Why Nigerian Men marry younger women

Posted by Chidinma on Wednesday October 22, 2014 at 11:37:35:

In Nigeria, it is a silent custom or norm that a man should be older than his wife; it is only in rare cases that you see a Nigerian man getting married to a lady that is his age mate or even older than him. It is much acceptable for an old man to marry a lady that is almost half his age than a lady who is a few years older than the man. Some of the reason Nigerian men marry younger ladies is because;

- Financial balance: An older man is seen as one with more financial power and balance than a younger man. Most Nigerian women see men their age as being more unbalanced and still trying to catch up by the time the women are ready for marriage. Some women might date men their age while in school but very few of them actually marry those guys by the time their marriage clock is ticking.

- It boost the man's self esteem: In Nigeria, men are seen as the lord and head of the family, due to ego, the Nigerian man may feel if he gets married to an older lady, he may not accord him the respect he deserves, also he will receive all manner of insults and abuses from friends and relatives; this alone discourages Nigerian men from getting married to older ladies.

- Biological clock: it is believed that a woman has a biological clock, and that after a certain age, she may not be able to conceive again as she gets older, for this reason, Nigerian men prefer to get married to younger women who can give them children without complications.

- Mid-life crises: Nigerian men also have the mentality that it will be easier to shadow over mid-life crises with a younger woman than a woman who is also passing through mid-life crises at the same time with him, because the younger woman will spice up his life during that period in time.

- Most women prefer mature men: Women naturally don't see men their age mates as mature enough and this makes them to marry men a bit older than they are. Besides, an older man commands more respect to a woman and her kids than for a younger man.