The Vice President of Nigeria, Kashim Shettima has urged families and communities to promote the values of honesty, patience and compassion, saying “it is at the home that these values are tested everyday.”
He said that while the family remains the oldest institution trusted by humanity, nations survive because families endure, and civilisations flourish because homes produce men and women of principle.
He gave the advice on Saturday during the wedding reception of Aishatu Yusuf Buratai, daughter of former Chief of Army Staff, Lt Gen Tukur Buratai (rtd), and her husband, Malam Umar Zoru, at the Tukur and Tukur Farm, along Abuja/Keffi road, Nasarawa State.
The Vice President, who was the special guest of honour at the event, noted that the home is measured by the kind of value it transfers from one generation to the other.
President Tinubu said; “Our faith describes marriage as half of religion, and I have always understood why. It is at home that patience, honesty and mercy are tested daily, far from the applause of strangers.
“Today we celebrate Aishatu and Umar, and the families that raised them. Both households are known for service, discipline and restraint.
“Yet what makes a family great is not prominence or influence. The truest measure of a home is the value it transfers quietly from one generation to the next, a value that no lawyer can draft into a will and no hardship can erase,” he stated.
VP Shettima reminded the bride and groom that they live in an age that rewards visibility above virtue, teaching the young ones how to pursue success without training them to sustain a relationship.
He, however, stated that “marriage offers a rebellion against that emptiness,” just as he he observed that the marital union “teaches restraint in a season of excess, loyalty in a season of fleeting attachments, and, above all, responsibility, which is the price every meaningful love demands of us.”
A lasting marriage, the VP noted, “is built upon forgiveness, patience, friendship and the humility to choose each other again on the mornings when choosing is difficult.”
He said that while affection alone cannot sustain a home, “beauty will change and fortunes may rise and fall, but character is what keeps two people standing beside each other when life tests their convictions.”
The Vice President congratulated the couple and prayed for Allah’s blessings upon their union, urging them to build their home on the foundations of love, patience, and mutual understanding
He also commended their families for upholding values of unity, respect, and service to nation.
The colourful wedding reception also featured prayers, goodwill messages, cultural and Durbar display, and musical performances.
Other dignitaries at the event included Secretary to Government of the Federation, George Akume; former Federal Capital Territory’s Minister, Ibrahim Bunu; the Emir of Lafia; the Emir of Keffi; Emir of Biu, and the Andoma of Doma, among other traditional leaders.
