Dear Friends,
As they say, everything that has a
beginning must of necessity have an end. Don’t mind that some movie producers keep
making a sequel, in an effort to rake in more money from the box office. And
so, permit me to conclude our three-part post on the wedding I attended in
Ghana. You will recall that the first part painted a background including my
links and fascination with Ghana, while the second part focused on the church
wedding. We will conclude with the wedding reception and the distinctiveness of
the couple…
The Unique Floral Event Centre, Trade Fair Complex LA, Accra;
Ghana, venue of the reception was appropriately decorated with colors of the
day – shades of pink. Guests, both those that attended the church service and
those that came straight to the reception- quickly filled the hall. While the
DJ belted out music and the Master of Ceremony welcomed everyone, the formal
reception could not take off until the couple made their grand entrance. Once
the opening prayers were said, activities moved on a very fast note as some of
the guests had to return to Nigeria with the last flight.
I will not bore you with details of items on the reception
program, but I did find the bride’s dance with her father and the bridal dance
of particular interest. On the former you could read the love between daughter
and father, but also the paradoxical admittance that the little girl has now
become a wife to another man and home! I understood the real essence of the lyrics
in Sunny Nneji’s wedding song, Oruka – indeed the father should not cry because
his baby has become a woman. The couple’s dance in popular lingo was the ‘bomb’
as each spouse tried to outdo the other, but I would give it to the bride,
Obioma. And while the food, drinks and
music flowed, it was soon time to formally bring the reception to a close…
Its Dancing Time!
The couple is unique in a number of ways. For one, apart
from their obvious love for one another, both are
medical doctors. In another the bride is the only girl among four siblings,
while Chibuike is the only male among five siblings; they thus become the
brother and sister to each other apart from being a couple.
Ghana, for me, was a curiosity satisfied. Though a very
brief sojourn I did appreciate the country as one very planned and ordered. The
British colonial masters seemed to have left more of their imprint than they
did in Nigeria, especially as regards the street layouts and paving. You get
the impression in some parts that you were in the streets of London, though not
with the same level of cleanliness. The
people have a quite mien and very friendly. Ironically though, they seem to
celebrate more the dead, rather than the living. The Master of Ceremony alluded
to this with regard to the scarcity of the couple’s Ghanaian friends and colleagues
at the wedding, pointing out that you would easily find them more at a burial.
Perhaps this explained why some undertaker shops we saw on the way had caskets designed
in all manner of shapes and size – some were built as ships, fishes, airplanes –
assisting the dead, as it were, to sail, swim or flight out to the afterlife! All considered I thoroughly enjoyed my trip to
Ghana; the only downside being perhaps that I could not locate my Ghanaian
medical doctor cousin. Hopefully I will be more fortunate next time!
Last Line: The love of God for us as indeed in any true
marriage relationship is long suffering. 1 Corinthians 13: 4-7 ‘Love is
patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is
not easily angered, and it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in
evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always
hopes, always perseveres’.
To find out more about God and how you can have a relationship
with the Lord Jesus Christ, visit any Bible believing church near you, or:
CHAPEL OF DESTINY RESTORATION CHURCH, 2 Akinlabi Lane, off Mobolaji Bank
Anthony Way, by Round About Bus Stop, Ikeja. Lagos.
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