By Lateef Adewole.
15th January, 2025.
IT’S 20 YEARS OF TOGETHERNESS, AND STILL COUNTING!
Today marks a special milestone in my life. It is a day that represents a turning point for the better.
Some twenty four years ago, while I was still in the wilderness, searching for the compass to navigate my journey of life, and uncertain about what the future holds, providence directed my path to cross with that of an ‘angel’ in human form. It was the holy month of Ramadan in 2001 (Hijrah 1422).
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I was a young man, beginning to find his feet in the world after graduating from the university, completed my NYSC and started working. One faithful early morning, around 3am, while I went for tahajuud (voluntary night prayer) in the mosque, I couldn’t but noticed another person, who came to perform same tahajuud at such time too, in the mosque, at the female section. She was the only one there.
This repeated daily throughout the fasting period. I was quite shocked and impressed, given how many young people, especially girls, hardly take their compulsory salaat (muslim prayer) seriously during daytime, not to talk of voluntary ones at such odd hours, when sleep was sweetest.
That very year’s Ramadan, as a bachelor, I only prayed for two major things. One, I needed a better job, well paying than the one I had at the time, and secondly, a pious lady, who will complete me, as my wife. I believed Allah answered those prayers then, reason He sent that ‘angel’ to me during that holy month.
Long story short, after a ‘tortuous’ journey of about two years trying to win her heart and convince her of the genuineness of my intention to marry her, with the intervention of people of goodwill, who included my friend, Prince (now Engineer, Doctor) Waliu Apena, her elder sister Mrs. Bisi Joseph, and some others, who had to give her “assurance” about me, she accepted to marry me.
So, precisely twenty years ago, we tied the nuptial knots. She became my wife, my soul mate. She took me to her world and I began to live in her paradise. My life has never been the same again, in happiness, comfort, bliss and enjoyment, I have had the best of them all.
She has made my life easy. A virtuous, pious, well-trained, disciplined, frugal, hardworking, understanding, humble, caring, loving, kindhearted, brilliant, and on top of it all, very beautiful woman (a very critical factor for me- lol), who has been extremely patient and endure with me through the thick and thin, during the ups and downs. She remained the pillar of my support. She provides stability for me in times of challenges that I have faced, and they are many actually. She is my anchor place, my place of peace. She is my RARE GEM!
These twenty years have not been without its challenges, but we have weathered the storm together. There is no clear sky without dark patches, but with the grace of Almighty Allah, we overcome and still overcoming.
I write this tribute specially for you, my wife, Lateefah Adewole, who I referred to as “Temi” (mine), not just to celebrate our union of two decades today, but to commemorate your 45th birthday, which comes up in some days, 25th of January, 2025.
This also provides me the opportunity to clarify the coincidence in our identical names- Lateef and Lateefah, which I have had to explain to many people who queried if I was searching for my namesake when I wanted to marry. This just happened by accident, but an indication that the Almighty Allah sent her to me as the “bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh” (Genesis 2:23). Ironically, that was not the name she was popularly known with. She bears the Yoruba name- Bukola, which happened to have similarity with my own Yoruba name too- Kolawole. These were beyond coincidences but destiny.
As we mark two decades of our union, I wish us happy wedding anniversary and pray to celebrate many more decades together, in good health and abundance of Almighty Allah, while wishing her happy birthday in advance.
Temi, my angel, may you continue to age with grace. May your dreams and aspirations come true. May you live long, in good health and prosperity, to reap the fruit of your labour.
Amen 🙏
Congratulations to you and us.
God bless us!