Charly Boy (Instagram)
Eccentric Nigerian celebrity and old time singer Charly Boy has penned an article that criticizes the expensive wedding culture among Nigerians.
Using
his son who recently got married as an example, Charly Boy noted that
the wedding day is now more important than the marriage itself.
He also wrote about the trend of people borrowing from banks just to have a lavish wedding.
You can read his full article below;
“Last
week as I stayed glued too CNN because of the fort coming American
election, I saw a mini documentary on Weddings, The Naija style. I must
say
that from time, we do know how to put on a show, especially my
brothers from the west.
“We as Africans are generally boisterous people.
We love events and for us, everything is a large party and the larger
the party, the more successful an occasion is interpreted to be. Naming
ceremonies, weddings, even funerals have become one big jamboree and my
personal opinion is that we are losing the significance of this
occasions which are meant to be solemn by the noisy chaos we have around
it. Am particularly going to focus on wedding tins.
“Several
months ago, my last son came to me to talk about his impending marriage
and of course the wedding planning came up. He was expecting to have a
high society wedding at my expense ( Hummm see jobbing) but I told the
young lad that it is whatever he can save for his wedding that will be
the budget for it. Nobody paid for mine so he has to be disciplined
enough to raise the money he needs for his. Of course as an entertainer
and a showbiz personality it is easy to surmise that I will like large
occasions shown by my late father’s burial which was a carnival of sort,
but I still think that most of what we spend is unnecessary. Let me
begin by saying that in modern days, the ceremony of weddings has become
more important than the marriage act itself. Which is why we find the
fragile institution of marriage collapsing.
“I’ll
have to say to some certain degree that elaborate functions are not
always a bad idea especially when the person hosting it is spending
money as a result of their hard work and not stolen or borrowed money.
“It
is normal for people to show off and have elaborate and flamboyant
ceremonies, that’s one of the factors that differentiate us from
animals. I also believe that simple is beautiful, but some occasions
call for an elaborate celebration especially when it’s a once in a life
time event. What better way to make the moment memorable than to make it
elegant. However, what I find most worrisome is that some people go as
far as borrowing money from the banks, other financial institutions,
friends and family members just to celebrate weddings, burials, birthday
parties, and the most upsetting part, is that after the show is over,
then you still see them long after, struggling to meet up with the basic
daily requirements of living? Why can’t they have a business plan in
which they can invest that money and get returns or something more
profitable.
“One of
my favorite sayings is, “cut your coat according to your size not your
neighbor’s size” abegi. Why must one go a borrowing just to impress
people when the aftermath of the ceremony leaves you in debt especially
at the point where you have to start to think of someone else in regards
to raising a family.
“My advice to young
people is that it’s not how expensive your occasion is that guarantees a
stable married life. Instead of spending such a huge amount, to have an
elaborate wedding and when the debts pile up, the quarrels will begin,
the advice I give young couples is that they should have a long
financial discussion before marriage, issues like who pays what bills
and when should be addressed. One of the major conflicts people have in
marriages is always financially related so it is very important to have
this talk about the kind of financial future they want to have and
strategize on how they intend to achieve it. Abi? Weytin you think.”
Do you agree with Charly Boy? Take our poll below;
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