Former beauty queen Helen Prest-Ajayi on Sunday joined in celebrating Nigerian mothers on Mothering Sunday.
The 61-year-old shared a photo of her mother Ella Prest, 85, on Instagram and made a list of the strengths of the Nigerian mother.
She said: “This #mothersday I salute #naijamums all over the world. They are a special breed. A Naija mum is a hardworking, prayerful visionary whose ambition for herself, her children and family far exceeds her humble origins. One wonders where she gets the courage to dream big. Certainly not from her environment or education.
“A Naija mum never takes no for an answer. She believes everything is possible and puts energy behind that belief. A Naija mum has many tools of persuasion up her sleeve. She is wily in her tactics, tongue lashing you into teary eyed submission in a second, then taking a 360 degree turn and becoming ever so soft and charming or she can be wild eyed and craaazy should the situation call for it.”
About her mother, she said: “My mother Mrs Ella Prest at 85 years old is a quintessential Naija mum. After a successful career as a banker, rising up to senior management level with only a standard 6 education, fed up with the stigma of not possessing a degree, she sat for WAEC, went to university at the age of 50 and bagged a degree in Political Science. That is a Naija mum!”
Prest-Ajayi buried her husband Tosin Ajayi last month after a protracted legal battle with her husband’s other wife and children.
In the Instagram post, she said the biggest compliments her daughter Tomisin ever gave her upon the shock of losing her father and the ensuing drama “was when she hugged me teary eyed and said, ‘Mama, I’m so happy you are a Naija mum, if you were one stupid ‘aje butter’ mum Daddy and I would have been finished.'”
