Toke Makinwa has reacted to an interview granted by Anthony Joshua in which the boxer spoke of how he will raise his son, Joseph and his niece. The current World Heavyweight Boxing Champion spoke of how he will raise Joseph to become whatever he wants to become while his niece will be brought up to be a good wife.

His words:

”I don’t think I’m that strict with Joseph, I don’t know why. But with my niece I’m strict. I think it is because she is older, but also he’s a boy – he’s going to be a man’s man, he’ll want to spread his wings, be a Jack-the-lad, build his character. But I am sure there are things I will be strict about. But with my niece, there is none of that Jack-the-lad nonsense for her! My view is you have to be a good woman, respectful, one day you will be someone’s wife, you have to learn family morals… what it is to be a good woman”.

Reacting to the comment by Anthony Joshua, Toke Makinwa joined those who are of the opinion that his stance was misogynistic.

”Reading up on the Anthony Joshua statement saddens me but it’s not an AJ problem guys, we are the products of our society and we are all guilty. Spiritually it’s a woman’s job too. Ahn ahn… I once heard a grown ass man say his mum prays or is a prayer warrior and he expects his wife to continue to cover him in prayers, why can’t he carry the burden spiritually too? #Amnotunderstanding. We say “let’s boys be boys” but we can’t handle the reality of who they become! This must stop, we all have a part to play. Too many seminars, groups, panels for women and who raises the men? From time this has been happening and the earliest we realize it does no one any good the better. The next time you want to permit your son, nephew etc to not take part in home chores in the name of “he is a man”, look around you and have a rethink. Raise children. Boy/girl to be accountable period. Not one sex gets a pass, less seminars/panels for women, involve the men too. No be today it start, especially in Nigerian/African homes, we put so much pressure on the girl child and give our boys the pass on almost everything. Look around you, it’s killing them more than helping them. Let boys cry, stop saying “don’t you know you are a man”, they start to feel it’s a shameful thing to show emotions, stop teasing little boys about how many girlfriends they have in school, stop it. You plant seeds without knowing it. My brother n I started living together recently and I realized how much I enable him without even realizing it. Yet I have high expectations from guys I date. We are all guilty, it’s time we start to have these conversations. As a female you condone your brothers keeping many girlfriends yet you want to cry wolf when another man does it to you, we let it slide when it is family, we need to do better”.