Nigerian Bello Maasba has the concept of a harem down to a science and his fellow countrymen are none too pleased.

 The 87 year old has had 107 wives throughout his life. He is currently married to 86 of them between the ages of 19-64, nine have died and he divorced 12 for disobedience.   They live in 89 room home.

Islamic authorities arrested Bello three years ago and ordered him to divorce all but four of his wives. Refusing to do, he was jailed for 22 days. Authorities began interviewing the wives and after talking to 57 of them, all of which said they agreed to the marriages, they let him go.

Under Islamic law a man is allowed to marry four wives as long as he can care for them equally.  Bello is an Islamic faith healer and says his marrying so many was a result of divine intervention.

“I get a revelation from God telling me any woman I’m going to marry. If it wasn’t from God I wouldn’t have gone beyond two.”

He has fathered 185 children, the youngest is just a month old, and has an extended family of 5,000.

As a faith healer he refuses to use medicine and won’t allow any of his wives or children to either.  As a result fifty of his children have died.

“I didn’t feel annoyed or upset because they died, because it’s God who gave them to me and it’s God who takes them away,” he said.

Tags: islamic law, 107 wives, bello maasba
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