Charity Nwakaudu
Abuja was on Saturday,the 21th of December 2019 painted red with people from different walks of life as the former Minister of State for FCT, Chuka Odom gave out his daughter Nkenna to Richard Ajuyah.
It is said that parents celebrate the day they welcome babies, but no amount of words could be used to describe the height of joy being expressed by parents while given out their children, especially daughters in marriage.
The wedding solemnization which was graced by numerous priests at the Saint Gabriel Chaplaincy,Durumi,Abuja, ranging from the former Archbishop of Abuja Catholic Archdiocese, Cardinal John Onaiyekan and the rest who admonished the couple to faithful to each other and also learn how to pray together, which is the only weapon for stable homes.
The wedding was taken to another dimension when the couple were made to dance with their parents. Odom while dancing with the daughter proved to the audience that an elder is never tired of what he knows how to do in his youthful age while Richard could not hold back his tears of joy while dancing with his mother and assured her of his undying love for her.
Father of the bride, Chuka Odom, who could not control his joy, urged the couple to continue with the love that brought them together, be faithful and committed to the marriage.
“I am very happy that my daughter is getting married today. So, I give God all the glory for making it possible for me to witness it. Marriage is a continuous exercise. To remain in it and enjoy it, they need to be faithful and committed to the marriage vows they have taken. I wish them all the best.”
Charles Ajuyah,the groom’s father in his remarks said he is very happy and urged the newly wedded to build their family on love and trust and also assured singles to be patient that God would grant them their disire.
He said :” I feel very joyful and this has added joy to the season and the family is blessed. I want them to adhere to the message and reading of today which were all centred on love , because with love they can overcome all.
“ For all the singles out there that are still praying and believing God for a day like this, I want to assure them that God will do it but they should live rightly and don’t destroy other people’s home.”
Mother of the bride lady Adamu Odom who was seen all over the place hugging,welcoming guests and making sure that things were done adequately said she is overwhelmed with joy knowing that they are pleasant children.
“I am so happy for them because they are pleasant kids and with their upbringing, especially my daughter,she watched me for years and seen what a happy home is all about. If she put all my teachings into practice,they will have a better home than mine. I wish them the best,” she said
The couple, Mr Richard and Mrs Nkenna Ajuyah in one voice appreciated God for making it possible for them to locate the love of their lives and promised to be committed and faithful to each other.
“We are so happy,it is the Lord’s doing and we are grateful. We shall be committed to the love that brought us together and we say thank you to everyone that contributed in making our day colourful.
However,the immediate past Archbishop of Abuja Catholic Archdiocese, Cardinal John Onaiyekan
said that to overcome the socioeconomic challenges being faced in Nigeria, the nation need to be fervent in their prayers and also adopt legitimate measures of survival.
He admonished the newly wedded not to allow the pleasant environment in which they were born into affect their marriage as most broken homes today is not originally caused by poverty.
He added that Nigeria can only get better again if Nigerians would learn to love and appreciate each other unconditionally.
He said: “I am happy for the new couple and wish them well in their new home. I have come to realize that the solution to socioeconomic vices in this country is prayers. There is high rate of divorce in our society today and that is scary and unhealthy for posterity. Most of the divorce we hear of, is basically not caused by poverty alone but a combination of that and inability of some youths to patiently seek the Face of God before and after wedding.
“Nigeria will get better again if we can fervently pray and show sincere love and care to one another. We need to extend our hands of fellowship to others,these ones celebrating today are fortunate but there are thousands of youths are out that are ready and reap for marriage but can not afford it because of the economic situation in Nigeria,my heart plead each time I remember it.”