Valentine Day: Women want more lasting gifts

As the world celebrates Valentine’s Day, some women in Jos say they want enduring gifts that will impact their lives.

In a survey on Monday in Jos, the women said enduring gifts are better than transient gifts.

A quantity surveyor, Glory Hasan, said getting expensive flowers and dinner dates are the least of her desires during Valentine’s Day.

"Give us what we need so that we will cherish you. I am not particular that my gift should come from the opposite sex. Anybody can gift me, but give me what I need,” she said.

An entrepreneur who did not want her name mentioned that she needed four new tyres and an overhaul of her car to ease her economic activities.

“It is a gift and not about work. It is a need I have, and it would facilitate my safety and movement,” she said.

An entrepreneur, Charity Francis, said she needs capital to expand her business as a Valentine’s gift from anyone.

“I want to wake up with a credit alert of 1.8 million in my bank account. I have been thinking about expanding my business recently and that would require a huge amount of money to achieve that,” Ms Francis said.

She added, “I wish God would just put this money into my hands as Valentine’s gift. I have prayed about it and have trust in God because it is possible with him. I have heard testimonies of how people trusted God with an amount greater than what I am asking him, and he gave them, and I trust him to do the same for me.”

A fashion stylist, Laraba Yakubu, said she needs landed property to celebrate Valentine’s Day.

“I am a civil servant with a meagre salary. I have been struggling to defray my rent off my bucket list, but it is hard and the situation is worsening,” she said.

Meanwhile, the Global Director of the Kids With a Vision Foundation, Grace Adams, urged Nigerians to show love to the indigents, especially orphans, as they need such support to have a secure future. She said the younger generation sometimes feels unloved by their siblings and the community, leading them to engage in social ills such as drug abuse, porn addiction and sexual immorality.

“As an orphanage operator, I try to encourage people to come to the home and other orphanages to spend time with the children, to encourage them and make them feel loved,” stated Ms Adams. “Valentine’s Day has been bastardised and love interpreted in a negative light, and if we are not careful, our children may be prone to accept this misinformation. So more visits to orphanages will curb these ills.”

Valentine’s Day is celebrated annually on February 14 to celebrate love globally.