LAGOS: Veteran Nollywood actress Bimbo Akintola has reignited conversations on fidelity, gender, and marriage traditions with a bold new claim: there is a “shortage of men,” and women may need to embrace polygamy.
Speaking in a recent interview, Akintola argued that the practice, rooted in African tradition, is both practical and cultural.
She recalled Yoruba households where multiple wives were common, while pointing to modern examples where women have encouraged their husbands to take second wives for sexual balance or peace of mind.
This latest remark comes weeks after her controversial statement on a podcast with Gloria Young, where she declared that 90% of men cheat, insisting that infidelity is ingrained in African men.
Your father cheated, your grandfather cheated. My father has two wives, she said, sparking fierce social media debate.
Critics argue her position risks excusing male infidelity as biology while reducing women to competitors for scarce male partners. The double standard is glaring men who cheat is often excused, while women who cheat face disgrace or divorce.
Still, Akintola points to parenting as a solution if monogamy is to survive. She urged parents to raise sons with the same moral discipline as daughters:
Teach your sons that their body is the temple of God, the same way you teach your daughters.
Analysts say her comments expose the tension between tradition and modernity in African marriages. While polygamy has historical roots, today’s debates revolve around equality, responsibility, and fidelity as a conscious choice not inevitability.
Akintola’s words continue to divide audiences provoking anger, agreement, and laughter in equal measure. But they also highlight a deeper question: will future generations inherit the resignation that men will always cheat, or the belief that fidelity is possible for both men and women?
