Veteran comedian, Atunyota Akpobome, popularly known as Alibaba, has defended polygamy, describing it as a system that promotes family stability and helps curb infidelity among men.
He made these remarks during an interview with media personality Nedu which started trending on Tuesday, arguing that having multiple wives could foster cooperation among them and discourage men from having extramarital affairs.
‘Some people feel if it’s only one wife, you may not be able to control the wife. But if the wife knows that you have more than one, she will calm down. She will calm down because she knows that if she misbehaves, another person will be available’, he said.
He also cited cultural practices in parts of the country, particularly in Ibadan, where, according to him, women sometimes encouraged their husbands to take more wives to maintain peace in the home.
‘So there are different reasons for polygamy. I actually know of a woman in Ibadan who encouraged her husband to be polygamous. Most of them back then, I don’t know who wants to doubt this, the women marry a young girl and give to the husband’, he added.
According to him, such arrangements were often made to prevent men from keeping concubines.
‘And they do that because they don’t want the man to have concubines. You have families where when the brother that married the woman dies, and she’s either just a new wife or she had just two children, and they need the children to be taken care of, and you don’t want her to go to another family.
‘They call all the brothers and say, which of you can take over this girl and take care of her? So if the man already had a wife, that’s a cause for polygamy.
While admitting that many people criticise polygamy, Alibaba maintained that it remains a long-standing cultural system rooted in responsibility and family preservation.
‘And as much as people try to say it is not right, like in your introduction, there are people who say no, it’s not right. The same person would have about like three, four, five children’.
