Nollywood filmmaker Kunle Afolayan has sparked public debate after urging men to “marry many women,” while reflecting on his upbringing in a polygamous home.
Gatekeepers News reports that the actor and producer made the remarks at the watch party of Aníkúlápó: The Ghoul Awakens, where a video clip from the event went viral on Tuesday.
Speaking at the gathering, Afolayan linked his existence and achievements to his late father’s decision to marry several wives.
“Without my father, there wouldn’t have been a KAP Village or even Kunle Afolayan.
I am the seventh born of my father because my father had ten wives.
For the men, marry many women, or rather be involved with many women,” he said.
He added that his father’s choices directly shaped his life journey.
“If my father didn’t, he would not have born me, and that is the honest truth.
But today, a few of us are lifting his legacy. Life is short, death is constant… Use your period,” Afolayan stated.
With his daughter, Eyiyemi Afolayan, on stage, the filmmaker contrasted his childhood experience with his relationship with his children.
“They are lucky… I couldn’t stand it with my father.
My father didn’t know my school. He didn’t know my date of birth…
But today, I’m so proud of my father,” he said.
Afolayan also spoke on fatherhood and personal struggles.
“Sometimes when people say ‘Happy Father’s Day,’ I’m always saying whether he pays child support or not, he’s still a father.
I have been going to court because I want to get a divorce… so that I can marry many wives,” he added.
He later prayed for his daughter, praising her performance in the series and wishing her success.
However, this is not the first time Afolayan has spoken about his father’s polygamous lifestyle.
In a 2021 interview with BBC Pidgin, he revealed that his father, Adeyemi Afolayan, who died in 1996, married ten wives and had 25 children — a decision he said deeply affected the family.
“I would not want to marry many wives because my father had 10 wives and I knew what happened throughout that period.
I knew that really distracted my father,” he said at the time.
He also disclosed that growing up in a polygamous household affected bonding among the children due to language and cultural barriers.
Afolayan further shared his early struggles with poverty, revealing that he once lived in a one-room apartment in Ebute-Metta and sometimes dealt with flooding.
“It’s not shame to say I have been poor before… If you see how I made it, it’s a matter of consistency,” he said.
Despite his famous lineage, he said life was far from glamorous.
“How would one live such life when you’re living in a room with ten women… That doesn’t mean there was no love among us,” he added.
He advised young filmmakers to start with the little resources available to them and remain consistent while pursuing their dreams.
