Once upon a time in a part of Lagos called Ikeja, there lived a teenage boy called Ifendu. He was the only son in a family of six, but he was constantly angry because he never for once got accorded the privileges he felt were deserving of him as the only son. His mother ensured to share the house chores equally between him and his sister. There was a well-prepared Timetable which was placed beside the fridge and which everyone adhered to. The Timetable indicated which child had which day to either sweep, do the dashes, feed the dogs, wash the car and all such tasks. Meanwhile, each time Ifendu heard his friends talking about how their sisters did all the chores at home, he would return home complaining to his parents as to why he should be doing any house chores. He was a boy after all, he’d say. But his mother would only ignore him and force him to do the chores after all.
And then one particular night after the boy had just grudgingly finished washing the plates and was about to chat with his crush Cynthia a little before going to bed, his mother told him to sweep her room.
“But mummy it is not my turn to sweep” Ifendu protested immediately.
“I know. Still you have to sweep it for me, dear” the mother told him.
“But mummy I am tired. I have just finished washing the plate-“
“Ifendu my darling son, sweep the room for your mother” the woman said. “There is no light and the weather is hot. So I want to lie on the floor. So sweep it very well.”
“Why can’t Chichi sweep it? Why must I even be doing all these chores that are supposed to be done by girls?” Ifendu kept protesting as he sat still.
“Chichi is helping me loosen my braids as you can see. Your other sisters are already asleep. Moreover, you should know by now that in my house there is no such thing as tasks for boys and tasks for girls. I do not believe that the male child should sit down, fold their legs and watch their sisters do all the jobs around the house…”
Ifendu grudgingly stood up, and then angrily went to grab the broom and the packer. All these while, his elder sister Chichi just observed, smiling mischievously and waiting for the right time to contribute to the drama. The boy then hurriedly swept the room, literarily slapping the broom on the floor to make the loudest noise while murmuring about how he would really complain to his father once the man returned from his trip. Before long he was done sweeping. And as he stormed out of the room passing his mother and Chichi in the sitting room, the mischievous girl flashed her torch first on Ifendu’s face to see how angry he was and rejoice in it, and then at the packer.
“Ahn-ahn… Where is the dirt you swept out?” Chichi asked.
“You better mind yourself right now!” Ifendu growled at her. But she only laughed at him as she turned to his mother.
“But mum, he didn’t sweep the room very well o. There is no single dirt in the packer. Is that how you asked him to sweep it?”
“Are you serious? Oya let me see the packer!” The mother said just as Chichi flashed the torch on the packer again. “Why na, Ify my son. Shebi I told you I will be lying on the floor just like that… Do you want your own mother to be lying on sand? Why don’t you like doing anything at all in the house? Don’t you want to be responsible in your life? Oya go back to that room and sweep it again. When you are done sweeping it, mop it too!”
“But why?” Ifendu asked as he stood there, enveloped by anger at his sister and self-pity for himself. He would later do exactly as he had been instructed.
*What do you think of this story? Should boys perform house chores? My answer is YES. If you agree with me, please comment. If you disagree, kindly give your reasons as to why.
