In January, 51-year old gospel singer, Sammie Okposo made headlines following his public apology for cheating on his wife during his trip to the United States last year.
The American-based woman, identified as African Doll also publicly admitted to the claim, revealing that she is already pregnant for the singer and that Okposo had abandoned her after she told him about the pregnancy.
The infidelity scandal elicited diverse reactions from Nigerians, with many – colleagues in both the gospel music space, as well as the secular music industry – heavily criticizing him.
Stories like that of Okposo will always abound and spark discussions on whether we’re actually hard-wired for polygamy, which helps explain why so many cheat.
Polygamy, a type of marriage in traditional African societies whereby men married two or more wives, is as old as time but was relegated by modern Christian values. In Nigeria, however, Muslims still practice it.
Even though monogamy, the state of being married to one person at a time, has been the system of marriage commonly practiced by many Christians in Nigeria and other African countries, it has continued to be cited as one of the reasons couples, most especially men, engage in infidelity.
Given the ubiquitous claims of infidelity in celebrity marriages, most people believe that polygamy may be the panacea to cheating. According to their summation, having more than one wife will help drive the lust away.
The fact that Okposo, despite being married to a beautiful woman, with all the natural endowments any man would wish for in a woman, cheated makes it seem as if polygamy can curb the disastrous consequences of infidelity.
However, one thing is certain: whether polygamy will curb infidelity or not, cannot be fully ascertained.
Ezinwanne Onwuka, senior staff reporter and columnist with WAP is a Nigerian-based writer and content developer. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy from the prestigious University of Nigeria, Nsukka. Her interests include reading, writing, researching and graphic designing.
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