Vice President Kashim Shettima has said lasting marriages thrive on character, forgiveness and humility, warning that beauty and fortune alone cannot withstand life’s inevitable challenges.

Shettima also stated that families are the bedrock of national development, urging parents to pass enduring values from one generation to the next.

The Vice President gave the advice at the wedding reception of Aishatu Buratai, daughter of former Chief of Army Staff Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai (retd.), and her husband, Umar Zoru.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that Shettima was the Special Guest of Honour at the event held on Saturday at Tukur & Tukur Farm along the Abuja-Keffi Road in Nasarawa State.

Shettima called on families to nurture honesty, patience and compassion, saying enduring homes remain the foundation of strong nations and responsible generations.

He admonished society against prioritising visibility over virtue and urged young people to embrace marriage as a commitment built on responsibility and enduring values.

The Vice President urged the newly married couple to build their union on forgiveness, patience and character, describing marriage as a pillar of faith and responsibility.

“Our faith describes marriage as half of religion, and I have always understood why.

“It is at home that patience, honesty and mercy are tested daily, far from the applause of strangers,” he said.

Shettima said the family remained humanity’s oldest institution, stressing that nations survive because families endure, while civilisations flourish through homes that raise principled men and women.

“Today we celebrate Aishatu and Umar, and the families that raised them. Both households are known for service, discipline and restraint.

“Yet what makes a family great is not prominence or influence.

“The truest measure of a home is the value it transfers quietly from one generation to the next, a value that no lawyer can draft into a will and no hardship can erase,” he said.

Shettima said marriage teaches restraint in times of excess, loyalty amid fleeting attachments and responsibility, which he described as the price every meaningful love demands.

He said lasting marriages are built on forgiveness, patience, friendship and humility, enabling couples to choose each other again even when life becomes difficult.

“Affection alone cannot sustain a home. Beauty will change and fortunes may rise and fall. But character is what keeps two people standing beside each other when life tests their convictions,” he said.

Shettima congratulated the couple, prayed for Allah’s blessings upon their union and commended both families for promoting unity, respect and service to the nation.

NAN reports that the colourful wedding reception featured prayers, goodwill messages, cultural and durbar displays, and musical performances.

The event was attended by family members, friends, well-wishers, traditional rulers, senior military officers, top government officials and other distinguished guests.

NAN