Excerpt from David Hundeyin is a writer, travel addict and journalist majoring in politics, tech and finance

When Yul Edochie made his big annoucement, a lot of the ensuing commentary focused on gender politics, marital infidelity and the usual mind -numblingly boring themes that unfortunately animates the Nigeria social media spaces. Let me just state clearly I have zero opinion on Yul Edochie's indiscretions or decision. What a person does with their Instruments is nobody's business but theirs and theirs spouse unless it involves activity like RAPE.

Since Yul Edochie did not rape, there is zero case to answer regarding the morality or lack thereof of his decision of father a child outside of his marital home. Let me repeat that for emphasis: A decision to play a metaphorical away match and some away with the metaphorical trophy is not an issue for hundreds of thousands of occupationally challenge young people to obsess over. It's none of our business and it's really not that important anyway.

My issues however, is with the ancillary implication raisedby actors action. Remember how is the previous subheading, I complained about an infantile unthinking devotion to "the ways of our ancestors", as though our ancestors were an especially wise or successful people worthy of emulation? Let me reiterate using the issue of polygamy: why does there continue to be a belief that polygamy is or should be a good thing simply because our ancestors did it? Could out ancestors not be wrong about many things -perhaps even disastrously so?

In 2019 while working with International Committee on Nigeria (ICON) and the International Project for Peace Building and Social Justice (PSJ) on the silent Genocide report that later for Nigeria placed on a US state Department diplomatic notice list, I came across something that expanded my mind. One of the sources interviewed in the report explained that some of tension between Christian and Muslim communities in Northern Nigeria caused by economic disparity directly resulting from outcome of polygamous marriage practice in the Muslim area.

He explained that while the Christian area had linear inheritance practices since one man generally had one set of immediately descendants, the Muslim areas had severe economic dislocation since one man could have up to 4 set of immediate descendants (and sometimes more). Thus the monogamous Christian area were able to pass wealth down in a linear societal cohesion while the polygamous Muslim areas ended up with thousands of an angry men who had no inheritance, no land, no education and no hope.

In addition, where 10 men and 10 women cam theoretically marry each other and have 10 set of children who are genetically diverse enough to marry each other, 1 man and 10 women in a polygamous setting may produce the same children, but said children are siblings, which means they cannot marry each other. Unsurprisingly, geographical area with high rates of polygamy also tend to have more wars and conflict, as the pool of marriageable women is too small to accommodate a growing population of angry, undersexed young men who soon turn feral.

If this all sounds strangely familiar to you, that because you have already seen all of this happen - in fact you are seeing it happen right now in front of you Boko Haram, Ansaru, ISWAP and whatever designation terrorist give themselves tomorrow, we are all direct beneficiaries of the economic and societal dislocation caused by polygamy. Without it, their ranks could never have been swelled to their current number. There is even a strong argument to be made for linking the 300-year long slave trade abomination in West Africa to the practice of polygamy.

The fact that our ancestors did something does not - should not- make it acceptable for us to do it. Our ancestors did lots of things. The sold human beings for coloured pieces and corrugated roofing sheets. They made smallpox a god and worshipped it. They created writing scripts like Nsibidi, and hoarded them exclusively for elite priest and royalty so that information and knowledge could not be saved and compounded across generation. They became the only civilisation in human history to be completely, utterly, comprehensively and decisively conquered on their own land to the extent of adopting other people's gods, claiming other people's ancestry and even adopting skin bleaching.

A wise man once said, "For what is tradition, but peer pressure from dead people?"
Think about it

In a much as I want to believe that our forefathers did many unreasonable stuff and held tightly to the beliefs that relatively doesn't make sense. Majority of the beliefs were in no doubt, externally imposed to an extent that we started doubting our own values........having acknowledged this, there are many other practices that were done with logical reasons.... polygamy is one of such in terms of African culture but not a religious practice, as maybe practice in the Northern Nigeria. It is worth noting that marriage as it were was not brought to African by the west but POLYGAMY as a definition of the term was imported....it is not a coincidence that they were getting marriage in the west as well as Africa before we discovered each other's existence....hence African were never backward in the idea of man should marry women.

Polygamy were adopted due to the occupation of the breadwinner (Husband). It is very logical that if for example, you have a very large farm and we're equipped with those primitively invented tool........you definitely need helping hands in other to expand and operate the farm efficiently.....hence the need for many children which necessitate marrying many wives.

The issue of inability of a woman to get pregnant. It is also logical that African don't actually divorce women on the basis of fertility but would rather marry more women that can produce the children for the family......African have the advantage of extended family tradition. this identifies blood line, royalty etc this is a robust african's support system.

The African system accommodate polygamy to support widows.....aged woman that lost her breadwinner (husband) is allowed to marry the relative of her deceased husband in other to cater for herself and children......

Internal slave transaction was another reasoned for polygamy....aside admiration of the beauty of a women....men are encouraged to marry their slave so that young able women bloodline continues.

Unruly behavior of a wife.....African believed that an untamed stubborn wife can be control through polygamy approach

If the purpose of a thing (practice) is not understood, abuse is inevitable

However, advancement in skills, knowledge, and equipment has improved our lives hence, many if these reasons does not hold anymore to some degree in term of practice but not in logic.

This main issue is the individual condemning polygamy are doing so for selfish feeling...they tend to draw their analysis from religion books with records of some character practiced it without condemnation.

The argument against polygamy has always been based on external influence.....Christianity, Islam, British culture, Americans culture, feminism etc.

You don't have enough data to present that the west practices and conduct of marriage beats the African marriage.....each with it peculiar advantages and challenges.