The day Taiwo Sampson Toyo and Mojisola Folaremi Oganbi tied the nuptial knot was one of the happiest of their lives, but it was also the day that a lot of folks noticed that the couple had played some funny tricks. You may ask how? It was the day that MojiÂ’s pregnancy was noticed.
Now these two are staunch Christians, indeed they both claimed to have received divine directions from God before settling for each other. For Moji, the decision to marry Taiwo was backed up with ceaseless prayers and fasting.
They both told Daily Sun that they absolutely do not believe in pre-marital sex. So what happened? Perhaps it was the beauty of Moji that Taiwo found irresistible, but he said: "No, it was not like that! It was the day she agreed she wanted to know my place that it happened. It was just a kiss that led to other things."
But Moji with a shy smile said: "Biblically pre-marital sex is not good. ItÂ’s immoral. We made love only once and I got pregnant. It was an accident."
Whatever possessed them to break their vows of chastity, today seems so trivial, as the couple basked in their ever growing new found happiness and love for each other. And wait for this, Taiwo said he did not regret eating the forbidden fruit before it was ripe.
Moji attended Lagos State University, where she got her first degree in Education, and later took Masters in Social works. SheÂ’s currently working at the Apapa Iganmu local government as a social worker. It was also right there at the office that she met Taiwo.
For her, love was not like a thunderbolt. At 36, she knew she had to be very careful when slick smooth men come talking of marriage. A dedicated Christian, who strongly believes in humility being one of the Christian virtues, she revealed that the first thing that struck her about Taiwo was his humility and politeness to everyone.
"He was always polite to everyone – people talked about him. They talked about his humility. I watched him, but marriage never crossed my mind until he called me one day. He said he wanted to see me. He said there was something he would like to discuss with me. I was busy, but later I went to see him. He said he wanted to marry me but I didn’t just say yes right there. I told him to give me time. I wanted to know his level of seriousness. I started eavesdropping whenever people were talking about him. I started carrying out personal investigations about him. It was from my personal investigations that I got my points about him. Most importantly, it took me two weeks to pray before the spirit of God convinced me that he was the one for me. I also liked the fact that people call him pastor."
But for Taiwo, it was a different ball game. The moment he saw Moji, he felt strongly down to his bone marrow that he had found his missing rib. At 37, a graduate of Comparative Religion from University of Ilorin, Taiwo knew it was time for him to settle down.
He recollected how nervous he was the day he made up his mind to call her for a heart to heart discussion in the office. He said: "She was one of the coordinators of a programme on violence against women at the council that very day. For long, IÂ’ve been watching and monitoring her. I went to meet her at the programme. I told her my intentions after the event. In as much as I wanted to marry, I wasnÂ’t ready to do so without courtship. As we discussed, I was impressed with her level of intelligence. SheÂ’s a straightforward lady.
It took me three months to make up my mind to approach her. Another sign I got that she was the one for me, was that immediately I made up my mind about her, my past flames started staging a come back. They all wanted to know if I was still single. I knew they were temptations."
Family objections
TaiwoÂ’s happiness when Moji accepted his proposal was deflated when almost all members in his closely knitted polygamous family, said a blunt no to his idea of marrying Moji. And their argument was that the couple hardly knew anything about each other. TaiwoÂ’s family felt Moji had charmed him. But Taiwo told Daily Sun that though he was charmed all right but with love not juju as suspected by his family.
Pre-marital sex
According to Taiwo, the day he and Moji broke their vows of chastity to avoid sex until after wedding, started like any other day. He revealed to Daily Sun that he never planned and didnÂ’t have the premonition that kissing Moji could be like playing with fire.
He said: "Right from the outset, we had agreed that we would not indulge in pre-marital sex. We are both Christians. On that day, we went out. We went to Mr. Biggs. Later, we went to my house. It happened and there was nothing we could do about it afterward."
HIV/AIDS
Now, these lovebirds hadnÂ’t bothered to go for an HIV/AIDS screening before they succumbed to the fiery temptation of the flesh. Were they not worried that either could have been an HIV carrier since they forgot about condom in the heat of the moment?
The question sobered Taiwo, who took his time in replying, "I knew we took a risk. But we took it. I love her. I just believe she would not be a carrier. But if she had been a carrier, I would still have gone ahead with the wedding. It boils down to the fact that we would both have been carriers."
Likes and dislikes
According to Taiwo, "the most attractive and endearing trait about Moji is that she is a very honest person, but what I donÂ’t really like about her is that she talks too much and shouts when sheÂ’s angry. She would go on to tell you all your shortcomings.
"IÂ’ve learnt to keep quiet when sheÂ’s in that mood. I simply walk into my room. I will later call her and talk to her. If IÂ’m wrong, I never fail to apologise."
But Moji said that what she loves most in her man is his reserved and caring attitude, but she could not stand him when heÂ’s angry. "I hate seeing him get angry. ItÂ’s always terrible. Though it doesnÂ’t last long, at such moments, it would seem as the foundation of our building would fall."