By Joy Joseph
Scholars have warned that polygyny, if not managed with fairness, financial capacity and a strong sense of responsibility, could expose families to co-wife rivalry, psychological distress, sexual health risks and economic pressures.
They raised the concerns during an international panel discussion organised under The Toyin Falola Interviews, on the theme, “Polygamy: Amplifying African Voices”, convened by renowned historian, Professor Toyin Falola.
A medical pragmatics scholar, Dr Victoria Faleke Ogunnike, said poorly managed multiple-wife marriages could create an atmosphere of competition and hostility among co-wives, with potentially damaging consequences for their mental health and the wellbeing of children.
She identified jealousy, rivalry, psychological trauma and uncontrolled childbearing as some of the challenges that could emerge when men failed to manage their households responsibly.
Ogunnike also warned that inadequate attention to sexual health could expose partners to sexually transmitted infections, including HIV, gonorrhoea and syphilis.
She noted that the financial demands of maintaining multiple households and raising children could place considerable pressure on family resources, potentially fuelling tensions among spouses.
Drawing on his family background, Professor Emeritus A.B. Assensoh, a political scientist, legal scholar and ordained minister, recounted growing up in a royal household where his father had six wives.
Assensoh, who described himself as the 36th child, said jealousy, greed and competition among members of the household sometimes made family life difficult.
He observed that even men with considerable financial resources could struggle to maintain harmony in large polygamous families.
Similarly, a South African educational leadership scholar, Dr Teboho Solomon Ngubane, said the sustainability of polygyny depended on a man’s financial capacity, fairness, integrity and willingness to treat all his wives with respect.
He stressed that every wife deserved dignity and every child adequate care and attention, warning men against entering multiple marriages without considering their ability to fulfil these responsibilities.
However, the Vice-Chancellor of Northwest University, Sokoto, Professor Mukhtar Umar Bunza, defended polygyny within the framework of Islamic teachings, which permit a man to marry up to four wives, provided he can treat them justly.
According to him, a man who cannot guarantee fairness among his wives should marry only one.
Veteran journalist and media strategist, Chief Adetola B. Adeniyi, cautioned against presenting sexual health risks as peculiar to polygyny, arguing that irresponsible sexual behaviour could expose people in monogamous marriages to sexually transmitted infections as well.
In his remarks, Falola said the discussion was not intended to condemn or endorse polygyny, but to encourage a nuanced examination of its cultural, religious and social dimensions.
He said the conversation sought to explore questions of responsibility, obligation, adaptability, continuity and reconciliation with tradition, rather than assume that either polygyny or Western marital ideals should be treated as universally superior.
The panel brought together scholars and professionals from different backgrounds to examine the implications of polygyny and the responsibilities it places on individuals, spouses and families.
