[CELEBRITIES]Comedian Bovi criticises Nigerian parents for criminalising dating culture

Bovi says young people are allowed to date [Instagram/Bovi]

Popular Nigerian comedian Bovi has shared his thoughts on the restrictive dating culture in Nigeria, pointing out how it affects relationships and marriages in adulthood.

Speaking in a recent interview on The Honest Bunch Podcast, Bovi said, “Most parents don’t want to hear that their children have boyfriends but when they get to a certain age, they start asking them to bring their husbands home. From where? Children aren’t even allowed to date!

He added, “I said something one day on a TV and people were coming for me for saying that young children should be able to go on dates and all.”

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The comedian recounted how the strict upbringing in many Nigerian households discouraged young people from experiencing normal dating stages.

He explained, “Our parents didn’t encourage that behaviour so we used to hide our boyfriends and girlfriends from them. Do you know how many stages you jumped? You didn’t go to the cinema to see a movie harmlessly; you didn’t stroll on walks and write letters.”

Bovi humorously described the overreaction parents had toward simple signs of romance, saying, “If they saw us with love letters back then, they’d shout at us, and you’d wonder what you did because they raised an alarm.”

“We criminalise the dating culture for too long in Nigeria and now we’re complaining that marriages are breaking. Marriages are breaking because people have unfulfilled dreams of dating. There is the extent to which you’d date people, as a single man, that when you marry, you know you’re not missing anything because you’ve done it all,” he concluded.