Hey Friends,

I am tempted to say "Shalom Shalom leaders". Haha! I'm such a Wild Woman and I love it. How are you and how are things going on your end? September has been a cruise. I've been submitting assignments, articulating visions, fighting distractions, and celebrating birthdays.

September is a pretty special month in the Okonkwo family now because we have 2 Birthday celebrants this month - Baby Nate and Daddy. My husband warned me at gunpoint not to post anything. Yup! He's weird like that. But we had fun at home and I was glad that I got to celebrate some of the most precious men in my life, especially my baby's first birthday. A whole year of God's goodness, favor, and grace in Motherhood. This is why Today's Newsletter is so dear to my heart. But first, let me tell you a brief story about my husband's mom.

My Warrior Mother-in-Law

Isaac grew up in a Christian home. He was a complete Jesus boy but as he grew up and entered into the world of business back then in Awka, he started backsliding. He wasn't into women but the guy could drink for Africa. As he started rolling with the big boys and fending for himself, He stopped going home as much but anytime he came to the house, his Mom would pray for him a lot, instruct him, and remind him of his heritage.

One day, he was out with his boys at a bar as usual and his mom called. He told him to come home and pray for Grandma. Isaac was like... "oooooh, this woman should free me now. How can someone drinking heavily in a bar be leading prayers". As he was still contemplating, he heard a voice in his spirit saying, “ It's in my name. Walk before me and be perfect". Then he just got the conviction to go home for the prayers.

He told me how passionately he prayed that night and as he went to bed, he had a dream. He saw himself with a Cutlass killing these snake-like creatures in the compound like a Chinese Kungfu fighter.

In the following months, things opened up and his uncle built the first-storey building in their family compound. He strongly believes those prayers played a crucial role in that feat and kickstarted the end of his backsliding phase. What a powerful testimony right? And we give God all the praise but we both know that the real MVP here is his Mother.

I thought to myself, ‘What was going on in her mind? How did she come to know that My husband, Issac, was the one to specifically lead the family prayers?’ The short answer is Discernment. And that's an attribute of a warrior mother.

 Mohbad's Mother vs. The Òsómàáló Mother

If you're Nigerian or even African, you must have heard about the sudden demise of a rising Afrobeats star Ilerioluwa Oladimeji Aloba aka Mohbad on September 12. His death has caused a stir, heated debates, and outrage on social media that led to a few protests and a trending hashtag, #justiceformohbad because of the claim that he was bullied in the music industry. Many people believe he was murdered and their ongoing police investigations happening now.

One of the general allegations amidst all the mystery surrounding his death is that the late singer's mother abandoned him and his sister for 15 years and her absence during his formative years is a contributing factor to the many troubles that eventually led to his demise. We don't know the full story yet but we can’t deny the truth when we see it. When the office of the mother is vacant, there is always a consequence. I’ve written a bit about the role and office of the mother in my book, The Birthing, and in a previous newsletter. Click here to read the newsletter.

The more we abdicate and undervalue the importance of our mothers, the more we'll see "murder" happening in that sense. Human beings are not the only objects of murder. Towns, villages, industries, and systems can be ‘murdered’. There are unlawful premeditated killings of all kinds going on in certain spheres for decades and nothing is being done about it. It took Mohbad's death for us to see the depth of rot, cultism, and bullying happening in the music industry. It doesn't have to be so.

As I wrote this newsletter, this Yoruba word Òsómàáló, kept coming to me. Òsómàáló is a contraction of a Yoruba expression which means ‘I will stay squatting here until I am paid". It's a phrase used in the past for the Ijeshas, who were notorious for using force to collect their money from debtors.

I believe that that is the posture mothers have to take in the world that we live in today. It's a warrior stance, a mother-hen attitude that we all have to imbibe, not just for our children but for friends, families, people, systems, problems, towns, industries, cities, and Nations. Like my sister, Enifome wrote on her Instagram, we must all step into our roles as mothers, fighting, defending, and protecting our children. We MUST become warrior mothers for our children and it doesn’t have to stop there. Murder will continue in its varied forms and expressions until a mother rises. Murder was happening on a regular in the pharmaceutical industry until a warrior mother rose up in NAFDAC in the person of Dora Akunyili. She waged war against fake and counterfeit drugs that saw a complete shift in that industry and many lives saved.

