The internet was buzzing last week because of Afua Asantewaa’s Singathon. While some people were cheering her on, others were wishing her failure. Well, she finally managed to sing for 126 hours and 52 minutes, waiting to be confirmed as the latest record holder. My focus now is not to discuss the singathon but some specific commentaries surrounding it
During the Singathon, some people took to social media to assert that Afua’s persistence makes her marriage material, which, for me, is quite strange and should not even come up. One post that caught my attention read, “Afua Asantewaa O Aduonum’s tenacity and pertinacity should be studied. Any man who gets this woman to marry is 1000 yards gonna make it if they both reason together. Super proud of her.”
Sincerely, this erroneous assertion should not come up in the first place because the fact that somebody is persistent and committed to a cause doesn’t necessarily mean the person would take such persistence and commitment to the institution of marriage. Many people who have been persistent and committed to their academic pursuits, desiring to become exceptional lawyers, engineers, researchers, lecturers, medical practitioners, etc., have not exhibited the same persistence and commitment when it comes to marriage. This is sometimes because they don’t even value the institution of marriage as it’s supposed to be.
The fact that somebody is able to persist and do the undoable in the area of singing doesn’t necessarily mean the person would bring the same energy into marriage and, therefore, be considered a wife material. As much as I don’t know the person of Afua and her commitment to marriage, I think we should stay away from populist comments that she is wife material because she can persistently sing for hours. If we don’t take care, the benchmark for wife or husband material will soon be persistence in activities. Let’s be careful and not expose innocent people to danger.
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Bright Agropah is a distinguished purpose and relationship author and teacher. He is a speaker, youth trainer, and reformist. He is the author of five books. His recent books are “The Big Search: A Comprehensive Guide to Settling on the Right Spouse” and “The Journey to the Altar”. He can be reached at brightagropah@gmail.com or 0500002083.
