate their men, Pastors, Founders and Spiritual heads/leaders, who in their judgement have positively impacted their lives, society and the work of the Kingdom of God.
It is in this perspective that the Presbytery, Pastors and entire membership of the Rivers District of Assemblies of God Nigeria, rolled out the drums, in pomp and pageantry,  celebrated their spiritual father, District Superintendent and the administrative head of the unit, the Rev. Dr Daddy Ibulubo on his Diamond birthday Jubilee.
Speaking on the occasion, Bishop Daka of the Likemind Christian Centre, who extolled the leadership qualities of Dr Ibulubo said Ibulubo is a gifted father to the household of the Christian faith. He urged Christian faithful  to celebrate fathers and leaders while they still live.
For Barr Reginald Ukwuoma, a former Chairman of Etche Local Government Area and chairman of the occasion, the celebration of Dr Ibulubo, who is also a leader in the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN), Rivers State Chapter, could not have come at a more auspicious time, stating that the accolades bestowed on the celebrant were not out of place and commended him for his meritorious services to affect society positively.
In his goodwill message the General Superintendent of Assemblies of God Nigeria, the Rev. Pastor Ejikeme Ejim,  said of Dr Ibulubo, “You have been an outstanding vessel in His (God’s) hands; you piloted the affairs of the church in various leadership capacities over the years. You started from a local church, pastored and served meritoriously through the ranks until you became the Rivers District Superintendent. Rivers District has remained stable under your leadership, cooperating fully with the General Council of the Assemblies of God Nigeria”. To Rev. Isaac B. Ekookoh, Chairman of the Board of Governors, Pentecostal Theological Seminary, Eleme, Dr Ibulubo is not only “a man of God but a child of God pragmatically”. According to him, the celebrant’s “serving two tenures as the chairman of the Board was a result of his faithful and sincere leadership.”
In the view of Rev. Dr Gift Asuru, Ikwerre District Superintendent of Assemblies of God, Nigeria, Dr Ibulubo is “a great Icon, a Rare Gem”, who deserves to be celebrated.The Rev. Dr Isaac D. Abraham, Assistant District, Superintendent of Rivers District, Assemblies of God Nigeria eulogised the contributions of the Rev. Dr Ibulubo, whom he described as “Father”. The District Treasurer, Rev. Dr Samuel Onyegbu, was particularly endeared to the Dr Ibulubo by his (Ibulubo’s) “patience, honesty, integrity, transparency and trustworthiness”. In his contributions, a Presbyter in the Rivers District, the Rev. Wilcox Ubulom, celebrated the “quintessential and visionary peculiarity”, adding that the celebrant’s “life, messages, administrative prowess have transmogrified a lot of minds and lives and have given us transpicuous templates to follow”.
For Rev. Eli Amamina, and Rev. I. M. Braide ; presbyters, the life of Dr Ibulubo is “a legacy in service to the Lord Jesus Christ and the building of the Saints”. “You are a father, mentor, leader, administrator and a role model par excellence”, they said. A biographical book was published in honour of the administrative Father of Rivers District. In his comments on the book titled, “Daddy Ibulubo”, the author said the publication of the book was his modest way to celebrate and give flower to the father of the District to smell while he still lives, describing posthumous awards, encomiums, delicacies and funs as exercises in futility as the dead has no knowledge of what was done on  his behalf.
No doubt, celebrating Fathers who have distinguished themselves in the responsibilities of fatherhood to the family and society is an event worth holding and spending on every year to spur fathers who are the ‘bark’ breakers of domestic responsibilities, to do more and live more years. By now those caught in the web of celebrating the dead shall have seen the need to celebrate living legends, heroes and heroines for another milestone in life.

By: Igbiki Benibo