Tuesday, December 19, 2023, was a significant day in the life of Pastor Paul Onaibu Akhalu, as his first son, Timothy, married his heartthrob, Victory Abakasanga, in Lagos.
It was a cross-country marriage, as the bridegroom hails from Edo State, while his wife hails from Akwa Ibom State.
The wedding reception, which held at Brava Event Centre in Ogba Area of Lagos, was full of entertainment and fun.
The traditional dance troupe from Akwa Ibom State treated guests to a taste of traditional music, which was well appreciated by the guests, drawn from Nigeria and outside the country.
The father of the groom, Pastor Akhalu said the day remains a day of joy for him.
He enthused, “I am elated because my first son, seeing him getting married brings joy to me.”
He admonished the couple to be patient, saying they should know that marriage is not a bed of roses.
He added, “So, endurance, love and oneness are what keep the marriage going. There are marriages that go short times, there are marriages that go long time, so they need to be careful and pray fervently.
“They should also know that the most important thing in marriage is understanding and unity.”
On the cross marriage between his child and an indigene of Akwa Ibom State, Akhalu said, “Perhaps, my son is taken after me.
“If we are talking of cross-cultural marriage, myself, I have been involved in cross-cultural marriage; my wife is from Abia State and I am from Edo State. It brings unity to the country too. If I know my wife is from a place, I will not want to do something bad to anybody from that state. Such marriages brings us together as a country.”
Akhalu also called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to strive to bring unity to the country.
He averred, “We have not learnt any lesson when you look at the Nigerian politics. I believe that during the last election, though I have not been involved in politics, many Nigerians from the United States and all over the world were packing their bags and baggages to come down, because they thought we were going to have a good election. But when it went the other way round, everybody was disappointed.
“However, election has comes and gone. It is better for Nigeria elites to always strive to ensure that they put Nigeria at the centre of whatever they are doing.
“All over the world Nigerians are making impacts, anywhere you go, you see Nigerians . For example in the state where I live in the United States, before you count ten people, Nigerian must be there. In any group, if Nigeria is not there, the group is not complete. Somebody once told me that anywhere you go in the world, if you see any black person, he must be a Nigerian and I think that is true. We have some Nigerians who are doing well as lawyers, medical doctors and so on abroad. Why can’t they be encouraged to come back home to come and help in doing their best for our country?
“But the only problem we have is that they cannot come home because the political space is unsettled. The insecurity is on the high side and they are scared to come home. I will call on the President to unite the country together. So we should do away with ethnic sentiment, it won’t help us.”
Also speaking, the groom, Timothy, said there is nothing as good as getting married.
He said, “I want to thank everybody for their contribution to the success of the wedding. Their support makes the occasion a success.”
He said the qualities he has seen in his wife which endeared her to him are her kindness, gentility and understanding.
