Ned Nwoko: Regina Daniels knows I can marry another wife

Ned Nwoko, a Nigerian lawyer-cum-politician, says Regina Daniels, an actress who doubles as one of his wives, knows he can decide to marry another wife due to his desire to have more children.

Daniels, 20, had birthed her first child with Nwoko, 59, after their controversial marriage in 2019.

In a chat with BBC Igbo, Nwoko, who spoke in both English and Igbo, reinforced his belief in polygamy.

He said monogamy is only a practice of the western world that prompted a rise in the number of female sex workers on the streets as well as an increase in the number of unmarried women in relation to their male counterparts.

According to the lawyer, his decision to marry more women is only a gesture that would eventually help society.

“Before I met Regina, I didn’t know about her. I didn’t watch movies. I met her the first time when she came to my house with her mother and her siblings because my place in Delta is a tourist place,” Nwoko can be heard saying.

“They came to look around and I liked her and that was it. So whether I marry another wife or not; she knows it can happen. I come from a very polygamous environment. I love children so I want more children. She knows this.

“My other wives know it. So we will see what happens. There are women everywhere. That’s why you have a lot of them loitering around Zone 4, 5, 6 as sex workers. It’s not because they love the job but that the economy didn’t favour them.

“These are the repercussions of the polygamy that the westerners brought to our country. Before the advent of Christianity, the Igbo tradition allowed for many wives and children.

“That determined the size of wealth you have in those days. An average northerner marries two, three, four.

“They’re helping the women and society. The fallacy of it all is that religion doesn’t allow it in the south. Yet the average southern man has up to 10 girlfriends. The irony is so stark.”

Speaking further on his relationship ideals, Nwoko said he doesn’t believe in dating a woman before marriage.

“I met her and I liked her. We got married within three weeks. I married all my wives within the same period. I don’t believe in dating anybody to marry them. Don’t date anybody you want to marry,” the lawyer added.

“When you marry them, you begin to fall in love from within the marriage. Even in my culture, as it were as a kid in the 60s, people were not dating. They arranged marriages from family to family; they choose a wife.

“Most girls were expected to be virgins when they get married and they build a family from there. Because they did not know each other before they got married, there was a lot of excitement and a lot of learning to do.”