Buhari should be audacious and introduce a polygamy tax as part of a radical war against poverty

Ayo Akinfe

(1) Personally, I have nothing against polygamy as long as it is entered into freely by consenting adults with no coercion. What I have an issue with is young girls being effectively sold by their families to older men for economic reasons

(2) I have friends who have two or more wives and look after them. As long as they can cater for them and there is no rancour, it is fine. Our grand parents lived that way for decades and the culture served them well but in the 21st century where women have careers like men, our laws need to reflect such changes, so I believe a polygamy tax is needed. It will allow the culture to exist and at the same time generate revenue for the Nigerian treasury

(3) A 2017 Demographic Health Survey by the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed that 44% of women in the northeast and 47% of women in the northwest were in polygamous marriages. For men, the respective figures are 20% and 25% in both zones. They remain the two poorest geo-political zones in Nigeria, proving that there is a correlation between polygamy and poverty

(4) A similar survey in Kenya showed that 47% of polygamous households were poor compared with 27% of monogamous households. For me, polygamy is not about culture but poverty, so the only way to address the matter is by introducing a polygamy tax that allows cultural practices to continue once they are paid for

(5) I want to see President Buhari send a polygamy bill to the National Assembly mandating a man to pay an extra 10% tax for each additional wife he marries. Just imagine what difference it would make if this tax generates an extra $1bn a year for the Nigerian treasury

(6) In a productive society, a large population is actually an asset as we have seen in China, India, Brazil and Indonesia. These countries have leveraged their large populations and used them productively, especially when it comes to labour-intensive public works like dam building, mining, agriculture, providing security and road construction. Nigeria needs to learn from their successes

(7) Nigeria unfortunately is not tapping into the benefits of her large population and appears unable to know how to do so. We are producing almajiris in their millions with no plans to engage them in productive endeavours. Why we do not have a minister of state for Almajiri affairs is beyond me

(8) My only real beef with polygamy is that young women are being denied careers and the opportunity to contribute to the economy. They are married off early and made to spend their entire lives breeding when many of them could have been doctors, engineers, economists, scientists, agronomists, etc. A polygamy tax will help reduce this

(9) Proceeds from the polygamy tax will be used to fund female education. A special fund will be created using revenue that comes in from the tax and this money will be used to educate girls from poor families up to university level. This will prevent their parents selling them off into marriage

(10) Money accrued from this polygamy tax will also be used to fund the construction and maintenance of orphanages and female refuges. No child in Nigeria should fall by the wayside just because they are from a poor home