Osinbajo wants a small wedding for his daughter, every 'big man' should learn

There you have it, ‘mogbo moyas’ (gate-crashers in Yoruba).

The VP's first daughter, Damilola is getting married to Oluseun Bakare.

Bakare is an offspring of a well-known business and society woman called Bola Shagaya. The wedding takes place on March 17.

The wedding of Nigeria’s number two citizen and a billionaire businesswoman should ideally be a grand society one--talk of the town kinda thing.

But Osinbajo is having none of it.

Prevailing mood

On the drive home from work on Monday night, an aide of the Vice President told me that Osinbajo is drumming it into the ears of everyone around him that he doesn’t want a loud wedding in his name, given the prevailing mood in the nation.

Nigeria is currently trying to rein in killer herdsmen and a “technically defeated” Boko Haram appears to be enjoying a sinister resurgence.

“is insisting that his daughter's wedding later this month would be private and low-keyed”, the aide would later emphasize in an emailed message.

“The Vice President and his wife would prefer to have this wedding in their backyard, especially given the current mood of the nation.

“Nonetheless, the VP seems to be swimming against a rather strong tide. For instance the VP's position compels him to inform and invite dignitaries, many of whom will cry blue murder if left out of the invitations.

“But for a man known for his unassuming nature and humble mien, the circumstances described above has invited the dilemma of how to moderate the occasion and balance out the wedding outlook considering the current mood of the nation”.

State House privacy

I was also told that the VP has insisted that the wedding ceremony, save for the church service, takes place in the privacy of the State House.

“This should by itself limit the crowd and ensure that the event is not blown out of proportion”, said the source.

Osinbajo is also asking would-be donors and sponsors not to display any kind of opulence at his daughter’s wedding.

“Those who expect the highest display of opulence are bound to be disappointed, as things are being kept to the barest but decent minimum.

“Many would-be donors and sponsors who want to add their own touches and dimensions are already being asked to tone it down.

“Unlike what we are used to with high society weddings, even invitation cards are very, very scarce indeed and we gather that the VP has refused to circulate them until a time very close to the occasion: All in a bid to keep things moderate.

“Osinbajo keeps telling those around him that the wedding is a private family affair and he wants no ostentatious display of any kind.”

Insensitive

I was listening to the radio on the drive to work this morning. On Classic FM, ace pundit Jimi Disu could be heard voicing his concerns about the state of the nation.

According to Disu, he carried out a little poll after news emerged that Buhari and 22 State Governors had stormed Kano for a wedding ceremony starring the children of two State Governors.

“If Buhari was away on medical vacation and Osinbajo was Acting President, would Osinbajo have gone to Dapchi, Benue or Taraba immediately after violence erupted in those States?”, Disu asked his respondents.

Almost all of the respondents swore that Osinbajo wouldn’t be attending a wedding at a time the entire nation is suffused with news of killings by herdsmen and abductions by terrorists. They were also ready to wager that Osinbajo would have shown up in those troubled spots as soon as he got wind of developments.

I have brought the Disu story here to contextualize the values of Buhari and Osinbajo.

When Zahra Buhari tied the nuptial knot with Ahmed Indimi in December of 2016, we were treated to a series of gaudy, loud celebrations in Abuja and Borno State.

Each time the daughter or son of a Governor or government official is getting married, we are treated to opulence on a grandiose scale in a country where 80 percent of the populace live below the poverty line.

All of that opulence can come across as insensitive and rightly so; because when tax payers take care of your salary, you are expected to show some prudence and moderation in your dealings. It's commonsense.

The marriage ceremony involving families of government officials has become an opportunity to flaunt the latest expensive fashion styles in people’s faces. Leadership really has to do better.

This is hoping that Osinbajo gets the low-key wedding ceremony for his daughter that he desperately pines for.

This is hoping that dignitaries who want to use the wedding of the Osinbajos and Shagayas to curry favour from Aso Rock, have a rethink and put their monies to humanitarian use. Or better still, fix up their lives.