Abuja residents clamour for men to wear engagement rings also

Some residents of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) on Tuesday expressed divergent views about the new clamour that men should wear engagement ring like their female counterparts.

An engagement ring is a ring indicating that the person wearing it is engaged to be married.

In Western countries, engagement rings are worn mostly by women, and rings can feature diamonds or other gemstones; in some other cultures men and women wear matching rings

Most of the residents told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that it was not ideal for men to wear engagement ring.

One of the respondents, Mrs Esther Gregory, a civil servant and a mother of two, said it made no difference if a man wore engagement ring or not.

“For me, if a man wears engagement ring as the ladies do, to indicate that he is about to get married, it makes no difference, neither will it change the person.

Miss Gina Okeh, a banker and soon-to-be bride, told NAN that wearing engagement ring had always been a tradition for the ladies and not for men.

According to her, engagement rings are meant to be given to the lady and not the other way round, because the man should be the one to propose, “and this is in accordance with the African tradition’’.

“Well, in our culture, the man finds for himself a woman, and engages her. So, it would be absurd to now see men wearing engagement rings.

“Remember also, that engagement ring has its own peculiarity and it would, therefore, look funny on a man’s finger.

“He might be misunderstood, thereby losing his respect as a man.

“It is expected that the man should give the lady engagement ring,” Okeh said.

In the same vein, Mr Godwin Aroh, a medical practitioner, said that engagement ring should not be worn by men considering the fact that `is the man who marries the woman’’.

“If you advice men to wear engagement ring, you are indirectly saying that women should equally propose and engage men which we know it is unheard of in our culture.