Home » MEN, IF YOU DIE LIFE WILL CONTINUE!

MEN, IF YOU DIE LIFE WILL CONTINUE!

0
Spread the love

I attended a special event some years ago. The Catholic Church organized a Golden Jubilee Mass for couples who have been married for 50 years, an annual event.

The church was full to the brim, with couples marking their golden jubilee, their children and grandchildren and great grandchildren, in some cases, relatives and friends. It was a high impact ceremony considering that it is not easy to find couples still alive and married after 50 years together.

Everyone was excited-and the atmosphere was upbeat until the homilist stepped forward after the gospel reading. He grabbed the teeming congregation with some Christian choruses and asked the choir to stop. Then he dropped the bombshell.

“If you’re a man, and you have been married for 50 years, please stand up for appreciation,” he started. About five men, in various stages of ‘disrepair’, stood up. In fact, only two stood on their own. The other two were supported either by their children or by walking sticks. One was in a wheelchair. The church applauded.

Then the priest asked all the women who are 50 years in marriage to rise for recognition. Over 200 women rose and yelled “Praise the Looooooord” in unison. The church exploded in response. All the women, almost all of them were looking fresh, bright, gorgeously dressed and absolutely gay.

The priest then said, “Is there anyone here who doesn’t have eyes?”

The church roared in unison “Nooooooooooo!” And there he ended the sermon. He didn’t say much but he said a lot.

I do not want to sermonize on his “unspoken sermon” except to ask men to be wise. Love your wives. Remember to love your neighbor (including your wives) as yourselves. Note, however, you cannot love your neighbor, if you do not love yourself.

I once told a story of a friend who wanted to ‘end it’ (kill himself) because he was having so much trouble with his marriage. Before I even agreed to speak to his wife and then both of them together, I took him out to a bar. There, I reminded him that his father had died and his mom was alive and well, just like my father had died and my mother was alive and well. We then tired a Vox Pop and discovered (more like confirmed) that all (and I mean ALL) the guys in the bar had lost their fathers and most of them still had mothers alive and well and traveling from country to country and city to city – as the case may be.

I then told my friend the inescapable truth, “Bro, going by the facts on ground, both you and I will die before our wives. You had better extend your expiry date.”

That got him and the rest was easy to handle. He’s living happily with his wife till today.

“Marriage,” my father told me, “is like Abakiliki rice. No matter how well you wash it you must see stone, but your ability to navigate between the rice and the stones will determine how far and well your marriage will go.”

Brethren, do NOT die. If you die, life will continue. Thank you.

Good evening to you all in this noble house.
Thanks and great day.

