Sophy Ijeoma was at a friend’s wedding the day before New Year’s Eve when a Facebook status posted by Chidimma Amedu caught her eye.
Amedu, a distant acquaintance with whom she had rarely interacted before, cut right to the chase:
“Am of age to and I am ready to say I do and I am wasting no time,” he wrote. “Send in your applications. The most qualified will be married on January 6, 2018. Application closes 12 midnight, December 31 2017.”
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Just in case there was any doubt, he added: “Am serious about this… don’t say you did not see it on time. Good luck.”
Amedu, a furniture-maker from the Nigerian capital of Abuja, has since admitted that the status was intended to be tongue in cheek. He told the BBC that he had been set to marry his former fiancee in December, but the pair split up in March. “I had the desire to get married, I had a date in mind, but no bride,” he said.
However Ijeoma, a make-up artist from Enugu in the south-east of the country, was amused and intrigued by the blunt missive, says CNN, and typed out a quick response.
“Am interested, just DM [direct message] me...lols.”
The light-hearted conversation blossomed into a flirtation over private messaging. Two days later, Amedu made the 300-mile journey to Enugu for the couple’s first date. Considering the unusual beginning to their relationship, the location was incongruously normal - the local shopping centre.
“He is the most handsome man I've ever met and I liked him instantly,” Ijeoma told the BBC, although she admitted the initial conversation was “awkward”.
However, as the day went on the pair found that they hit it off. “I fell in love with him, especially for his courage,” Ijeoma told CNN. Ultimately, the pair decided to follow Amedu’s timeline for a wedding on 6 January.
A whirlwind of introductions to family and friends followed. "At first, her family thought I was not serious but I proved to them that I was,” Amedu said.
Seven days after the fateful status, the couple tied in the knot in a traditional Igbo ceremony planned in just four days. Later this year, they are planning to hold a church wedding.
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