The issue I have with this article is that it insists upon itself. The author’s bias, particularly from the third paragraph, shows through the entire piece. To critisize fairly, you present both sides of the argument and then, with some finesse, land your bias, conclusion, or the factual position (as applicable), in closing. I am not saying the article lacks any basis. It does not. It is not odd to come across stories of men going into debt or engaging in superficial wedding spend, just to impress others. However, concluding that this is the norm and that Nigerian relationships are typically materialistic, or even that Nigerian women routinely plunge men into financial trouble because of weddings, cannot be sustained without hard, empirical data. I am at an age where most of my friends have gotten married over the past decade, and I can confidently say that none of them entered into debt or financial distress because of their weddings. Weddings cost money, of course, events of that magnitude always do, but not even remotely to the extent suggested by the article. I know this because these are my friends not acquaintances; we reviewed budgets together. In fact, I had to convince my wife to go big on her gown in this picture (yes, I was looking for an excuse to include her here, bite me). Left to her, we would have held the wedding months earlier and with far less fanfare. She expressed this repeatedly between the proposal and the white wedding, which took place exactly a year later, largely because I wanted her to have the celebration (I believe) she deserved. I did not borrow a dime, nor did I spend any part of my subsequent salary servicing wedding-related expenses. We are not counting the ₦30K for ice cream that I initially forgot to reimburse. I have many female friends like this, as well as wives of friends who share similar dispositions. In fact, I would go so far as to say that my immediate circle of friends actively contradicts the narrative presented in the article, I just have not gotten permission to share their stories. While I do not have specific data on weddings, I do have data on marriages, and it shows that Nigerian women are financially supportive within their households. It is therefore contradictory to suggest that the same women who go on to contribute meaningfully to their marriages are the ones who would have recklessly driven those households into debt at the point of entry. Another relevant data point is that a significant proportion of Nigerians are low-income earners, yet many are married. Where do these people fit into the author’s argument, given that they constitute the majority of the population? Even as at secondary school, the boy who relied solely on throwing money (pocket money) at girls, rather than charm with RnB lyrics, a well coal-ironed uniform, and corny self-authored lines, was the subject of ridicule in the boys’ hostel. You were considered weak. And this was among young boys who barely understood the responsibilities or depth of love. As I said earlier, the article has a basis, we hear these stories, but polemic articles run into issues when they make sweeping claims without data backing it. At the end of the day, one has to be careful with framing. How these issues are presented, matters.