Tag Archives: nigeria

Fashion Week Internationale Visits Nigeria

Julie GersteinJanuary 31, 2012 //
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Vice’s “Fashion Week Internationale” has been a fascinating series and its final installment — in Nigeria — is perhaps the most striking. The episode conflates the country’s fashion week with Nigeria’s recent anti-gay legislation and history of anti-gay sentiment. Even the country’s First Lady shows up, and notes that “I remember my hot pants used to be quite hot.” But perhaps the best part is host Charlet’s interview with the ridiculously intelligent David Okorodudu, the albino nephew of the creator of “Nigeria’s Next Super Model.” Please watch. [Vice]

Nigeria Wants HIV-Positive Folks To Marry Each Other

Nikki DowlingAugust 19, 2009 //

In Nigeria, a government program is trying to stop the spread of AIDS by … encouraging HIV-positive people to marry each other. The idea is that if they’re married, they won’t be as likely to spread the disease to others. And they’re giving serious incentives for tying the knot. In exchange for an “HIV-marriage,” the agency will pay a couple’s dowry, and even provide them with counseling and employment assistance. There is no actual evidence that these marriages reduce the spread of AIDS, but some couples do note serious benefits of marrying another person with HIV. Some have said that their marriage has provided them with a support group and reduced the stigmatization associated with this disease. Keep reading »

Man With 86 Wives Defies Government Divorce Order

SimchaSeptember 2, 2008 //

We’ve all dated cocky guys, but Mohammed Bello takes the cake! About a month ago, we here at The Frisky were befuddled by the story of a Nigerian man with 86 wives. At the apparently arrogant age of 84, Mohammed Bello was still fathering children and seen as a preacher and healer to his wives, most of whom are in their twenties, and his brood of 170 kids. His compound has been a constant source of aggravation and embarrassment to the Muslim population of his own country, who see him as a crazy cult leader. In fact, he’s even been receiving death threats. Since even most Islamic fundamentalists believe you can only have up to four wives, the state has ordered Bello to divorce at least 82 of them by this Sunday or face exile from Nigeria. So what does Bello’s camp have to say in his defense? Spokesman for the self-proclaimed shaman, Mohammed Tahir, counterattacked with, “He is not going to divorce any of his wives. Rather he is going to marry more.” Boo-yah! It’s on! [Reuters]

Keep reading »

Big, Big Love: One Man, 86 Wives

SimchaAugust 11, 2008 //

While three sister wives may seem like one big, happy family on Big Love, try having 86! Mohammed Bello Abubakar, an 84-year-old Muslim preacher in Nigeria, has married more women than years he’s been alive and most of his wives are, surprisingly, in their twenties. Can you imagine trying to feed the 170 children he’s fathered?! Neither he nor his wives work, but they somehow manage to pay for the $915 (26.5 lbs) worth of rice they consume each day. Needless to say, the Islamic Authorities in his home state consider him a cult leader, but he fancies himself a shaman who doesn’t believe in modern medicine. Abubakar credits his healing powers with his ability to attract so many women. He told the BBC, “I don’t go looking for them, they come to me. I will consider the fact that God has asked me to do it and I will just marry them… That is why I have been able to control 86 of them.” Um, what a romantic? [BBC] Keep reading »