- Given a second chance, I’ll marry her again- Hubby
When Mr. Owhonigha German was preparing for his traditional marriage to his 47-year-old wife, Vero, after 20-years of living together, he never envisaged that danger was lurking around the corner until the day of the event in Urhobor, Delta State.
The couple had prepared themselves, especially financially, for the wedding ceremony before embarking on the journey from Lagos to Delta State, where the unexpected later happened!
A day before his wife’s sudden death, one of their daughters had given birth to a baby, raising the tempo of joy in his family. But what became the fly in the ointment was his wife’s unexpected death on the day the couple had prepared to officially consummate their
marriage.
Recalling how the couple’s happiness and most memorable moment suddenly turned to grieve and sorrow for the family in his wife’s village, Masogor, Urhobor, German said everybody was waiting for that moment when he and his wife would be officially pronounced man and wife in the traditional way, with high expectations.
According to the widower, “People, including our family members and visitors from different parts of Nigeria, were beaming with smiles and laughter, waiting for us to fulfill our traditional marriage rites when the unexpected happened.”
He said few minutes before his wife slumped and died, she suddenly began to look more radiant and beautiful, but unknown to him, that was the last time he would behold her face.
German said his wife, with whom he and members of his immediate family lived at Layinke Street in Ajegunle, Lagos, had worn her beautiful traditional attire for the occasion, when suddenly death came calling and snatched her away. She was about finishing up with her makeup, when she slumped and died shortly after, while being rushed to a nearby hospital in the area.
He said when she slumped, the people around first thought she was trying to play one of her usual pranks, being a very jovial person. But unknown to them, she was already slipping away from this side of the divide.
Ironically, the assorted food prepared for entertaining guests invited to the wedding was converted to the meals taken by sympathisers and mourners, who attended her burial.
The “Aso Ebi” (uniform) meant for the wedding ceremony could not be adorned by anyone as everyone wore long faces, expressing sorrow over the unexpected
occurrence.
German also said due to the circumstances surrounding his wife’s death, her wake keep rites were later observed in their Lagos residence, weeks after her burial in her home state of Delta.
Recalling how he and his wife lived together before her untimely death, the widower described her as, “The sweetest and best woman any man can have. She was well-behaved and never had any problem with me. I keep saying it, if there is reincarnation and we meet again, I will love and marry her again, in the next world. But this time, we’ll die together.”
