Why I Banned My Ministers From Marrying Extra Wives

Mohamed Bazoum, the president of Niger Republic, has said that he has told all of his ministers that they can't get any more wives.

He says it's because he wants to do something about poverty and low birth rates in the country.

The country is one of the poorest in West Africa, according to the World Bank. It has a GDP per person of $567.7 and a population of 25 million.


In an interview with VOA Hausa, Mr. Bazoum, who is in Washington for the US-Africa summit, said that the country's population growth was caused by the high rate of illiteracy.

He said that even Arab countries, which his people look up to as examples of how to practice Islam, don't have many children.

"The Arabs are good examples of how to follow this religion" (Islam). But most homes don't have more than three children. Each family has two or three kids at most, and this is true in all Arab and Muslim countries.

"In our case, you can find 10, 20, or even 30 children in one house. This is the first step toward poverty," Mr. Bazoum said.

"The main reason for this is that our people don't go to school. A lot of us didn't go to school, and you can't know that having lots of kids will make you poor unless you try to learn about it.

"For example, look at the elites, like ministers, security chiefs, and top government officials. These are the wealthy people in our society, and you will never find 30 kids in their homes.

When asked if that was why he didn't want his ministers to get more wives, Mr. Bazoum said yes.

He said that a cabinet member who wants to get a second wife must give up his job.

"Yes, I gave that order. As a minister in my government, you can't have two wives, and none of them have disobeyed it.

"Those who have two wives before taking office, on the other hand, can keep both of them," he said.