Like some Nigerian men, he manipulates all the gods. When he likes, he is a traditionalist relying on the customs of his people. At other times, he is a Christian quoting from the bible, particular the part that keeps women submissive. And finally, when neither the customs nor the Bible could help him, he ran to the Sharia.

This lady met with me today in Abuja in preparation for her ordeal in the Sharia Court next week. The man is actually asking the Sharia to assist him in getting separation from his wife for 6 months. Since she is 4-months pregnant, we seem to understand what he wants. He does’t want to be bothered with her pregnancy headaches or costs. He wants to receive the baby only after he has confirmed it is a boy.

The lady gave me a list of woes she has encountered in the hands of this man. The latest is the fact that despite her Christian faith, the man secretly converted her to Islam.

I had a number of options and suggestion to make to this woman. I wanted to advise her to divorce the man outright rather than face the Sharia. But I remembered that many of the people in this group have insisted that God hates divorce. By implication, they are of the view that this woman should rather go with her husband to their new religion rather than divorce him. (By the way, all those in this group who insist that God hates it for this woman to divorce this man, raise your hands because I am about to advise her to divorce him).