Even animals have it!

A protective father would always be ready to expend his strength for the wellbeing of his family perchance; they will grow up to be the unit he would be proud of. This protectiveness is a branch of dedication to the family unit which comes with real love and passion. One can only be committed to what he or she holds dear. How ready are fathers to protect their family members against all odds?

Even though there are still a number of fathers who exemplify this role all over the world, however they seem fewer in Africa. Here, most fathers are shamelessly shifting crucial roles to women and exerting authority where it is of no consequence. One wonders whether this is due to detachment, sheer coldness or irresponsibility.

If any reader finds these statements as affront, it is okay. Some incidents provoked this and they are linked to fatality.

The first involved a family of nine; it was during the fuel scarcity days. A fire broke out at about midnight when the father and his bus conductor were trying to fuel his commercial bus using a kerosene lamp as their source of light.

In the panic that ensued, the bus conductor ran out through the gate. The father ran to the fence and jumped. Confused, the mother, locked inside the room with her seven children, broke her window situated on the opposite side of the house and threw six children out of the window before she also jumped out aided by neigbours.

Unknown to her, her three-year-old youngest son had run into the compound after his father who was then trying to jump over the fence. Unfortunately, the father could not stop to save the boy due to panic. And anyway, he was destined to die that way. He was thankful that his wife had rescued six of the children.

The second incident involved another father of five. These men will shower their families with food, good clothing, beautiful abode, standard education and all but when it comes to real test of character and sacrifice, they falter.

The father of five in the middle of the night heard commotion from the other rooms in the flat and smelt smoke. He immediately got the jitters and broke out through the next exit in his bedroom ceiling. It was after he had escaped from the building that he screamed out for help. None of those on rescue mission could break into the house, his wife and children were burnt to death.

The third one happened in a road accident. The father was the one driving. With the rapidity of an explosion, the car they were driving in went up in flames. Within the blink of an eye the parents in the car’s front seats broke out of the car. But while the father aimed for the bush and landed there safely, the mother ran to the back seat and rescued their four-year-old child with whom they were travelling. The girl sustained slight burns while the mother, whose clothe went ablaze as a result of the rescue mission, sustained severe burns, yet cuddled the girl to safety.

Need I stop here or go ahead with the story of an armed robber who tried to rape a wife in the presence of her husband? The robber, with his machete, ordered the husband to lie still while he raped the wife. The man without hesitation laid still, face down and remained motionless as the wife helplessly pleaded for mercy. But as the robber began to unzip his pants, the wife sprang swiftly, got hold of his balls and squeezed them real hard until the robber fell down screaming. She quickly grabbed the machete and ordered the frightened husband to either slash the robber’s head or she will be forced to do so herself. His screaming attracted his gang members spread in other rooms. They returned, saw him rolling on the ground, shot him and dragged his body away with them. And that was the end of the robbery.

Need I narrate more, or should I just stop here? No one is denying the fact that women are blessed with more compassion than men, however the afore mentioned women’s bravery came more instinctively as a result of love and fear of losing their beloved ones than due to compassion. This kind of instinctive show of love does not manifest when one does not feel deeply attached to a cause. This attachment is what the father as the leader of the family should have, especially since nature has blessed him with physical strength. After all, it was him that willingly chose to start a family, why would he allow himself to feel cut off from them for any reason? If ants can have the wisdom to protect their colony’s queen from harm, why wouldn’t men do better? Indeed, there is a lesson in the lives of eagles, ostriches and even the bees for men to learn. Make your family profit from your emotional attachment to them.