A young Nigerian woman has opened up about being forced into marriage with a man who already had six children, all because he paid for her WAEC exam fees.
The woman shared her story in a TikTok video by @ayospherical, and it’s gotten people talking across social media about the pressures some parents put on their daughters.
According to her account, a married man who regularly visited their home approached her about marriage after she finished her WAEC exams. She was clear about her position from the start.
“He approached me that he wants to marry me but he was married and had given birth to many kids, like six children, so I told him I can’t marry him,” she explained.
But the man didn’t give up. He got community elders involved, who then put pressure on her mother.
Despite the young woman’s objections, her mother insisted she had to marry him because he had sponsored her education.
The woman tried everything she could think of to avoid the marriage. She begged her mother to let her learn tailoring instead.
In desperation, she even asked her boyfriend to get her pregnant, thinking this might change her mother’s mind about the arrangement.
None of it worked. Her mother eventually forced her into the marriage anyway.
The story struck a nerve with many Nigerians who shared their own experiences and frustrations:
One user wrote: “Na wetin my papa won do be this. Me wey be 22yrs, he say make I bring husband😂” (This is what my father wanted to do. I’m 22 years old and he’s telling me to find a husband).
Another commented: “Sometimes we need to disobey our parents. Not my family trying to force me on a man with 2 wives and children.”
Others expressed solidarity: “Some parents self, I don’t understand. May God help us” and “I always dey happy say I stubborn from my childhood 🤣🤣” (I’m always happy that I’ve been stubborn since childhood).
