Chief Simeon Basil Ekete Ugwunweze and his wife, Martina Nwakaego Ugwunweze wedded on February 25, 1967, at Our Lady’s of Lourdes Catholic Church, Umuahia, Abia state. Fifty years after the marriage kicked o , the couple celebrated their golden wedding anniversary with same passion, love and testimonies of amazing relationship and time shared.
The couple shared their amazing love story, challenges and triumphs with Orient Daily’s Patrick Egwu & Okechukwu Onuegbu. A must read for young couples and unmarried.
How the couple met:
Husband: Her mother is from my place and I used to go to their house. I used to give her money, comb her hair and help her out in during house chores. She used to see me as her mother’s younger brother. I was close to the family such that there was a time we were discussing and my father in-law just said that I should marry Matty, my wife. She was away in school then. With time, our families formalised the union and we got married May 25, 1967. Fifty years after, your union is still waxing stronger. What is the secret especially now that marriages hardly last before couples go for divorce?
Husband: The secret is God’s handwork. When we started, we never went for or had genotype test before we got married. Those things were not in practice then. It’s the Lord’s doing. I did God’s work briefly in trying to avoid certain things that will cost my head. I can tell you that I have never seen any day that I came back from work and told them, take this money and go and buy one bottle of beer or stout drink for me so that I relax and feel good. I don’t do that.
(Cuts in …) So, you don’t drink alcohol?
Husband: No, I drink but not to that level. But for more than 10 years now, I have never taken any beer. What I take is palm wine and I eat very well. I don’t smoke, I have never smoked. I was taking snuff then to help keep me awake when I was studying for ex- ams into the university. I always woke up 4 am and read till 6 am to prepare for work. The snuff helped to drive the sleep away from my eyes. I used to also pour water inside a by bucket and put my legs inside (laughs).
What are your challenges in this union and how have you been able to overcome them?
Husband: (Cuts in ….) I don’t want to pretend to say that we don’t disagree. We do disagree. Normally, if husband and wife have dis- agreement in their union is the marriage not working?
I cannot tell you that we do not disagree. For instance, I am a disciplinarian and I believe in education. I will always sit my children down, and tell them to study well, don’t go about playing, following bad boys. Sometimes my wife will try to protect them by saying why are you treating your children harshly like that? I told my wife that I am doing this for their good and there is an age they will attain to and I can’t talk to them again. I can say that I have never had any serious challenge that cannot be managed.
We understand that all your children are well educated. So how were you able to carry on especially those days when training of women was neglected?
Husband: Like I said earlier, I strongly believe in man power development. Not only my children, within this my family, I can tell you that I trained four other graduates who are not my children and I have scores of them that I sent to do NCE and Teachers Certificate. You know that the salary of a civil servant is very small. When I was a junior officer at the Board of Internal Revenue, I used to go to Nassarawa state to buy grain and put them in the train and bring them back to Eham-Amufu to sell. I can tell you that the money I used to train my younger brother is from profits accruing from grain business. Even till now, I am still involved in that type of business but not on a large scale like before. And I am an investor. I have invested seriously in stocks and shares. Even some time ago when stocks crashed, I did not regret much because I had gotten the money I invested. The loss I sustained was very minimal because I have gotten my money back. I also used to buy beer in September and sell them off during high demand in December. So, there was never a time I depended on the money I pick as a civil servant because I would not have survived if I had done that. Then I did small-scale farming, even up till now. When my children come back home, they pick food stuffs from my farm and
go back to their bases. So, these are the things I do to get money and help myself and help the family.
Going back, what really attracted you two together?
Husband: I told you it is family affinity. My wife’s mother is from my place and my father–in-law loved me too. There was a time when one of his sons said that I will not marry my wife then because I was a junior civil servant. The father took me aside and said “don’t mind Clement”; that he was sure that even if I was not a civil servant, I could feed my wife very well”.
Not many couple were lucky to celebrate
their 50th marriage anniversary. What do you think is responsible for your healthy looks?
Husband: It is God’s will. You know, in a home, we are just messengers to God. God is the head of every home, mine especially. I am just an errand boy.
What is your take on
the current high bride price and other marriage
expenses?
Husband: Let me tell you now; this my wife: when I married her at Aba, people thought I was going to Aba recreation club to do the celebration. But I told my wife that we were going to use a hall and celebrate our thing. We didn’t want to do the one that, after the celebration, we wouldn’t be able to feed again. I believe in modesty. What is your advice regarding the high price of bride price in Igbo land?
Husband: Let me tell you, people who are charging big money as bride price are not reasonable. My eldest daughter, when they paid her bride price, I only took ten naira, despite the huge money that her husband brought. I just picked ten naira and asked the man to take good care of my daughter. Even my second daughter the same thing. So those people who are charging a lot of money to their in-laws are foolish people. They are just uninformed because there is continuity in marriage. Once you come into a house, you become part of
that house. So, I am against this practice of charging too much money to somebody who wants to marry your daughter.
In the next life, will you still marry your wife?
Husband: (Shouts joyously) Of course! I have said this, times without number: even when the bishop asked me this question in the church, I shouted in acceptance and people started clapping and laughing. I will marry my wife again, come rain, come sunshine!
Looking back again, can you recall any incident that made the two of you to quarrel and want to part separate ways?
Husband: No, I have never had one with her. So, I can’t remember any incident and like I told you earlier I told her that I never wanted people to assemble to settle is- sues for us.
During the civil war, where were you and your wife?
Husband: We were in Aba. Where we got married. We got married in February and the civil war started in July.
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