Once upon a time, in a country called Nigeria, in its capital city Abuja, the seat of the government with well-laid streets and neighbourhoods, a young and dashing man of 25 called Allen set eyes a beautiful damsel in one of those tree-lined suburbs. For him, it was love at first sight. The young man beheld the apple of his eyes from a distance –she really was a beauty to behold. His heart began to race; he was smitten. Her dress on that day was modest and elegant, in the style favoured by maidens from the northern part of the country. The young man thought she was from the Hausa tribe, being himself an Igbo man.
Did issues of tribe and tongue deter the young Allen that early morning in 1991 when he first set eyes on Alice? The answer is NO. He got up the courage to go after “this Hausa girl”. It was just a few days to his younger sister’s wedding and she had told him that she and their dad would like to meet the girl he wants to marry when the time comes. Fortune favours the brave so the saying goes, and Allen taking his destiny into his hands, approached Alice and invited her to his sister’s wedding. Alice accepted his invitation, and in doing so, she also met Allen’s mother. Sadly, Allen’s mother passed away a month after his sister’s wedding of kidney failure.
The death of his mother made his thoughts go towards getting married and settling down as his mother had wished. Her death spurred him to get married relatively early at the age of 27, two years after he set his eyes on the love of his life. Allen and Alice got married in 1993.
Alice the beautiful Kogi State girl from the Igala tribe who met her knight in shining armour that early morning in Abuja is still happily married to him 25 years on. They are blessed with four children, a girl and three boys.
Their marriage has withstood the test of time. Allen and Alice, although very modern in their outlook and disposition, have a healthy respect for their traditional customs and values which does not contradict with their strong Catholic faith. Thus it is that before they wed in church, they first got married according to the customs of the bride’s birthplace.
Marriage requires a lot of work to ensure the love, respect and bond is not broken beyond repair. Alice and Allen know that a good marriage requires patience and tolerance of each other and this has upheld their marriage.
Honour and reputation is in short supply in modern-day Nigeria, with vows and promises easily broken without much thought. Alice and Allen take their marital vows seriously and feel duty-bound to live by them.
The couple also feel duty-bound to raise upstanding and God-fearing children. They take their duties as parents as paramount, and this is clearly seen in the characters of their children.
Marriages often fail because of neglect or incompatibility as people grow apart. But Alice and Allen have grown closer through the years. It is self-evident from their body language when they are together. They are in sync with one another, so much so that they run a business together – Air Peace Airline Limited – currently the foremost indigenous airline in Nigeria with Allen as Chairman/CEO and Alice as the Vice-chairman.
They recently celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary in a grand ceremony in Lagos, Nigeria with the glitterati and A-list celebrities in attendance.
Is this the end of the love story? Of course not, stay tuned for the golden jubilee celebrations.