Nigerian comedian and actor Okechukwu Anthony Onyegbule, known as Okey Bakassi, has sparked conversations about marriage in Africa, saying ‘polygamy is the best form of marriage for Africa’
Bakassi, 55, who has entertained Nigerians with his humour and roles on screen, shared his thoughts during an episode of the Honest Bunch Podcast on Saturday, November 23, 2024.
He said monogamy is not living up to expectations, and many couples are merely putting up a front.
“Forget all the lip services that we pay to polygamy here. I still think that polygamy is the best form of marriage for Africa. Monogamy is not working,” Bakassi stated.
In his view, the concept of monogamy forces people into difficult choices that may not reflect their true desires.
He explained, “We are pretending. Now, what’s the difference between polygamy and monogamy? Polygamy says you can marry two people at the same time. Monogamy says you cannot marry them at the same time, you have to let one go. What if you don’t want to let one go?”
Meanwhile, in August 2023, Popular Kannywood actor, Ali Nuhu, said polygamy does not appeal to him even though he is a Muslim.
The actor said he believed polygamy has the tendency of disrupting some things in marriage, and fairness cannot be adequately guaranteed.
“The way I look at marriage is that as long as you and your wife have been living peacefully together, and also think that you can’t be fair if you bring another wife, or that marrying a second wife could disrupt some things, it’s better you continue to stay with only one wife,” Nuhu who has been married for over two decades told Gabon’s Room in a show hosted by a Kannywood actress, Hadiza Aliyu Gabon. (Guardian)
