In the mood of the season, listening to a couple like AYO and MAIRO ESE share on love, Christmas traditions and their faith was a beautiful experience. It makes an interesting read with lessons to learn from their 7 years in marriage. KEMI AJUMOBI writes.

MAIRO ESE

Mairo Ese (Oghenemairo Okechukwu Ese) is a renowned Nigerian songwriter, gospel singer, and worship leader, celebrated for his powerful and soul-stirring music. With a heart devoted to worship, he has made a significant impact in the gospel music scene, creating songs that inspire and uplift. He is best known for hit singles such as ‘Nani Gi,’ ‘You Are The Reason,’ and ‘The Only God.’ His most recent single, ‘Eternal God,’ featuring Prospa Ochimana, was released in 2024. Mairo Ese is also set to release a new single titled ‘In Your Presence,’ featuring Abbey Ojomu, which promises to be another profound offering of worship. As a worship leader at heart, Mairo Ese is deeply committed to raising and discipling worshipers across the globe. His ability to lead worship in multiple languages—including English, Isoko, Yoruba, Igbo, Pidgin English, and Swahili, sets him apart as an artist uniquely equipped to connect with and inspire a multiethnic congregation. This versatility makes him a powerful vessel for global ministry. He is happily married to his wife, Ayo Mairo-Ese, a broadcaster and together they co-founded ELAME Media Company – a full service production company. They make their home in Lagos, Nigeria, where they continue to serve and make a positive impact in their community and beyond.

AYO MAIRO-ESE

Ayo Mairo-Ese is an anchor at Arise News Channel, co-anchoring Africa’s premier Breakfast Show – The Morning Show.

Ayo is a multiple award-winning broadcaster, media and communications professional, events compere/host, and public speaker.

A graduate of International Relations from Swansea University UK, she began her career in media on TV with Cool TV in 2014 as co-host on the popular talk show ‘The Blog’. As part of her duties, she produced content for the daily show. On the same TV station, now rebranded as WazobiaMax, she went on to co-host a daily news and lifestyle programme ‘Hello Nigeria’.

Over the years, Ayo has made a mark in her industry, marshalling mind-shifting conversations with national and international Government officials, Thought leaders and captains of industry.

Ayo has made her mark in TV broadcasting over the years, and this has earned her a number of accolades and honours.

Mairo Ese

What does Christmas mean to you?

Sings “it’s the most wonderful time of the year.” Christmas is a season of joy, Christmas is all about love. Christmas reminds us of the love of God for us. The Bible says “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son.” It is a season of giving, where we reflect on God’s love but also express it through acts of kindness and the bonds we share with family and loved ones. Christmas is a beautiful reminder that God truly loves us, and it inspires us to share that love with others.

Share on your musical projects, what is new, what are you looking forward to and what should listeners expect?

We have a new song set to release in January titled “In Your Presence.” The inspiration came during a moment of worship. After worshiping, I was overwhelmed by the beauty and awesomeness of God, and that’s when the melody began to flow. I heard the words, “It’s always beautiful in Your presence, in Your presence, my Lord,” and the song was born. Later, I worked with my producer, Okechukwu Martynz, to bring the song to life. It was such a beautiful process, and I believe the song will bless many. In God’s presence, we experience the fullness of joy and discover the true meaning and purpose of life.

How important is professionalism in music delivery, especially, in your case, faith-based music?

When you walk with God, you will realise it is important to have the spirit of excellence, as excellence comes from Him. I view music, praise and words as offerings unto God, and we must present a worthy offering — this will mean skillfully presenting your offering. This means paying attention to every aspect — from the writing and sound quality to the overall production. Professionalism is key in presenting a worthy offering and because I am big on excellence, I commit to delivering excellent work. Mediocrity is never an option for me, it’s crucial that we present our best to God, especially through our music.

You recently celebrated 7 years, what are you grateful for? What would you love to say to your wife?

