\nVenerable Tiwatope Elias-Fatile, the Vicar of St. Matthew’s Anglican Church, Maitama, Abuja, has advised couples to always show respect to each other to enable them to stay in peace always.<\/p>\n
Elias-Fatile gave the advice in a homily at a Thanksgiving Service to mark the 50th wedding anniversary of Prof. Jerry Gana and his wife, Lucy.<\/p>\n
Gana was a Minister of Information and a former presidential aspirant in the build up to the 2023 general election.<\/p>\n
He said that many marriages collapsed because the husband and the wife failed to respect each other.<\/p>\n
‘Husband and wife must respect each other; there is no marriage without challenges, but how you navigate those challenges determines how it survives.’<\/p>\n
The cleric said that the celebrants had survived their challenges because of the strategy of ‘respect’ for each other.<\/p>\n
Elias-Fatile went down memory lane to narrate how Prof. Gana met his wife and urged Nigerians to always put God first in all they do including marriages.<\/p>\n
‘Their family is an enviable Christian hom
\ne, worthy of emulation; they are best of friends and respects each other,’ he added.<\/p>\n
Former Military Head of State, retired Gen. Yakubu Gowon, described the couple as ‘excellent match.”<\/p>\n
Gowon said that the couple had been good in whatever they did.<\/p>\n
‘And that means that couples should emulate them and do excellently in whatever they do,’ Gowon said.<\/p>\n
Dr Ike Neliaku, who is a friend to celebrants, said that the love between the couple was exceptional, as there had not been any scandal whatsoever in the 50 years of their marriage.<\/p>\n
‘It is remarkable for someone to be married for 50 years without issues and no scandal; it demonstrates the character of the man and the wife; this is the model of what marriage should be.<\/p>\n
‘It means that we still have men and women of honour who understands marriage as a sacred institution that should be held very strongly.<\/p>\n
‘It is very important for men to marry their wives, likewise for women to marry their husbands; you don’t just see anybody and because of one minute love, yo
\nu declare yourselves compatible as husband and wife.<\/p>\n
‘It is not always easy for any man who has not married his wife; it is important for young people to be sure before they take that leap.<\/p>\n
‘This is where counsel and guidance from those who are experienced come in handy, and more importantly, you cannot have a successful marriage outside of God. God is central to every successful marriage,’ he said.<\/p>\n
Neliaku, who is the President of Nigeria Institute of Public Relations (NIPR), also advised couples, especially the young ones, to always respect each other rather than adopting tolerance.<\/p>\n
‘When you tolerate someone, it means you’re managing, but when it is respect, there is something deep in you that will make you to respect that person,’ he said.<\/p>\n
In his remarks, Gana described his wife as an embodiment of beauty and respect.<\/p>\n
According to Gana, his wife is gentle, kind and forgiving.<\/p>\n
‘If she has not been forgiving me, this marriage would have been ruined long time ago, but she is so gracious, loving, kind,
\ngentle and forgiving.<\/p>\n
‘She is also a prayer warrior. She prays for me always so that I will succeed; she is always praying for me and the children and God answers her prayers.<\/p>\n
‘That is why I appreciate her tremendously and if I am to marry a thousand times again, I will marry this lady.”<\/p>\n
He urged young couples to be patient with one another to make their marriages last long.<\/p>\n
‘The young people are too impatient; before you know it, they are going for divorce.<\/p>\n
‘This is our 50 years; and gives us another 50 years, we will still be happy together because we are patient.<\/p>\n
‘Every little thing the young people want to scatter their marriage; life is not like that; again, tomorrow is greater, so don’t ruin your today because tomorrow is greater,’ he said.<\/p>\n
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that former Governor of Adamawa, Mr Boni Haruna, and some lawmakers were among dignitaries, family and friends that graced the occasion.<\/p>\n
Source: News Agency of Nigeria<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Venerable Tiwatope Elias-Fatile, the Vicar of St. Matthew’s Anglican Church, Maitama, Abuja, has advised couples to always show respect to each other to enable them to stay in peace always.<\/p>\n
Elias-Fatile gave the advice in a homily at a Thanksgiving S…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n