I was sitting with my friends having lunch in a cozy restaurant and one of my friends asked a question. She has two suitors; one is a promising young man, while the other is a much older man who has got it all, materially speaking. My friend asked which one is a better choice when it comes to marriage: The younger or older one.
Rukayya Habibi, an engineering student says she thinks there is no right or wrong when it comes to such issue. Individuals think differently, she said, so there are certain things one has to put into consideration before concluding which one is better. “Personally, I think older men are far better than the younger ones. When I say older men, I don’t mean married men but men that are between 30 and 40 and are still single. My priority when it comes to marriage is to have a responsible man and by the look of things, most young men of nowadays are nothing close to being responsible. However, I am not saying there are no responsible young men, but they are rare to find. My definition of an older man is one who is successful, responsible, straight-forward and treats women with utmost respect. Older men know exactly how to handle women and their issues in a mature way unlike younger men who are naïve, headstrong and arrogant.” She added that if she were in the lady’s position, she would no doubt pick the older man.
Fifty-five-year-old Fatima Ahmed, mother of five, says this is not something one can decide based on looks or any other physical criteria. “Things have changed drastically from our time till date. During my time, it was very uncommon to see a young man get married. It was actually the contrary. Young girls were the ones marrying at an early age to men who were way older than them but today things have changed. I know of an 18-year-old man who got married, it sounds crazy though. Nowadays, young men in their early and mid 20s get married which has become very normal. Nevertheless, how many of those young men are responsible enough to take care of a woman? From my point of view, older men are better option because they are more mature, have life experience more than the younger ones and also in most cases they have already acquired their own hard earned wealth. On the other hand, most of the young men that settle down now are not even independent. The parents take care of the wedding and also the wife after marriage. So the father is the one that practically takes care of his son’s family which shouldn’t be that way.”
Ojo Kelechi, in his late 40s, believes that age shouldn’t be a barrier whatsoever. Whether young or old, a lady should settle for what makes her happy. “Based on experiences and things I have heard from family and friends, I don’t buy the idea of older men are better than younger men because you can’t judge a book by its cover. I have seen sensible younger men who behave in an impressive manner and carry themselves way ahead of their age. Likewise, there are older men that behave in such manner that a teen wouldn’t. To me, maturity has nothing to do with age. A perfect example is how my cousin in his mid 20s dated a girl for quite a long time and all of a sudden a man in his early 40s appeared and distracted her. She claimed that the older guy was more romantic and has experience in relationship expectations than the other guy. Unfortunately, she dumped my cousin for the older man. They happily got married and recently she found out that he has been married before with a child but he hid it from her. So tell me, how are older men any better if he can keep such vital information from her?”
Mubarak Aminu, an accountant in his mid 20s is of the opinion that older men aren’t any different from younger ones. He argues that what an older man can give to a woman, a young man can give her twice that. “I see no reason why some women go for older men when there are fresh young men all over the place who are very romantic, physically fit and eager to learn new things in life. Honestly, I see nothing special about so called older men.”
Tonia Ononye, mother of two says life is all about a person’s happiness. She said the lady in question should do what makes her happy. “By seeking for advice, people will just complicate things more for her. I believe she should just pick the one her mind is at rest with and carry on with her life. When I was getting married, a lot of people persuaded me not to get married to the man I loved simply because he was my age mate. But look at me today, I am happily married with two kids for him because I turned a deaf ear to people. Life is all about what suits you and not other people.”
Twnty-three-year-old Rukayya Muhammad says both older and younger men have different problems. However, one has to just pray to God to provide a good husband. “I have heard a lot of people saying younger men are more likely to cheat while older men are less likely to cheat. Believe me that is bullshit. Men cheat irrespective of their age. The most important thing is to know the person you want to settle down with. Age has nothing to do with that in my opinion.”