Back then as a curious teenager, any time I overheard my aunties discussing marriage, I never stopped asking them when was the right time to get married. I knew I would definitely start a home someday so curiosity always makes me ask the question. From what I gathered back then, coupled with the knowledge I have now, I have come to realize that according to the Nigerian Constitution the acceptable age an individual is considered fit for marriage is eighteen years and above when they have passed through teenage age and now considered fit to take up responsibilities. Although the constitution of the country says eighteen but when it comes to the church settings, an eighteen year old is considered immature to handle family responsibility so they had to make a law that the church would only wed couples from age twenty two and above depending on the church too.
While some churches agreed to wed from the age of 22 other churches were from 25 years and above. I won't mention the name of the church but I believe by now they should have adjusted that rule because as of 2017, one of my aunt's friends who was 23 at that time found her soulmate, took him to the church only for them to decline joining them as couples saying it was against the church law. We all thought they would have a change of mind not until they had to shift their marriage to another assembly where they were pronounced husband and wife.
I was going through my PDF file yesterday, only to realize I have quite a number of books yet to read that I haven't so I made it a point of duty to start reading starting from the most interesting title and I picked the book waiting and dating. Although I am still in the first chapter of the book but I have gained lots of insights from it already. I won't want to go into much details about the book but what I have picked so far is that one should never start a relationship if they are yet to know the benefits and dangers of dating and identify purpose and quite some other qualities. So I basically believe that when it comes to marriage, age is just but a number because I have seen older people get married and divorce after a year or two and younger ones protect their home from breaking. Once you can handle responsibility and exhibit a level of patience you are good to go. Early marriage is not just advice especially from twenty and below because at that stage the individual is just beginning to navigate and explore through life and most at times these people are still under parental watch. Age gap really does not matter in the aspect of love but it is advised you marry who can match your energy.
