- Kanayo has sparked conversation online with an old video of him speaking about marriage and African culture
- The Nollywood star claimed many men didn’t marry one wife out of personal choice but because of the opinions of others
- He also shared why polygamy was part of African culture, sparking reactions from his followers
Veteran Nollywood actor Kanayo O. Kanayo has again sparked fiery reactions with his opinion about polygamy and African culture.
Kanayo, who in the past argued that monogamy was an imported culture destroying the rich cultural fibre of Africans, reshared a clip from his 2025 chat with Isbea U on the Curiosity Made Me Ask podcast.
Source: Instagram
The actor, who made waves after opening up about his crashed marriage, claimed that many men have one wife not as a result of their preferences, but because of the public opinions of their religious leaders, like pastors and Reverend Fathers.
According to the actor, having a mistress in the UK is okay, but when an African man takes a second wife, he is referred to as a polygamous man.
“Many people, they have one wife because of wetin pastor go talk, wetin Reverend Father go talk, not because it is what they want. What is mistress in the United Kingdom? In the culture I come from, it is called Iko. She is the official lady known to the wife, whom the husband visits after work every day. In the UK, they have mistresses, but when you get a second wife here, they say you are a polygamous man. Who is fooling whom? Time don pass wey we dey follow oyibo. The African culture in which we are situated was well managed by our forefathers and speaks of command and control. Most of the things our fathers did are in the Bible,” he said.
Source: Instagram
In a caption, the actor added:
“Africans mind your business. Be original. Cultures define us. No one size fits all.”
The video of Kanayo speaking about polygamy and African culture is below:
Backlash trails Kanayo’s opinion
The Nollywood actor’s comment didn’t go down well with many of his fans and followers who disagreed with him.
Legit.ng captured some of the comments. Read them below:
silky_martinz said:
“Sir just marry more than 5 make we hear word.”
christianau3 reacted:
“Wow so is he going to encourage his sons to have mistresses outside their marriage? Hmm!”
thee_reading_goddess commented:
“Eeeeeh what the hell is this Lord most of these individuals are better enjoyed when quiet
guchyspam said:
“Oga KO, marry as many as you want and let us be.”
im_chuma commented:
“Something tells me Mr. kanayo is cheating on his wife proudly – how else is he not married to a second wife? When people start getting old they hide behind age as wisdom to talk nonsense without inhibition.”
oluwanoni1s said:
“How many wife did he marry and how many kids did he have outside his marriage Please sir don’t come and mislead us.”
Kanayo speaks about wedding in his hometown
Legit.ng previously reported that Kanayo defended his hometown, Mbaise, Imo state, after a video of wedding talks that crashed over bride price demands went viral.
He argued that the bride price was relative and varies in the Eastern part of the country
He also dismissed the generalisation of expensive bride price and demands in the southeast.
Source: Legit.ng
