Panorama-Blaze

Sweet Mother: Music by Prince Nico Mbarga

When your mother, not only the biological one, but any other strong woman in your life stands up for you and makes sure your comfort is always intact, you know she is spectacular. When you see this amazing woman not only handling family but also managing her career, friends and other social issues whether directly or indirectly in your community, you cannot help but agree with the Nigerian/Cameroonian singer Prince Nico Mbarga's Sweet Mother.

Every mother's day, I am reminded of this song Mbarga sang with his band Rocafil Jazz, which was first released in 1976. This song is sometimes refered to as "Africa's anthem." It basically celebrates motherhood by summarizing the everyday little things mothers do for their children. The suffering they go through, make up the many things they do to contribute to our everyday well being.

This West African highlife, sang in Nigerian Pidgin English, with a touch of Congolese Soukous-style guitar remains one of most popular songs in Africa and the world in its entirety. With this song, I salute my own mother, all mothers in my life, and mothers everywhere in the wold. They are a real blessing to humanity. Where would we all be without our mothers? We would actually not have birthdays to celebrate without them, or would we?