The Practice of Polygyny among Contemporary Yoruba Muslims in South-Western Nigeria: Its Implications for Societal Peace

Abstract

Polygyny had been in practice among the Yoruba people from time immemorial due to many reasons, among which are, inability of the wife to procreate, health challenges, the need for more hands to assist in agricultural works, and a mark of status. However, in the recent time, many of the Yoruba Muslim men practise polygyny lustfully to marry more than one wife and abandon them to fend for themselves. This practice which is common among the Yoruba Muslims has given rise to a lot of problems in marriages which result in increase in dysfunctional families thereby posing a great threat to societal peace. This paper therefore, examines the practice of polygyny among the contemporary Yoruba Muslims in South-western Nigeria with the view to proffer practical solutions for curbing syncretic practices in Yoruba Muslim polygynous marriages. The study adopts the descriptive research design of a survey type. The target population for the study consists of the Yoruba Muslims living in the South-Western part of Nigeria - Oyo, Ogun, Ondo, Ekiti, Osun and Lagos States. A total of 600 Muslim men constituted the sample for the study. Also, the researcher made use of two focus group discussions with 15 (fifteen) children and 15 (fifteen) women from Muslim polygynous families. As shown in the findings, majority of contemporary Yoruba Muslims do not comply with Islamic principles on polygyny despite their understanding of those principles. The study then recommends that Muslim clerics and Islamic organisations should intensify efforts in educating Muslim couples on why polygyny is acceptable and the conditions attached to its practice.

Keywords: Polygyny, Yoruba Muslims, South-western Nigeria, Societal Peace