The Plight of Single African Mothers in the US
By Victor Massaquoi

The statistics are grim. The news is appalling. The problem is worsening. After the separation or loss of the husbands or fiancés or boyfriends, single-mothers, the world over, are struggling to fend for their children, maintain discipline and imbue positive social values in them. According to author and doctoral student, at the Ohio State School of Social Work, Sylvester Lamin, “single-parenting is devastatingly widespread among blacks, and surprisingly, 30% of African women who migrate to the US have joined the bandwagon.” Single-motherhood is one of the leading social problems in modern America; this cuts across all races; the problem is now invading African students in college campuses” Lamin observed.

Pastor E. Yakawa, one of the elders at Grace for the Nations International, an African church that promotes the institution of marriage among African families living in the United States, says 52% of African marriages in African communities in the United States end before their first anniversary, while four in ten African women live alone, and three in ten are single-mothers; “even our school children are affected” Yakawa said. This is shocking, because the African tradition have very little, if any at all, room for single-parenting and divorce. African men are raised to provide and protect their women and children, but this is changing.

Pastor Yakawa says these disturbing figures are underpinned by many factors, including (1) financial difficulty, particularly among low-middle class and poor Africans. Couples tie the knots too early in their relationships, only to file for divorce six months or a year later because of financial hiccups; (2) infidelity, the immoral or disloyal behavior by both male and female of which women are mostly the victims; (3) high black male incarceration-the prisons are full of black men, pastor Yakawa said, guilty or not, and sadly, Africans too; (4) frequent and long business trips-men travel more than women as a result of jobs or other engagements, thereby affecting the cohesiveness of the family unit; (5) military service-men respond more to national duty than women, the Iraq situation is a classic example, this affects black and Africa families; there are many African males serving the US Military; and (6) death-although death is inevitable for humankind, men have a shorter life span than women.

In recent years, African mothers who migrated to the United States have been faced with the harsh reality of single-parenting, a phenomenon that is very uncommon in their countries of origin. A Columbus-based Sierra Leonean, Mariama Langley, a 40-year-old, college graduate and single-mother of two girls, lost her husband to cancer three years ago. She said, “living as a single-parent in Columbus comes with few positives, including self-reliance and determination to succeed, but fraught with many negatives, including being taken advantage of by men, inadequate time to respond to the social and economic needs of her children and the lack of respect from friends, relatives and the African community in Columbus, especially from those women who have husbands.” As a woman, living alone with children and without a man is a taboo in my country, she added.

A Ghanian, Mary Gbaya, a mother of three, works two jobs in the mental retardation/mental health field to make ends meet. She has little time for church and other social activities that are important to her children. Her husband (an East African, name and country withheld), is in jail in Europe for a criminal offence, leaving her with the unrelenting burden to care for three children.

Also a Namibian, Eve Zuanimba, age 35, a college graduate, a small business woman with two sons, used to live in Maryland, divorced her Kenyan husband late last year for two contrasting reasons (1) she caught her husband red-handed, pants down, cheating with another woman in a hotel room in an other state, and (2) Eve got even, by sleeping with the best friend of her husband. Catch the twist? This story is salacious yet sleazy!

Realistically, even with the presence of a father, a husband, or a man in the lives of women and children, things can be difficult; just imagine his absence! What can be done to address this problem is the million-dollar question that requires immediate answer to help single African and black mothers, especially those in colleges across the country.
To explore possible solutions, I conducted a convenient sample survey of four black single mothers in Columbus and came up with the following suggestions (1) socio-economic policies and family training should help prepare women to meet the challenges of modern problems, one being single-parenting; (2) the African/black community in the US must come up with innovative ways, including providing more formal education for black men, so that, they can have better jobs or engage in authentic financial enterprises, rather than engaging in other ulterior endeavors and (3) lastly, families must constantly instill acceptable norms and values in their children, by stressing the importance of marriage, love, hard work, the dynamics of human life and the need to be humble.

With the above, the potential for spousal abuse, cheating, incarceration, illiteracy and crimes would be drastically reduced, and children will be able to spend time with their fathers and mothers with their husbands, fiancés or boyfriends.

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When President Kabbah is no Longer the King of his Domain

By Victor A. Massaquoi, MSc. (Ph.D. student-communication studies)


Political pundits, philosophical thinkers and social scientists have always wondered what would happen to a retiring or former head of state or head of government (depending on the political system of a country), after he or she leaves the highest political office of a land. Based on how they leave office (some leave office by palace coup, others by the barrel of the gun, others in absolute disgrace, while others leave by constitutional proviso).

Many political observers have suggested that when heads of state or heads of government leave office, they engage in business with former cronies until death pays an unwelcome visit. Others say they would go on a long vacation to a different continent other than the one they come from for a much needed rest. Some believe that they would go to the village or town they come from and engage in farming, spending time with family members and re-acclimatizing to their former surrounding. Others believe that golfing (maybe with Tiger Woods), political activism, drinking beer, watching football, fiddling with young girls, acting as a source for political advice, and many other suggestions of how theses people would supposedly spend their last days continue to saturate recent political discourse.

Unfortunately, some do not have plans for retirement either because of the manner in which they become former head of state or head of government, or, because, the political culture (including the constitution) of a country does not make provision for its retiring or retired head of state or head of government. The situation with Mr. V. Strasser and Mr. M. Bio is complex and too difficult to explain. However, one can safely say that there are legal technicalities involve in executing the provisions in the Sierra Leone constitution that deal with benefits for retired head of state. Our present head of state, Tejan Kabbah, is in a different situation. He would get what the constitution provides.

In less than two years, he will (per constitutional provision) relinquish power to whoever divine destiny has chosen to run the ship of state. The questions ordinary Sierra Leoneans are asking are where would he go after his two term stint in office? What would he do to keep busy until the inevitable strikes? What would be his legacy when historians sit down to re-write the history of Sierra Leone? What is the perception of President Kabbah by ordinary Sierra Leoneans?

People who know President Kabbah tell me that he may retire in Kambia to pursue his passion-food production. If this is correct, then let the trumpet sound for the people of Sierra Leone. President Kabbah is a man who possesses incredible academic credential, wonderful social skills and other fine human qualities that would dazzle anybody, some of his friends have told me in New York. However, he is not a tough, rough, arm-twisting politician, like Siaka Stevens. President Kabbah is administrative in orientation yet lacks political management skills. But a friend of mine made an interesting observation while discussing the philosophical foundations for political communication in the 21st century, he said, if President Kabbah lacks political skills how come he has been in power for two terms, although with limited successes in the provision social and other basic necessities. Furthermore, he has a law degree, which means, in his preliminary studies at law school in London, he took classes in the different branches of law, including criminal law, political law, business law, international law and the like.

After that little distraction about the person of President Kabbah, the public would like to know, where President Kabbah would be retiring, what he would be doing and whether the country would continue to benefit from his international connections, his skills and support. President Clinton could not run for a third term because the constitution barred him from doing that. But he retired in Harlem, New York, where he is making huge community impact among people of all color, background and economic status. Maybe president Kabbah will be flying all over the world giving paid speeches/lectures. Or maybe, return to the bar and practice law. We may never know until he tells us when he hands over power to a successor in 2007. Indeed, the world is a stage; everyone comes, plays his or her part and disappears. For President Kabbah, we may never know.

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