Marriage Re-defined?

Atonga, a young doctor in her late twenties, has found a gentleman who has promised to take her to the altar. Filled with excitement, she runs to her grandfather to seek advice, and the first set of questions her grandfather asks her are; "What work does he do? Does he earn good salary?" Thick tears trickle down Atonga's sexy eyes as she finds it quite tough to tell the highly-curious grandfather that her suitor is a wretched carpenter.

Surely, Atonga is not the only lady in this trouble. There are several ladies whose marriage plans are on suspension for some of these reasons. It's high time we paused to find out who modified the definition of marriage and when this modification was done. Ordinarily, marriage is supposed to be a union between a man and a woman who have vowed to live together in bubbles, in squabbles, in wealth and in ill-health till death. It however appears that our 21st-century ladies and gentlemen came with their own definition.

Marriage is now not only a sheer presentation of a beautiful wife before the altar, it is also a profit-making venture for two partners of equal academic, intellectual and financial strength. Profit is badly needed to make big investments. Money is needed to put up fat mansions. And raw cash is needed to buy flashy cars. Some of our ladies have sworn heaven and earth that, until they have found men whose pockets bleed cash, they will never marry.

Today, it is not uncommon to see a teacher nursing dreams of getting hooked up with a colleague teacher who is paid by government. Bankers are marrying bankers while doctors have already customised and patented their colleague doctors. Now, a man must get his pocket packed once he decides to legitimately spark his waist on a woman. In bygone days, marriage thrived on love, affection and companionship. Today, it's a full-swing business which survives on wealth and property.

Sadly, some of our grey-haired grandparents who are supposed to educate us on the basic essence of marriage have buried this responsibility under their pillows and are now chasing money with the young ones. Comedy of Errors? Or Comedy of Tragedies?

Jet Alan.