A professor of Sociology from Morehouse College, Prof Cynthia Marie
Hewitt has called on all Africans both indigenes and Diasporas to revere
African Queen Mothers especially for their roles in ensuring good
governance in our societies.
Nana Ohemaas or queen mothers in Ghana
are on the front line in the struggle to provide social security,
education, enlightenment and opportunity to millions of rural and
indigenous language speaking people who are the social base of the
African society.
Speaking
at the first ever All African Diaspora Education Summit held at the
University of Cape Coast, Prof Hewitt mentioned among many things some
of the responsibilities and efforts the various queen mothers have put
in to ensure that we have a very strong African community.
She also
mentioned that in the chronicling of history and the African narrative
it is imperative that the strong figure behind the leader, his mother is
mentioned and acknowledged.
“It is very important that if we have a
leader, we also know the leaders mother. It is not only that we know the
leader’s teacher, the leader’s king or any other person, but most
importantly, the mother of the leader must be known. This is because she
had something to say about what would happen in the society and the
future of her child who now happens to be the leader”.
Highlighting
the essence and strong role Queen mothers play in our traditional
society, Prof Cynthia Hewitt made it known that it is the responsible of
the Queen mothers to groom the young King into a very resourceful
ruler, whom many admire for his leadership skills.
“Even today, we
can learn from the Nana Hemaa’s that they occupy the very topmost place
in grooming the Nana Ohene’s. As he ascends the throne, he is not
groomed by the men, he is groomed by the Queen mother, the Nana Ohemaa”
she indicated.
Unlike the privileges that most European Queens
benefit from, the African Queen mothers do not have same luxury. She
therefore explained that it is a very difficult work that is embedded in
a lot of responsibility looking that the very essential role they play
in the society.
“Some
people think to be a Queen, it is to be privileged. You wear fancy
clothes and you are treated like a princess. To be a Queen mother is to
take care of the society and to take on many responsibilities. So to be a
Queen mother it is not like something that is fanciful, but to be a
very responsible leader”.
The topic of governance and development in Africa today generally encompasses awareness of the destitution in many areas of Africa, and the manifest failure of societies to meet the basic needs of the people. Greater women’s participation in decision-making is frequently raised as important for development, reduction of corruption, and peace-making.
This is one of the projects the International Comparative Labor Studies (ICLS), Morehouse College and the African Digital Education and Work Collective (ADEW) is currently embarking on the programme dubbed Queen Mothers ( Nana Ahemaa) and Good Governance project.