About Author

TRIBUTE TO PRESIDENT MUHAMMADU BUHARI, GCFR With a deeply heavy heart and profound sense of personal loss, I join millions of Nigerians and friends around the world to mourn the passing of our former President, Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR. I extend my heartfelt condolences to his beloved wife, Hajiya Aisha Buhari, his children, and his entire extended family. I also condole with the government and people of Katsina State, especially the Daura Emirate, where President Buhari’s journey in life began — a town whose name has become inextricably linked with his legacy. President Buhari’s record of service to Nigeria is almost unparalleled. From the battlefield to the ballot box, he stood as a sentinel of duty. As a military officer, Head of State, and twice-elected President, he offered over five decades of his life to the service of our nation in times of strife and in peaceful times — guided always by a belief in discipline, integrity, and nationhood. What often went unnoticed in public commentary was his unwavering commitment to the core values that bind any serious society: order, punctuality, and accountability. He did not just talk about these values; he lived them. He was perhaps the most punctual public servant I ever encountered — never late to cabinet meetings, always respecting the time of others. It may seem a small thing, but in governance, it is everything. It sets a tone. He had a deep yearning for a society governed by rules, not by impulse. This found early expression in his War Against Indiscipline, a campaign often misread as rigid but rooted in a desire to rebuild a citizenry of order, courtesy, and civic responsibility. I feel privileged to have served in his cabinet — first in the consolidated Ministry of Power, Works and Housing, and later in the restructured Ministry of Works and Housing. President Buhari was not a man to micromanage; instead, he gave you the space and the trust to deliver. With that trust, however, came the highest expectations of discipline, results, and honesty. He had a quiet strength. Yet, within and outside the cabinet, I witnessed his compassion — his deep concern for the poor, the pensioner, the soldier in the trenches, the almajiri child, and the underserved in every part of this country. Under his leadership, the nation confronted formidable challenges: insurgency, economic volatility, a global pandemic, and deep political tension. Yet he remained consistent — never ruled by noise or poll ratings, only by the burden of responsibility and his belief in posterity’s judgment. His death marks the end of a defining chapter in Nigeria’s journey — one marked by sacrifice, moral authority, and patriotic resolve. But even in death, President Muhammadu Buhari leaves behind a living legacy: one of service above self, of discipline without drama, of truth without theatrics. May the Almighty Allah (SWT), whom he served with devotion and humility, forgive his shortcomings and grant him eternal rest in Aljannah Firdaus. Adieu, Mai Gaskiya as you were fondly referred to. Nigeria salutes you. Signed, Babatunde Raji Fashola, SAN CON

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Latest News

TRIBUTE TO PRESIDENT MUHAMMADU BUHARI, GCFR With a deeply heavy heart and profound sense of personal loss, I join millions of Nigerians and friends around the world to mourn the passing of our former President, Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR. I extend my heartfelt condolences to his beloved wife, Hajiya Aisha Buhari, his children, and his entire extended family. I also condole with the government and people of Katsina State, especially the Daura Emirate, where President Buhari’s journey in life began — a town whose name has become inextricably linked with his legacy. President Buhari’s record of service to Nigeria is almost unparalleled. From the battlefield to the ballot box, he stood as a sentinel of duty. As a military officer, Head of State, and twice-elected President, he offered over five decades of his life to the service of our nation in times of strife and in peaceful times — guided always by a belief in discipline, integrity, and nationhood. What often went unnoticed in public commentary was his unwavering commitment to the core values that bind any serious society: order, punctuality, and accountability. He did not just talk about these values; he lived them. He was perhaps the most punctual public servant I ever encountered — never late to cabinet meetings, always respecting the time of others. It may seem a small thing, but in governance, it is everything. It sets a tone. He had a deep yearning for a society governed by rules, not by impulse. This found early expression in his War Against Indiscipline, a campaign often misread as rigid but rooted in a desire to rebuild a citizenry of order, courtesy, and civic responsibility. I feel privileged to have served in his cabinet — first in the consolidated Ministry of Power, Works and Housing, and later in the restructured Ministry of Works and Housing. President Buhari was not a man to micromanage; instead, he gave you the space and the trust to deliver. With that trust, however, came the highest expectations of discipline, results, and honesty. He had a quiet strength. Yet, within and outside the cabinet, I witnessed his compassion — his deep concern for the poor, the pensioner, the soldier in the trenches, the almajiri child, and the underserved in every part of this country. Under his leadership, the nation confronted formidable challenges: insurgency, economic volatility, a global pandemic, and deep political tension. Yet he remained consistent — never ruled by noise or poll ratings, only by the burden of responsibility and his belief in posterity’s judgment. His death marks the end of a defining chapter in Nigeria’s journey — one marked by sacrifice, moral authority, and patriotic resolve. But even in death, President Muhammadu Buhari leaves behind a living legacy: one of service above self, of discipline without drama, of truth without theatrics. May the Almighty Allah (SWT), whom he served with devotion and humility, forgive his shortcomings and grant him eternal rest in Aljannah Firdaus. Adieu, Mai Gaskiya as you were fondly referred to. Nigeria salutes you. Signed, Babatunde Raji Fashola, SAN CON