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Readers think retrogressive customs should be discarded

56% of Pulse Nigeria Poll voters are in agreement that any custom that is retrogressive should be scrapped with immediate effect.

This sad old man is really worried

Despite warnings from her family that he should come and do the right thing, he refused to heed such warnings and now that Rose is dead, her family want him to marry her corpse.

Read his story here

"My name is Nsikak, a 38-year-old man from Akwa Ibom State. I am a very serious trouble at the moment and I do need advice from your readers so as to save my life.

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The problem is that the parents of my late 'wife' want me to drink the water used in washing her corpse as well as marrying the body before she would be buried.

I met my late 'wife', Rose, 10 years ago and in the course of our relationship, she became pregnant for me. I was not ready for marriage then but I also did not want her to abort the baby, so the only reasonable thing was for her move in with me.

Before she gave birth, I went to see her parents to let them know that she was living with me and that I would soon come to carry out the marriage rites to make her my lawful wife.

It was not a full introduction but as our culture demands, I gave them some drinks while they gave me a list of items I should provide for what is called 'insult' in our part of the country.

When I came back to Lagos, I lost my job and with no money, I had to postpone the marriage rites. I called Rose's parents to inform them that I would come and do the right thing when things improved.

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I must confess here that I never got around to fulfilling my promise to them because all through, I have been struggling to make ends meet. In the process, Rose bore me three more children while her family kept telling me to come and do the marriage rites.

I never knew I was playing with fire because in the middle of last year, Rose died from kidney disease complications and that was when my troubles started.

When I called her parents to inform them of her death, the head of the family told me that they do not recognize me as their in-law. He said I should come to their village to inform them properly.

When I went there, it was by the grace of God that I left alive because the youths almost lynched me.

Since then, they have been giving me so much trouble and the last straw was when they said I would have to drink the water used in washing Rose's corpse as well as marry her corpse before she is buried.

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Some friends who are from the town have warned me never to go with the custom as that would result in my death but the corpse of my 'wife' has been lying in the mortuary for the past eight months and her people are not willing to budge.

I do not know what to do again.

Nsikak."

The teaser for the day was:

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How Nigeria voted:

He should do what Rose's family want him so her could bury her - 6%

He should never attempt to go with Rose's family - 10%

He should be blamed for allowing things get this bad - 38%

Such custom should be scrapped with immediate effect - 56%

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