In celebration Mother’s Day, Pride Nigeria (PN) met up with Motunrayo Oyamade (MO) founder of Wives and Mothers for a Quick Chat as she discuses motherhood and what inspired her highly successful platform.
PN: Thank you for granting us this interview. How would you describe yourself?
MO: It is my pleasure. I’m simple.
PN: That is an intriguing answer? Please define what you mean by “Simple”
MO: I am not a complicated person. I take life easy and I take life as it comes. I forgive easily, I don’t bear grudges. My circles are small. My friends are my sisters. Basically finding happiness in little things like a bowl of ice cream. Lol. I am a Christian and I take Jesus very seriously.
PN: Can you give us a brief history of your life’s trajectory so far – Where were you born, education and job history?
MO: I was born in Lagos, into a family of five girls; I’m the second of the five girls. I’m from a Christian home as well. My primary education was in Lagos -Tunyo Nursery and Primary School, I had my secondary education in Ogun state; Federal Government Girls College Shagamu. I finally concluded my education in the University of Lagos where I studied English. I have worked at Prima Garnet, an advert agency where I gathered some experience that has helped me build my platform. I have also worked with various event planners, because at some point I was into event planning and coordination.
PN: We are very much interested in your platform Wives and Mothers. What inspired you to set up this platform?
MO: My first child, Oluwadarasimi inspired Wives and Mothers. After I left Prima Garnet. I got married and had a baby girl. Which meant I did not have a job so I was bored and did not have friends. I had so many questions about motherhood because it was new to me.
Although I had my mum and mum-in-love that helped educate me about some basics about motherhood, I wanted to hear from young minds like me. I wanted to find out if I was the only one experiencing sleepless nights, tantrums, breastfeeding issues, weight gain, post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) – child bearing can sometimes be stressful, baby blues etc. So I created an Instagram page and the name “Wives and Mothers’’ easily came to mind as I was a bored wife and mother, lol.
When I officially started the platform, I easily gathered female audience because they easily resonated with the brand name. So I started with pictures of mother and child and other topics to spark up conversation and I realized that clearly, I am not alone.
PN: You used the term –“Mum-in-love” is this a way of saying “Mother-in-law”? Honestly this is a new one on me please explain.
MO: yeah she’s my mum-in-love because she treats me like her daughter. She is a mother figure to me. I’m married to her son and she has adopted me as her daughter-in-love. She is a nice person; she treats me well and also looks out for me. We all know the struggle some women face in the hands of their mother-in-law but mine shows me motherly love.
PN: What are the aims and objectives of Wives and Mothers? What steps are you taking to achieve these?
MO: Wives and Mothers have continued in her commitment in making sure her page aims at educating, empowering, inspiring and entertaining women about health related issues, cultural norms, domestic violence, motherhood experiences, weight loss transformation, knowing the pros and cons of child training for better development, lastly women breaking boundaries in career and businesses.
Thereby Wives and Mothers main purpose is helping mothers in their daily struggles and celebrating womanhood in every aspect of life. I created “Help a Mum Segment’’ where wives and mothers send in real life stories, mostly about motherhood and marital issues, to be posted for fellow wives and mothers to help and advise them.
PN: What is your assessment of the kind of impact Wives and Mothers is having on society?
MO: The platform has been of great impact to the society. I also help mothers in need both online and offline. I raise funds for struggling mums, mothers stranded in the hospital due to inability to pay hospital bills. We also plan a yearly event for struggling mums in slum areas of Lagos. This event happens during the festive period. It is called ‘Feed a Family Drive’. I solicit for donations through the platform; we get baby items and funds to buy food items for these mums. I believe if we can feed a mum, I am certainly feeding a family.
I also plan to extend the help to kids in slum areas. So on children’s day for this year, we will be visiting kids in Bariga to throw a children’s day party for them, basically to encourage them and make them feel/know that some people in the society care about their plight.
PN: You have your job cut out as a wife and mother and also making your platform successful – How do you make sure you have a handle on your work/life balance?
MO: Truth be told it has not been easy joggling the role of a wife, mother and a mumpreneur, which is why I can’t help but thank my support systems. My husband, maid, grand mums, sisters. They are always there to help me relieve some of the stress. It really takes a village. With their help I am able to indulge in self-care routine. You can’t pour from an empty cup. My physical and mental health is very important for my family.
PN: Do you have any key advice you usually give young wives and mothers who are just starting out on this aspect of their life?
MO: Being a wife and mother is a new phase of every woman’s life. So take one day at a time, know what works for you in terms of motherhood. Don’t compare your marriage or motherhood journey to another woman’s own. Once you feel overwhelmed it means you need a break, so take time to look after yourself you, both mentally and health wise. Your kids need you to stay happy and sane for them. I can go on and on.
PN: Thank you for taking time out to speak to us and good luck with your endevours.
MO: Thank you.