Today is a special day to remember the importance of that solid foundation and building block of all societies – the family. The United Nations in 1993, set aside the May 15 every year to focus the world’s attention on the families and their roles in ensuring social progress.

The theme for this year’s anniversary is: “Family-Oriented Policies for Sustainable Development: Towards the Second World Summit for Social Development”. The event, which will hold in Doha, Qatar on November 4-6, 2025, aims to consolidate on the momentum of the first Summit of 1995 in Copenhagen, Denmark. It is meant to achieve sustainable development, peace, security and social cohesion.

A family is primarily defined as a group of persons united by ties of marriage, blood or adoption. It is usually composed of spouses, parents, children and siblings. In Africa, the concept of extended families is very strong, though modernity and overpowering foreign influences have combined to weaken this fabric in many cases. In traditional Africa, the whole community often regarded itself as a form of family since everybody in the community lived according to a binding code of conduct.

High levels of development tend to loosen the bonds of family as individualism becomes stronger. Weaker family bonds conduce to inchoate social dynamics. Societies where people no longer feel bound by the common sense of right and wrong eventually becomes what Thomas Hobbes termed the “state of nature”, where you have “the war of every man against every man”. Existence becomes “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short”.

Restoration of the family’s place as the foundational strength of every society is very important. It must be a deliberate effort. To foster stronger families, free communication among members must be encouraged. Regular family meetings help reinforce bonds, discuss challenges and strengthen understanding.

Family members should be provided with educational resources, skills acquisition, financial literacy, parenting, conflict resolution and common approach to problem solving. It has also been scientifically proved that healthy family ties impact hugely on the mental health of its members which also extends to the larger society.

Family members should be encouraged to be their brother’s keepers, value family history and ethics and foster intergenerational connections.

To arrest the further erosion of family awareness in our society, governments at all levels should forge partnerships with the social advocacy groups and the media to advocate needed reforms refocusing on family values. We must strengthen the original African concept of family, particularly with regard to marriage and gender issues which have been bastardised in the modern Western cultures.

Male gender must be men and female gender women; and both are assigned at birth. Marriage and spousal relationship must be strictly between male and female. Say no to same-sex “marriage”.

If the family is right, the society will be all right.