Popular Nollywood actor Ugezu J. Ugezu has made it clear via an Instagram post that a father is not empowered to impregnate his own daughter in Igbo land. The popular thespian who is a fantastic movie director/scriptwriter stated clearly that such an act is considered as an abomination.
Rather, the daughter will be encouraged “to take in from any trusted man” but the father will not partake in any way whatsoever in “anchoring the task himself.”
The highly respected Nollywood heavyweight was reacting to a comment made by a certain anaky_bomb after the Instagrammer appeared to suggest so: “I’m lover of our Igbo tradition ♥️ I also learned that it’s a man’s responsibility to pregnant his daughter if his wife fail to give him a son. Or he can marry a second wife. And that’s if he has none at all. Hold your breath, never fight me on comment section A man can still take charge of his late fathers last wife too. Also a brother can marry his late brothers wife too.”
It was then Ugezu reacted: “@anaky_bomb There’s no part of Igbo land where a father is empowered to impregnate his own daughter. A man may encourage his daughter to take in from any trusted man….. Not the man anchoring the task himself. It is an elaborate abomination and a must cleansed sacrilege.”
It all started when Ugezu J. Ugezu shared a video on his Instagram page suggesting that in the past, it wasn’t much of a big deal if a man could not father a child. All he had to do, was to go to his brother and ask for this help.
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According to Ugezu, this would help keep the child-bearing strictly in the family unlike the present day when the woman would go outside to look for a child from anywhere.
However, his post triggered a lot of reactions with some totally disagreeing with the actor.
attenna3: “Sir Ugezu I respect you as a great actor. This topic I strongly disagree . When I marry one man from a family, there is no way in hell that I will have sexual relationship with his brother for no reason on earth. My brother in law is certainly not my husband at any point in my life. That is straight up NASTY LIVING. Did it cross anyone’s mind that God might not want these men to have children.
There is also adoption or if you can afford it then do In Vitro Fertilization. This is why I see so many African movies where the husband dies and the brothers in law are all lusting after the wife. This tradition belongs to the cave people. Please do not promote this behavior. You take one hand to hold unto progress but then you use the other hand to hold unto the barbaric behaviors of your forefathers.
Some of you Nollywood people are still producing movies where the women are blamed for not having a boy. This gives the men the excuse to have many wives when you all should know by now that the men determine the sex of the baby. The women should not be out hunting for baby fathers.
Some women their husbands die, the same so call family send them packing even with children and take away the dead men possessions. Some of you men do not value your women because you would not have them succumb to this kind of barbaric life. Decide if you want to go forward or backward because you cannot have it both ways.”
mmutitu: “Biggest problem to this solution is that the in laws usually blame the woman and call her barren instead of seeking solutions.
The second problem to this solution is that men can take other wives or go out of wedlock but women can’t do it openly.
The third problem to this solution is there are no clan discussions or problem solving. The elders will tell the man to simply return the woman and get another one, not even considering that their son could be the problem. To avoid the shame of being “sent back”, they find donors. That’s where the siblings variety shows up.
It’s a mess! In my culture, the age mates would assist each other.”
lekkilandlord: “Me i will never allow any man come an inch close to my wife talk more of my brother, if i can’t make her pregnant den we adopt simple. My own opinion though.”.
lyzobspeaks: “Ayaka Ndi Igbo, the problem is not only pride & ego, it is also shame on the part of the woman/women involved. The original wife of the man producing will even come out in compound/ ezi and call her fellow wife, names and tell everybody else that it is her own husband that makes those pregnancies possible our people are wonderful. Ayaka, I know Africans don’t like adoption as a thing, I suggest we start changing our thinking concerning adoption. When we are not able to reproduce, let’s do adoptions. Your child does not only have to be biological. My perspective, Sir. Blessings, Sir.”
orakle_of_truth: “Change is constant my respected elder, we can’t continue with the old practices, we can’t start using leaves as clothes or go back to mud houses, life has far far changed, how many men will be comfortable knowing dia wives slept with dia brother all bcos dey want to have children, we all must understand dat u live once, choose to be happy or sad. There are so many children in orphanages u can adopt, finally d day we d*e no one goes with us, even or tradition won’t go with us, we just stress ourselves too much, like our ask, wot should our unmarried women do wen dey can’t seem to find a husband, SHOULD DEY BE MADE TO MARRY DIA COUSINS OR BLOOD BROTHERS??, Must everyone marry?, Will everyone own a car or house? D houses built by landlords who will rent Dem if we all have houses,, we just worry too much in dis life God gave to us”.
ibechidera_official: “From my little thought. Before everyone lives in same house same compound but now people live in different places because of the nature of life, if one happens to build a house he will fence it like central Bank with security guards. Importantly the civil war divided many things But frankly such is not good enough in our society now because there are enough solutions to the problem Unless God chooses it to be so for the man not to be fertile. For the woman to go out and get a child I say NO to it”.