Dear sisters, we must become visionary, warrior mothers who will deploy all the spiritual, intellectual, and financial, resources at our disposal to insist on what is right. We must become the women who say "No, I will stay here until.... Justice is served, healing happens, the economy is better, I see change, he returns the money, the baby comes, she gets up from the coma, they are employed, the hospital is built, the road is completed, etc.

It's a posture of warfare and responsibility and we must all rise up to the occasion

How Visionary Mothers Wage War

I know you may be asking, ‘Ugonne, what do I do now? Where do I start from?’ Let me leave you with a few suggestions.

• With your knees - Life is first spiritual so you must start from the spirit. You don't go about anything in the flesh. Know God for yourself. Understand how he speaks to you and let him lead you into your own foremost fight.

• With your vision - Catch a compelling vision for your life. This one has a cascading effect on everything. There must be something bigger than you burning in your heart. Go for it.

• With your mind - Sharpen those skills, strive for excellence, and be so good you can't be ignored.

• With your children - Pay closer attention and prioritize the children God has given you. Raise them as arrows for the Lord.

• With yourself - Invest in yourself. Invest in your personal development. become the woman of your dreams and a trained warrior for the Lord in that sphere of influence that God has sent you to.

• With a cause - Whether big or small, decide on a conscious change-making project. Insist that an evil or something wrong you've seen around you repeatedly must stop.

And if you're not a mom yet, this is a perfect opportunity to practice true motherhood. The office of the mother is about responsibility. We don't know how many biological children Deborah in the bible had, but it was until she ‘arose a mother in Israel that deliverance came’ (Judges 5). She took responsibility for Israel as a nation like a mother will care for her children. These things are recorded for our learning. You can do the same. We can all do the same today.

I'm going to leave you with the videos I've made in the past about my motherhood journey on my YouTube channel. Click on the button below to enjoy.

A SNEAK PEEK INTO MY MIND

💃❤𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙄'𝙢 𝙨𝙪𝙥𝙚𝙧 𝙚𝙭𝙘𝙞𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩

Me Time Experience For Moms. If I’m in Nigeria in November, this is where you; ‘ll find me! I deserve this treat that my soul sister is putting together for moms and I think you do too. If you can please, treat yourself to this luxurious 2-Day Rest Retreat, exclusively designed for deserving moms like you! You’ve worked hard this year. It’s time to be a baby girl. Click here for more details or reach out to Coach T on Instagram

🎤🎼 𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙄'𝙢 𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤

Bowl of Fire. Kai Lawrence Oyor is DEEP! I love deep. I want deep. I am deep. because my daddy has fashioned me so. If you want to pray in the spirit and touch God, carry Uncle Lawrence along. Thank me later.

📺📺 𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙄'𝙢 𝙬𝙖𝙩𝙘𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜

Visa on arrival. A web series I use to relax on YouTube. It’s really funny. I loveeeee Taymesan, Bovi and that my spirikoko sister, Charity. Hilarious bunch!

🙇🙌 𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙄 𝙖𝙢 𝙜𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙛𝙪𝙡 𝙛𝙤𝙧

Revived Friendships.   I spoke to a sister I love so much yesterday after what felt like a decade and I was just so grateful to God for healing. Ahh! Thank you, Lord, for testimonies, revivals, and the gift of restoration!

Before I go, I want to a huge ‘Thank you’ to you for taking out time to read my newsletters. If you enjoyed this one, please share it with someone you know and encourage them to subscribe. It will mean the world to me. I hope to reach 5,000 women with the message of “birthing, vision, motherhood, kingdom, building & partnering with God” and this is how you can help me reach my goal. What a testimony it will be to see more women growing, changing, running with a compelling vision, and living their best lives! Will you do that for me? God bless you as you do!

Did you enjoy this newsletter? Do 𝘸𝘦 have anything in common? Feel free to leave your thoughts, questions, and suggestions in the comment section on the web version

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