In Nigeria, it’s common to see men with multiple wives and this practice, called polygamy, is backed by culture, religion, and even law.
But when it comes to women with multiple husbands, known as polyandry, the rules change. In Nigeria, it is illegal, condemned, and unrecognised. Should what is good for the goose not also be good for the gander?
Yet, in 1978, identical twins from Ekiti, Kehinde and Taiwo Ogundipe, defied convention by marrying one woman, or perhaps more accurately, one woman married two men. Their extraordinary love story shattered tradition, and tales of the unusual union were immortalised in the pages of Drum magazine.
The Story of the Ogundipe Twins
According to reports, the Ekiti-born twins first met Patricia Adewuyi, a 24-year-old, in December 1976 at a palm-wine bar in Ijesha Tedo, Lagos. Two years later, their story was splashed across the pages of Drum magazine. By then, Patricia had already given birth to their son, Noah, and the trio were living as a family.
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However, it was Kehinde who won her heart, and she accepted his proposal. With her British-born mother’s blessing, Patricia married him, only to later discover that Kehinde was a twin, and she was expected to be the wife to both brothers.
Although Patricia was initially shocked by the arrangement, she soon adjusted and embraced it. Gossip about their unusual marriage circulated, but they remained undeterred. In an attempt to make the union appear more acceptable to society, Patricia later introduced her sister, Pauline, to Taiwo, hoping he would marry her. However, the twins firmly rejected the idea.
For the twins, Patricia was not their first shared wife. They had previously married Rosaline from Benin City, and though the marriage seemed promising at first, it was short-lived before Rosaline eventually deserted them.
In the interview in Drum Magazine, Patricia said she was happily married, and her mother also affirmed that she was equally happy with her daughter’s marriage to both men. When asked why they always choose one wife, one of the twins explained:
We wanted to show the world that just like one man can have many wives, twins can share things to show we’re one. God made us to be together in everything we do.
In Yoruba culture, twins (known as ìbejì) hold a sacred significance. They are believed to share a spiritual connection deeper than the physical; they are considered a dual soul split between two bodies. Kehinde and Taiwo probably took that belief to heart, and they went on to love and even father as one.
What is Polyandry?
Polyandry is a rare form of polygamy where a woman takes two or more husbands at the same time. Unlike polygamy, where one man marries multiple wives, a practice widely accepted in Nigeria, polyandry has been considered taboo in most parts of the country. However, it has existed in Nigerian history and tradition.
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Aside from the Ogundipe twins, Nigeria has recorded forms of polyandry before. The most notable example comes from the Irigwe (Iru) people of Plateau State. Among them, women could traditionally have multiple husbands, called co-husbands.
A woman rotated between her husbands’ homes, and the paternity of her children was assigned to the man whose home she lived in at the time. It was often seen as a practical solution to infertility, inheritance, and economic survival. The practice was officially outlawed in 1968 after the Irigwe council voted against it.
More recently, a viral video sparked debate when a woman in Ogoja, Cross River State, claimed to be married to multiple husbands. In the video, she introduced two of her spouses, Kelechukwu and Ikenna, while boasting about her 70 farms and her ability to care for more husbands.
However, community leaders in Northern Cross River strongly rejected her claims, insisting that polyandry was never part of Ogoja culture. They described her story as misleading and unrepresentative of their traditions.
In particular, the convener of Who is Who in Northern Cross River (WWNCR), Dr. DC Enamhe, expressed dismay at the viral video. He said:
Needless to say, the person in the video is obviously acting a script and has little or no knowledge of the land of Ogoja, its people or its language…It is worrisome that in a bid to generate clicks, an individual would cast aspersions on the culture and character of the entire people of Ogoja, known to be well educated with a deep rooted history of religion and culture which has instilled morality over the years.
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He condemned the mudslinging on the good people of Ogoja and demanded an apology from the skit maker. While we are not sure if that apology ever came, the Ogundipe twins’ marriage remains one of Nigeria’s most fascinating and unconventional love stories, a rare case of polyandry in a country where the practice is now outlawed.
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