By Sunmola Olowookere

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The rivalry between wives and mothers- in-law is as old as time.

From one generation to the other, it has become a natural phenomenon for wives and mothers-in-law not to see eye to eye. Many are often at loggerheads because they could not manage the crisis between them.

At the beginning, about 70 % of them grow to dislike each other and the conflict often snowballs into crisis.

Such is the case of a family in our neighbourhood. The situation which was not cordial to begin with had worsened with added years. The conflict between the wife and the mother-in-law was aggravated by the childlessness of the couple and eventually it put the marriage asunder.

Olanike and Adeoye (not real names) are looking up to God for a child as they are yet to have a child after seven years of marriage. The wife was already terribly concerned.

She went to seek spiritual help from a Prophet who told her that her mother-in-law is the witch that blocked her from having the fruit of the womb.

It was a terrible day when the mother- in-law came to visit them.

The mother in law who had been pressuring the wife on the need for her to find a solution to her barrenness got more than she bargained for as the wife practically flew at her face.

She confronted her mother-in-law with the statement divulged to her by the prophet while shouting on top of her voice.

“I knew it! I knew you were behind my troubles. I knew you never meant me well because I am not from your area. But today, mama, you will kill me today. Why now? You have your own children but you do not want me to have mine. What did I do to you? You have destroyed my life. God will judge! He will surely judge between me and you. He will not allow you to destroy my life.”

People who had never heard the woman raised her voice before were alarmed by her outburst. As you know, bad news travels fast. Residents were round-eyed with amazement as the young woman assaulted her mother-in-law.

A Good Samaritan who saw her man handling the old woman had called her husband who came home swiftly.

People had gathered to watch their show of shame while some of the people gathered to separate the wife from her mother-in-law. The husband was like one demented when he burst in.

He grabbed his wife roughly by the arm and demanded in an angry voice, what is the problem? Why are you rough handling my mother? Do you want to kill her?” The crowd gasped audibly and the mother in law sobbed heart-brokenly when the woman repeated her allegations.

T h e husband saw red and dealt her a stinging blow on the cheeks. It was a terrible day that marked the beginning of a reign of terror in their marriage. Rarely does a fortnight go by without the couple beating themselves black and blue.

T h e husband was easily provoked and he beats his wife mercilessly at the slightest provocation.

The wife too had learnt to fight with her nails and teeth, so both of them became bitter enemies. Concerned people tried to settle their misunderstanding but none of them was willing to listen to each other except to flung terrible words at each other.

It was after the wife calmed down that she remembered what the prophet gave her to use with her husband. She tried to draw her husband’s attention so they could make love to consolidate the treatment she had been given. She had enormous hope in the prophet that her husband sexual meeting with her after that will lead to pregnancy.

Unfortunately, the man was too angry to listen to reason; he laughed harshly and asked “me? Sleep with you again after all you have done?” The woman was now remorseful and she tried to pacify her husband but he refused to listen to her pleas.

This led to an ugly development that led to their eventual separation. The husband’s refusal to perform his husbandly rights led to her having an extramarital affair and boom! She got pregnant. It was like a nightmare. Though she was happy at the notion of the tiny life growing inside of her, she regretted her waywardness and decided to pack out of her husband’s house.

The man got to his house one day and discovered his wife gone with all her belongings. He thought ”good riddance to bad rubbish” but when he discovered her to be pregnant despite the fact that he had denied her sex for up to six months, he was shocked.

He knew without being told that he was not responsible for h e r pregnancy. It was a terrible time for the man as he walked about like a lost soul.

He did not realize that the problems he was having with his wife could lead to her being snatched away by another man. To compound the shock, she was also pregnant while he had been trying for years to achieve similar feat  without any success.