The women who are lucky to be in marriage should rather thank God and work harder to keep their men. They should eschew the illusion that there are men out there waiting to ‘marry’ them if they quit their marriages. They should work on their weak points and character flaws by determining to turn a new leave. Where their efforts appear not to be yielding positive results, they should pray, fast and seek help on how to successfully manage their men rather than opting to quit on account of petty issues that could be wisely resolved. The thought of better or ‘faultless’ men out there waiting for them is quite misleading, deceptive and delusional as such ‘perfect’ men only exist in their world of fantasy.
By recent events, it dawned on me that the fulfillment of the Biblical prophecy of Isaiah 4: 1 which states that “…four women will get hold of one man, they will tell him: ‘we will eat our own food, cloth ourselves and provide shelters for ourselves only just allow us to be identified with you as your wives” is a few years away. The mishaps around the world that often claim men as major casualties are pointing to the fact that in a matter of few years, men would be the most expensive and difficult human commodity to possess. There’s a logic behind this claim.
Terror onslaughts around the world target men as victims or elements of conquests. The assailants (terrorists) and the patriots (soldiers in battlefronts fighting against the insurgents) are men while most of the casualties among the hapless civilians in the warring territories are also men.
For instance, in Syrian terrorism alone, no fewer than 400, 000 people have been killed. Out of this number, almost 80 percent are men. I watched a video in which the Syrian terrorists lined up young men between the ages of 15 and 50 and shot them in the head in more than six different locations. Heaps of corpses dotted the landscape of the city. By now, the figure must have increased. This figure include those of the fighters, soldiers and civilians alike and they are mostly men.
According to available information, the US-led Coalition airstrikes have killed over 14, 000 across Syria, of which 9, 158 dead were ISIL fighters, 309 Al-Nusra Front militants and other rebels, 169 government soldiers and 4, 025 civilians. The airstrikes occurred in the period between 22 September 2014 and 23 March 2019.
In Afghanistan war from 2001 till date, no fewer than 111, 000 Afghans, including civilians, soldiers and militants, are estimated to have been killed in the conflict. Aside the casualty figure, over 29, 000 have been documented to have been severely wounded. Of the casualty figures, about 100, 000 of them were men.
In Yemen, more than 70, 000 people have been reportedly killed. This is according to Al Jazeera. The United Nations reports that from March 2015 to December 2017, between 8, 670 and 13, 600 people were killed in Yemen, including more than 5, 200 civilians, as well as estimates of more than 50, 000 dead as a result of an ongoing famine due to the war. The vast majority of this casualty are men in their prime age.
Back home in Nigeria, in 2014 alone, Boko Haram was reported to have killed over 6, 600 people. As we all know, the insurgents usually kidnap women and children while they kill men during their dastardly acts. Except when they strike by bombing soft targets at public places like the markets, worship centres, schools, IDP camps and suicide attacks, they don’t spare men in sight.
Just in six months in 2017, Nigeria records 2, 598 death from road accidents. The casualty per gender might be closer, yet, more men have died by road mishaps than women and children. Quite a lot more had happened since then till date. The current wave of intermittent killings and kidnappings on our major highways in the last one year has affected both sexes but still, more men have fallen victim than women.
If accurate data are to be generated, we might discover that we now have about 55 to 45 ratio of married women to single moms in our society. Is it that all these single moms are not good wife materials or they don’t have what it takes to keep a home? Not at all. Many of them are quite adorable and virtuous such that one begins to wonder how come they are not married. They are still searching for their own men.
In October 26, 2018 edition, I wrote on the title: “Help! Men Are Scarce.” I quoted the scary data released by a Ghanaian Pastor, Rev. Daniel Eshun of Temple of Faith Gospel Church, Ghana, where he said: “We (already) have excess of women. By 2020, we are going to have women in Ghana between the ages of 15 and 55 (in excess of) three million (according to) the statistics of 2010 population and housing census, go and check. Between the ages of 15 and 55 (in Ghana) we are going to have three million women who will not find husbands if each man marries one woman. Tanzania has 30 million women, 20 million men. In February of this year, President John Magufuli was begging, literally, begging the men to take two, three wives because over 10 million women can’t find husbands; and you know what that means? There would be increase in prostitution, (escalated) extra-marital affairs, there would be increase in unwanted pregnancies and abortions, (epidemic of) sexually transmitted diseases because there’s excess of women (in circulation) . . . and old marriages would collapse because the men would leave them and take new wives. If you say polygamy is destabilizing (to homes, then) think about (the adverse effects of) monogamy (to the society) as well.”
The above statement was made by Rev. Eshun while speaking on the topic: “Legitimacy of Polygamy” on a Ghanaian television interview program sometimes last year.
To be concluded.