I’m grateful to God, I remember when I was single and searching. It was a lot and I used to also have the fear of marriage, I didn’t want to get it wrong in marriage. But God has blessed me with a really wonderful woman, and a loving daughter. She’s not just beautiful, she’s intelligent, sound and prayerful. She loves the Lord, and she doesn’t just talk the talk, she does the talk as well and I’m grateful to God for that. Marriage has been beautiful, it has been 7 years of knowing and loving ourselves more. We’ve grown to become best friends and I’m delighted about my wife.

Note to wife: My wife, thank you for coming into my life. I call you God’s mercy to me, and that hasn’t changed. Throughout our journey together, you have consistently shown honour and love for me, and I will love and nurture you to become the best version of yourself. I love you.

Marriage has been beautiful, it has been 7 years of knowing and loving ourselves more. We’ve grown to become best friends and I’m delighted about my wife

AYO MAIRO-ESE

What does Christmas mean to you?

Well, Christmas is a beautiful time for me, it reminds me of the greatest gift given to mankind, Jesus Christ. This is a season that presents a great opportunity to give, show love, and celebrate the greatest gifts given to mankind.

Share your childhood memories of Christmas

For me, Christmas was always a time for family gatherings, lots of food, and celebration. We would cook all day, enjoy the food, dance, and play music. I recall the Christmas spent with my grandparents, from my mother’s side, who are from Edo State. We would play Sir Victor Uwaifo, and dance. The grandchildren, all my aunts and uncles will come together. It was such a beautiful memory, Christmas evokes beautiful memories from my childhood.

As a media practitioner, how do you balance work and family?

That’s a big question, and one I get a lot. Honestly, one of the most important factors in maintaining balance is having a supportive spouse. He’s able to help me bring balance and I give priority to what is priority. We also make sure to involve our family in my work, so they’re always included in the process. Ultimately, having that support is key to balancing everything.

You recently celebrated 7 years, what are you grateful for? What would you love to say to your husband?

Oh! I’m grateful for many things. I’m most grateful to God for a partner who loves Him and that reflects in the way that he loves and treats me. I’m grateful for the growth we have experienced over the years. Looking back at the past seven years, I feel we’ve fallen deeper in love than the first time — first year, and our friendship has deepened.

We’ve grown individually and collectively. I’m grateful to God because I used to fear marriage, uncertain of what to expect, but God has pleasantly surprised me. Marriage has been a beautiful journey, full of growth, maturity and a deeper understanding of what it means to be in partnership with someone. Of course, it has also been a journey of growth and love.

Note to husband: My dearest darling super Mairo, you are the best husband in the world and I just love you. Thank you for being my partner on this journey and for being a reflection of God’s goodness and love to me. I love you endlessly.

I’m most grateful to God for a partner who loves Him and that reflects in the way that he loves and treats me

Ayo & Mairo Ese

What Christmas traditions did each of you bring into your marriage, and how have they evolved over the years?

Ayo: Gift giving — wrapping them and putting them under the Christmas tree.

Mairo: We have a tradition where our family comes together on New Year’s Day, a tradition introduced by my wife. She brought about togetherness, giving, praying and worshiping together.

What do you remember about your first Christmas together as a married couple?

Mairo: Christmas was right after our wedding — we got married November 11 and Christmas was the next month. I don’t recall the details, but I remember we stayed in town, exchanged gifts, and spent quality time with family.

Ayo: I can’t recall all the details, but I do remember we exchanged gifts. To be honest, we don’t remember much, but it must have been memorable.

Do you have a specific way you like to decorate your home for Christmas?

Mairo: Yes! Sometimes, we do, but there are times we get too busy to manage it ourselves. Occasionally, our staff surprises us—we’ll come downstairs to find the house already decorated. So right now the Christmas decoration is in our heart, we have decorated our heart with the love of Jesus.

