A farmer in Ghana is likely to make it to the Guinness World Book of Records as arguably, the youngest man with 12 wives and over one hundred children.
More surprising is the fact that, at 80 years old, this man named Togbui Kofi Asilenu wants more wives and more children.
He even proposed marriage to one of his daughters when he met her outside their home, in town. What saved Togbui Asilenu from committing incest was the lady knew who her father was.
When Togbui approached her and professed the love he had for her, she told him she was his daughter and he walked away.
Ghanaian news medium, 3news.com, spent Father’s Day last Sunday with Togbui Kofi Asilenu.
He lives in Amakrom in the Eastern Region and has for the past 40 years given birth to over 100 children with 12 women, all of who are married to him in a polygamous marriage.
To celebrate 2017 Father’s Day, the children and the wives marched to Asilenu’s residence on Sunday, ostensibly with a simple message:
“more power to your elbow”.
Asked why he has so many children, Togbui said he is living strictly by the Biblical words in Genesis 1:28 where God charged man to “be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it…”
‘I’m not impotent. If I get a lady today, I will marry her and have more children. As for men, even in old age we can still father children. I’m not impotent.”
Asilenu has lost track of the number of people in his family. He’s unable to mention the names of ALL his over 100 children.
When news3 reporter, Portia Gabor asked him to do a roll call, he got stuck along the line while mentioning their names.
One of his sons said he suspects they are more than 100 children:
“In fact we’re plenty, we’re almost 100 and something” he told Portia.
Just like their father, some of the children do not know their numerical placement in the family.
That notwithstanding, Asilenu, his wives and children get along with each other and have been living happily as one united family.
One of Asilenu’s wives told Portia that the secret to their unity is ‘respect for one another’.
His first wife, Nayome Asilenu, said that she initially was not happy with her husband’s exploits with other women and complained about it but all to no avail. He went ahead and added more women and she had to deal with it.
The children also said Asilenu has been able to educate them to some extent.
Asilenu’s youngest child is about a year old while the eldest is over 40 years. He currently engages some of his wives and children in his work – processing of cassava into dough.
Here’s the video;
