Explaining the Divorce Phenomenon among Indigenes of the Ilorin Emirate in Kwara State, Nigeria

Abstract

The family institution, which is the basic foundation of every society, is being threatened by high rate of divorce globally. The literature and popular media are replete with statistics about the rise in the rate of divorce and the decreasing stability of the nuclear family. It is believed that this situation often results into an unstable society and even destroys its form and moral standards. Consequently the adolescents who are raised in such broken homes are more likely to drop out of school, to use drug, to have teen births, to have illegitimate children and to be poorer than their counterparts whose natal home is intact. It is therefore germane to ask the following questions: what are the factors responsible for the high incidence of divorce, and what are the effects of divorce on the society? The main trust of this paper is to x-ray the factors responsible for high incidence of divorce in the context of feminist theory, the individualism dual income paradigm and to know the effect of divorce on the children, the couples involved and the society at large. In line with these objectives, the paper relies on secondary material and primary data obtained through questionnaire in order to assess the phenomenon of divorce in Ilorin Emirate. The study reveals that the main factors associated with divorce in the Emirate are financial problems, barrenness and irresponsibility. The paper concludes with some suggestions on the ways to minimize or reduce the divorce rate in Ilorin in particular and human societies in general.