Last Saturday, July 30, 2016 at the Advent Cathedral Church Gwarimpa, Abuja, the thoughts of the Psalmist in Psalm 118:23: “this is the Lord’s doing and it is marvelous in our eyes” filled the hearts of the Primate and his wife, The Most Revd. Nicholas and Mrs. Nkasiobi (Mama Nigeria) Okoh. Most Rev. Okoh and family were in a celebration mood, due to the solemnisation of holy matrimony of their first daughter, Ijeoma, now Mrs. Ernest Aziagba with her heartthrob, Ernest, a man God designed to be her husband.

Archbishops, bishops, priests, captains of industries, government officials and those that matter in society from all walks of life gathered to be part of the joyful celebration and to appreciate God for making it possible.

Indeed, marriage is God’s idea for man. In His wisdom, He said: “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him,” (Gen 2:18). Together, they are to live as man and wife in order to fulfil God’s mandate in their lives. Therefore, any marriage with God’s approval is bound to succeed. In this instance, we have no doubt God is involved and will uphold them throughout their marital lives. Yes, they are really meant for each other.
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This type of marriage, therefore, sends out a signal to the married and those yet to marry, to remember that God is interested in marriage, being the Author and would want it to be honourable, with marriage beds undefiled. I hope somebody is taking note!

Interestingly, the former Primate of All Nigeria, the Most Revd. Peter Jasper Akinola, preached at the solemnisation. He was full of praises to God for what He has done in bringing this young couple together and called upon Him to bless them abundantly. He asked the couple not to lose faith with the present hardship in the country, but that through prayer and Bible study, they are to draw closer to God on daily basis. “God will assist them and provide for every of their need” according to His riches in Christ’s glory, (Philippians 4:19),” he said. He, therefore, wished them well in this new state of life.
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And by God’s grace, this marriage will be a success, because the man and wife’s backgrounds show that they are from good Christian homes and had good Christian upbringing. Mrs. Ijeoma comes from a home in which we can authoritatively say that her upbringing will rub off well on the marriage. The father is a great Churchman, pastor of pastors and a good family man that loves his wife and seriously paid attention to the upbringing of his children. He knew what Proverbs 22:6 demanded of parents for it says: “Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it”.

On his part, Mr. Ernest, a man from a good stock, has a father like Erastus (City treasurer), a man of impeccable records both within and without the Church and so, will bring into this godly union, his own good upbringing to God’s glory. Therefore, we can see that God is already at work to enable them have good Christian home. If we have good homes, certainly we can dream of having a good nation, where people can live in peace and record progress in all spheres of their lives.

However, we observe, though painfully, that sometimes marriages collapse as soon as they are celebrated. Various reasons have been adduced, including lack of fear of God and love of materialism, among others. That is why we sometimes hear people say: “we are not compatible”, “I regret marrying you” and then divorce is the next thing. What a shame! But we know that when divorce occurs, the man is wounded and he endures the hurt, while the woman is disappointed and feels the shame. But in the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Ernest Aziagba, we need to thank God ahead of time, for theirs will be a great success to His glory. Therefore, from the bottom of our hearts, we sincerely wish this latest couple happy married life.