Vice President Kashim Shettima has urged couples to build their marriages on strong character, forgiveness and humility, saying physical beauty and financial success alone cannot guarantee a lasting union.
He also stressed the importance of family in shaping society, calling on parents to instill enduring moral values in their children.
Shettima spoke on Saturday while attending the wedding reception of Aishatu Buratai, daughter of former Chief of Army Staff Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai (retd.), and Umar Zoru. The event took place at Tukur & Tukur Farm along the Abuja-Keffi Road in Nasarawa State, where the Vice President served as the Special Guest of Honour.
Addressing guests, he encouraged families to raise children with honesty, patience and compassion, noting that strong homes produce responsible citizens and stable nations. He also advised young people to see marriage as a lifelong commitment founded on responsibility rather than public attention or material success.
Speaking directly to the newlyweds, Shettima urged them to make forgiveness, patience and integrity the pillars of their relationship.
“Our faith describes marriage as half of religion, and I have always understood why.
“It is at home that patience, honesty and mercy are tested daily, far from the applause of strangers,” he said.
He described the family as the oldest and most enduring institution, saying societies continue to exist because families pass noble values from one generation to another.
“Today we celebrate Aishatu and Umar, and the families that raised them. Both households are known for service, discipline and restraint.
“Yet what makes a family great is not prominence or influence.
“The truest measure of a home is the value it transfers quietly from one generation to the next, a value that no lawyer can draft into a will and no hardship can erase,” he added.
According to the Vice President, marriage teaches self-control, faithfulness and accountability, qualities that strengthen relationships through life’s challenges.
He said couples who remain committed to forgiveness, friendship, humility and patience are more likely to build enduring homes.
“Affection alone cannot sustain a home. Beauty will change and fortunes may rise and fall. But character is what keeps two people standing beside each other when life tests their convictions,” he said.
Shettima congratulated the couple, prayed for Allah’s blessings upon their marriage and commended both families for promoting unity, service and respect. The ceremony featured prayers, goodwill messages, cultural performances, a durbar display and musical entertainment, with traditional rulers, military officers, government officials and other dignitaries in attendance.