Desmond Adekunle, Ado-Ekiti
It was an atmosphere of love and excitement in Ado Ekiti at the ever-exciting and ravishing 3rd annual Couples Valentine Dinner organized by the Coalition of the Advancement of Blissful Marriages (CABLISSM), Ekiti State.
The event, which was awesomely planned by the renowned A-Z Event Experts, headed by Mrs Folashade Akinrinmola, witnessed a funfair on Monday in Ado-Ekiti as couples graced the occasion in their glittering red and white attires.
The dinner had interactive sessions by experts in the field. The first presentation was by a physiotherapist, Temple Obike, who spoke on ‘Communication Styles and Anger Management towards sustaining a Blissful Union’ while Tolu Afonja delved into ‘Relationship and Marriage Dynamics: The Way Forward’. Both speakers professionally gave their lectures, as questions and answers sessions were held afterward.
The colorful celebration attracted a Catholic cleric from Blessed Iwene Tansi Catholic Chaplaincy, Oke-Ila, Rev. Fr. Anthony Achebe. The cleric charged couples to utilize the event as a way of having a better and more peaceful home.
Rev. Achebe condemned the abnormalities that are prevalent in society, noting that the younger generation has misused the essence of Valentine.
He said, ” It is a celebration of true love because St. Valentine is one who gave up his life and he died in other to see that couples live and understand what love truly is.
” We are celebrating it among couples to see that love exists, not just erotic love but more of Agape love. If you can renew that love among couples, I believe that our world will be a better place to be celebrating Valentine’s.
” I believe that if we can celebrate true love, where young men and women are not eager to enter into marriage, where they are afraid because they do not want to be in bondage in marriage.
“It is these young ones who are into vices, crimes, and rituals in the society. If these young ones can understand what true love is, I believe they will also be able to reduce the vices in our society.”
The CEO of A-Z Event Experts, Folashade Akinrinmola, expressed satisfaction with the successes recorded since the inception of the Couples Valentine Dinner.
She admonished the couples to exemplify all they have learned in the program, which will build a healthy home.
” This year’s event is more compact compared to last year. This year we brought different experts and counselors that can talk and dig deep about marriage. This is the third edition of which we planned the last edition as the official event planner. We have added a lot of goodies to it, a lot of couples games, gifts to be won and so many things to make it more colourful.
” It’s an opportunity for couples to have a relaxed moment, ease the stress and get more exposed to handle their marriage. They should utilize everything they learned into practice that will add more colour to their homes.”
The event attracted the legendary musician, Sunny Neji, who performed to the delight of the couples. There were equally couples games, presentations and sharing of gifts to loved ones to light up the auspicious event.
One of the highlights of the event was the presentation of a Toyota Hilux to a business mogul, Chief Gilbert Igweka, by his wife, Perpetua.
I was there. Colorful event. The guest speaker Temple Obike was a psychotherapist and they all did an amazing job on the day.