Ayo: Forever grateful to God for that. I actually like a nicely decorated home for Christmas but unfortunately, we don’t get to do it. My husband is the more creative person and he should be the one to have the responsibility for Christmas decor and so I blame him for not having Christmas decorations whenever we don’t.

Do you have any special recipes or dishes that you prepare together during the holiday season?

Ayo: Recipe of love.

Mairo: Not really, we’re rarely in the kitchen together. In the early days, we used to cook together, but now we are both busy. Thankfully, God has been gracious to us, and we have people who can help out with that.

How do you approach gift-giving for each other? Do you have any memorable gifts you’ve given or received?

Ayo: So, we already mentioned earlier that we have a tradition of giving gifts each year. It’s interesting that I introduced it but my husband has been the one that has sustained it. Without him sustaining it, I probably would have stopped doing it because after a while, there’s the tendency to get used to each other. But he’s so passionate about it that we make it a point to exchange gifts yearly. It’s always a surprise also, so we hide it from each other and I always look forward to opening the presents. My most memorable gift was the year he got me a full set of jewelry. I was really touched by that and I think because it was a surprise — I wasn’t expecting it at all and I needed it. I still use the jewelry set till date.

Mairo: My wife has learnt to match my love for quality fashion when gifting me. She’s learnt to give me some quality stuff — quality shoes, expensive things over the years. I’m grateful for that.

How do you balance celebrating Christmas with each of your families, and what unique traditions do you share with them?

Ayo: That’s a great question. It’s not very easy, but one year, I was really grateful that I suggested we spend Christmas with my mum, and we drove to hers — it was really special. Christmas Day is usually for us as a family and New Year’s Day is dedicated to extended family.

A tradition we’ve established is an annual New Year’s thanksgiving, where both our families come together. Since my husband is the firstborn, it makes organising a bit easier. We come together and we just use the opportunity to reflect, it is usually so beautiful. And of course, we have loads of food. This has become such a big part of our family tradition and we don’t want to lose it, it’s so special

Mairo: We get to reflect on the year and everyone has something to be grateful to God for. It is tradition for everyone to come with something to be grateful to God for. This year, the whole family is spread across different parts of the world, but we also hope to connect online to sustain the tradition. But eventually, we will be meeting in different parts of the world to sustain the tradition for our children and our siblings.

Do you have a favorite Christmas song or carol that you enjoy listening to or singing together?

Ayo: I can never get tired of listening to ‘Oh Holy Night,’ so we share that.

Mairo: Yes, Oh Holy Night (Mariah Carey’s version), Joy to the world, Silent Night and of course Feliz Navidad. In the last few years, what we also do is watch Christmas movies together.

Ayo: So, thank you Hallmark and Netflix.

Are there any specific activities you look forward to doing together every holiday season?

Mairo: Our best holiday is usually our anniversary. We have made it a tradition to travel during our wedding anniversary and we always look forward to it. We travel to different parts of the world and God has been gracious to us, providing for us to sustain it. For Christmas, it is more of family time, where we spend quality time together whether we’re in or out.

Ayo: I’m actually looking forward to our first Christmas abroad. Yes, I have had that in the past before. I have had Christmas in Dubai once or twice. I have had a very British Christmas, but I think it will be nice for us to experience Christmas out of the country together. Something new, something different.

If you could spend Christmas anywhere in the world, where would it be and why?

Mairo: For me, it doesn’t matter where we are in the world, as long as I have my family — my wife. Whether we’re in Lagos, abroad, in Dubai, New York, the UK, Canada, or anywhere else, what matters most is simply being together.

Ayo: I’m not even lying, that was going to be my answer too! I was going to say, anywhere my husband is, I’m happy. We don’t really have a specific destination in mind, it’s all about being together. But it would be nice to explore different countries together.

Mairo: Actually, it’ll be nice to attempt Dubai.

Whether we’re in Lagos, abroad, in Dubai, New York, the UK, Canada, or anywhere else, what matters most is simply being together