Source: Leadership
In the African cosmos, the man, as head of the family is, expected to lead, provide for and protect his family. This has been his role for millennia, until now. With the passing of time in an era many consider the post-modern age, men are increasingly giving up this role to their wives. Although the prevailing norm still says that a man should be the family's

breadwinner, it is no longer unusual today to find a woman doing just that, and on a job hitherto considered the exclusive preserve of the masculine sex.

Aside bearing and nurturing children, LEADERSHIP Weekend has discovered that women are now at the forefront of providing for their families in no small measures. For instance, in Kaduna, Plateau and Nasarawa states investigation by LEADERSHIP Weekend revealed that more and more women are now in firm control of the vast agricultural fields in the villages and small towns in these states. They cultivate, harvest and sell farm produce by themselves, even as they engage in other small-scale businesses.

A female butcher, Mrs Angela Dauda, who spoke with our correspondent in Kafanchan said she took to the profession because of her desire to make ends meet for her family. Her husband, a ginger trader who lost his farm produce in an inferno is having a hard time recovering from this setback.

The mother of four added: "As a mother, I felt that I can no longer wait for my husband to recover, so I have to go into this job to feed myself and family members. As you can see, many people come here to buy meat from me, and I am making my money. I have opened other businesses through this job," she said.

A woman who gave her name as Alice Wakum said the trend of men staying at home and leaving key responsibilities to their wives is a negative development in the north central states. "Because we are hardworking and resilient our male partners are becoming lazy these days," she observed. However, Wakum attributed the situation to the economy of rural areas, saying there are no opportunities for the men. According to her, most men are shying away from the traditional way of farming because farming is no longer attractive.

A social worker, James Bagudu, told LEADERSHIP Weekend that "it is embarrassing to leave the responsibility of family care to women. We as men should be ashamed of ourselves for allowing the situation to degenerate to the level that women are questioning whether we belong to same gender of men as found elsewhere," he said.

Bagudu stressed that the men must take up the challenge and fend for their families.
Mrs. Stella Audu, 32, a resident of Nasarawa Eggon in Nasarawa state told LEADERSHIP Weekend that she has been married for eight years but had to work hard to support her family.

"My husband is not a bad man but certainly his income is not enough to cater for my three children so I have to work hard to provide for them," the market woman said.

She added that many women like her had to come out and work as their husbands are not financially empowered to take full care of their families again. "If we don't work our families will starve, though it's not our responsibility to leave the house early in the morning to look for money for the family but when the situation does not smile at the men, we have to come in to assist," she stated.

Noting that many other women are in similar condition, Mrs. Audu she has been lucky as her husband has not taken to drinking and gambling, a dangerous dimension the situation has taken in some areas.

For Esther Barnabas, 36, a local fruit seller in the suburb of Akwanga, husbands who sit at home and leave their wives to fend for the family should be arrested by the government for "family abandonment."

Plateau State in general and its capital, Jos are surrounded by heavy rocks and stone of different sizes. Construction firms and other builders find these natural resources hardy for their business, especially as granites, and are always on the lookout for them. It requires a lot of physical energy to break the rocks into granites but among the stone crushers in Jos today are many women.

These manual stone crushers can be seen along Tudu Wada Ring road, Gada Biu Kabong, along Rayfield road and Zarmaganda, all in the state capital.
It is common to see these women along the road with big hammers in their hands breaking the stone into pieces and bagging them for prospective customers.

LEADERSHIP Weekend investigation revealed that many of the women that are into the stone crushing business are widows.
It was gathered that the reason these women take to stone-crushing is that one does not need large sum of money before venturing into the business, "more so when buyers trace you to your stand and buy from you."

Most of the women who were approached by our correspondent refuse to comment on the business. "The media people have been coming to interview us and take our photographs for their newspapers, yet our condition has not change, we decided not to speak again, they should allowed us be like these," one of them said.

Also, as one makes his way to Barkin Ladi, Mangu and Bokkos and Riyom local government councils you will see women 40 to 50 in numbers with hoes in their hand tilling the ground during raining season to plant maize, Irish potatoes, onion and cabbage in commercial quantity. Often times, these women form co-corporative society to further their business interest. This is also obtainable in other local governments in the state. They question that readily comes to mind when you see them is: where are their husbands and other men?

Speaking with LEADERSHIP Weekend a woman farmer in Gyel in Jos South local government of the state said she has no other source of lively hood except farming. She added she is the family's breadwinner.

A sociologist and chairman, Academic Staff Union of Universities, Nasarawa State University, Keffi, Dr. Theophilus Lagi, said the growing phenomenon of women being the sole breadwinner of the family has nothing to do with culture of the people in these states.

Lagi observed: "Our society is still patriarchal and men still dominate it and define the roles the two genders play. The basic factor responsible for the seeming role reversal today is the economy. The men have been playing their roles in the family alongside their wives but the recent downturn in the economy have forced many men to be jobless, giving up their traditional roles in the family to their wives."

A socio-political scientist based in Abuja, Dr. Usman Mohammed, argued that "the people of these states have a culture of tolerance for their women to go out to fend for their families. The women too have taken the matter of the family to be a life issue that has to be supported especially where there are children in the family."

However, Mohammed also blamed the economy for not given the men the opportunity to work and fend for their families, stressing that the high rate of unemployment in the country may have contributed to this.

He was of the opinion that the participation of women in these states has reduced the hardship their families would otherwise have faced if the women were confined to their homes, waiting for the men to provide the basic needs of the family.

• Nigeria