Abi-Ishola Ayodeji with her two children. Photo sourced from Ayodeji’s Instagram.

Mother’s Day is always such a joyous occasion for everyone and this year we witnessed an outpouring of love on social media from many African writers celebrating Mother’s Day.

While some authors took to the occasion by posting photos of their beloved children, others spent the time commemorating the love and respect they had for their mothers. See our favorite Instagram posts below:

Nigerian-American writer Abi-Ishola Ayodeji, author of Patience is a Subtle Thief, posted a beautiful photo of herself with her two children donned in baby pink attire. Her caption was simple, “My two”, with two brown hearts.

 

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A post shared by Abi Ishola-Ayodeji (@aishola)

Ghanaian-British poet and writer Nii Ayikwei Parkes, best known for Tail of the Blue Bird and The Makings of You, posted some adorable photos of himself with his mother as an adult and as a young child. His caption takes the form of a short poem as he celebrates how far he has traveled with his mother in his life and shares some inside jokes:

SOUTH to SOUF

Thornton Heath –> New Cross
Don’t ask me why my mama’s so fly
and I’ll tell you no beautiful lies…
Happy #Ghana Mother’s Day to the G, the never tested, the Adabraka BS breaker, the never under threat ZeeeeMama!!

#Accra Mother, #London Nurse, #Global grandmother

Ghanaian-American doctor and writer of On Rotation Shirlene Obuobi shared a couple of panels from her graphic novel where the main character received emotional support from her mother. The book was inspired by her own life. Obuobi remarks in the caption:

Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms out there, but especially to @obuobialice, the original Dr. Obuobi and my biggest inspiration. No matter how old I get, I’m always gonna come crying to you about something or another. Love you, momma.

 

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A post shared by Shirlene Obuobi, MD (@shirlywhirlmd)

Nigerian-American writer of Africanfuturist fiction Nnedi Okorafor also decided to celebrate her mother with a sweet photo of her dancing. She says in the caption: Happy Mother’s Day to my brilliant and powerful mother Dr. Helen Ijeoma Okorafor. I have too much to say today, so I will just leave it at that for now.”

 

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A post shared by Nnedi (@nnediokorafor)

Nigerian author Chika Unigwe who recently published her book The Middle Daughter celebrated Mother’s Day on social media in an unconventional way. She posted a photo of herself with her niece and said, “If I had a daughter, she’d look like D. Grateful for my sons, grateful for all the other children who have come into my life. Grateful for my Mothers Day cake :)”

We love Unigwe’s sweet gesture to involve her extended family as well.

 

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A post shared by Chika Unigwe (@chikaunigweauthor)

Liberian author Hawa Jande Golakai, known for The Score and Lazarus Effect, took the time to celebrate her young son in a sweet post that goes over his pros and cons. Read the caption below:

Courses completed so far with First Class Distinction:
* loving, affectionate & hilarious
* imagination, intelligence and energy
* daredevil
* cutest person to ever exist
* SO NOISY asking every question under the sun
* giving me free cheek
* charming strangers everywhere you go
* chasing every living creature till you catch it

Course passed with Honours but too much wahala:
* bringing things when asked
* doing things on time
* eating your food & AND MINE without asking
* smartassery & keeping quiet when you’re told to keep quiet

Courses failed:
* being patient
* understanding failure
* not screaming when talking to somebody 2cm from your face

Exemplary Emeritus Thief Of My Heart. You truly are my child.

Kenyan-Mexican actress and writer of children’s picture book Sulwe Lupita Nyong’o celebrated her mother in a sweet post featuring a special Mother’s Day song written by her brother Junior Nyong’o and sang by the two of them. The song goes, “Mummy, Mummy, we love you…A sister, mother, a wife and friend. A special soul, you are heaven sent.”

 

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A post shared by Lupita Nyong’o (@lupitanyongo)

South African graphic designer and illustrator David Tshabalala posted an interview of himself where he dedicated his artistic skill to his mother’s motivation. He shared in the caption:

Painfully shy as a child, with an awful stutter and speech impediment, crayons and a blank piece of paper was my outlet to freely express myself. Mom saw it first, took me to speech therapy and told the teachers: “art is his thing, make it work” Hi Mom, I think it’s sort of working out.

Ghanaian author Ayesha Harruna Attah, known for Zainab Takes New York and The Deep Blue Between, shared a heartfelt post about her late mother. In the caption, she admits that celebrating Mother’s Day is difficult for her and for all those who are left with this tragic loss. She says simply, “This one was hard… so I posted a day late. Happy heavenly Mother’s Day.”

 

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A post shared by Ayesha Harruna Attah (@ayeshahattah)

Kenyan-American poet, author, and scholar Mukoma wa Ngugi, who recently published his poetry collection Logotherapy, shared a poem from his collection to celebrate his late mother. He says:

I wrote this poem, Welcoming Mortality Home” for my late mother, Nyambura, in 2001 while an MA student at BU. One of my daughter’s friends visiting Nyambura (her namesake) just asked me if I have called Mami. This poem is the only phone call I have. Mami, Happy Mother’s Day!

 

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A post shared by Mukoma Wa Ngugi (@mukomangugi)

Nigerian writer and linguist Kola Tubosun, known for Igba Ewe, took the time to celebrate his wife and children by posting a sweet and candid photo of them on his personal Facebook account.

Overall, we love the cute and celebratory Mother’s Day vibes going around social media this year. Props to African writes for taking the time to acknowledge the important relationships in their lives!