A DNA expert has shared some knowledgeable findings as it relates to the paternity of children, especially in Nigeria. According to him, it is high time people took this DNA testing seriously, as an alarming 3 out of every 10 Nigerian men are not the true and biological fathers of their children.
Is paternity testing becoming an issue in Nigeria?
We have seen that there is serious need for it because in many homes things are happening that are scary both to the lives of children and their parents. And for the general statistics that are now available, it is found that three out of every ten men are not the fathers of their babies. Similarly, three out of every ten children are not fathered by men they have seen as their biological fathers. What we have found out is that anytime we take ten men, at least three of them eventually found that they are not the fathers of the children they call their own. And these men would have taken care of the children for all their lives.
Now, the global statistics is 100, 000 out of every 300, 000 men. But what we have found is that the situation is higher in Nigeria than in other places. For example in our laboratory here, 50 percent of the cases come out negative. And we also realised that majority of the first-borns are affected. You only need to be here to see big men cry like little kids and watch children weep in agony. It has been that bad. And I dare say it is becoming something every home must do and you may be quite surprised at the level of dastard revelation.
About thirty percent of fathers are unknowingly bringing up children who are not biologically theirs. And it is suspected that this percentage may be on the increase due to sexual recklessness. According to recent trends in sexual health, especially in Nigeria, it was suggested that unprotected sex and multiple partners are comparatively common occurrences with a large proportion of conceptions still unplanned. So, more than half, that is, 50 percent of all paternity tests carried out by our lab come out negative and the most affected are first-borns, except in a few cases.
Do these cases happen mostly in matrimonial settings or in casual relationships?
In both matrimony and casual affiliations! I tell you, we have had series of married men come here and go back home devastated. In one instance, a man came here with his wife. Out of the five children he thought were his own, he discovered that only two belonged to him. And they are both duly married, living together as husband and wife. You see, the major problem we have in our country is that most of these cases are not duly documented. So, people don’t know we have such issues among us. In fact, some even don’t know where to go for the test to determine their child or children’s paternity. And I tell you, if you go to ten homes as we speak, you will be amazed to find that in almost all of them the children there do not belong to the men. It is that rampant.
If it is that rampant, how would you describe the three years since you started testing men?
Now, the general statistics by the American Association of Blood Banks is that globally, 100, 000 out of 300, 000 men are not the actual fathers of their presumed children. And like I said earlier, the Nigerian situation is even alarming. Also, Duess International, the condom manufacturers, once noted that Nigeria has the most reckless sexual life. So, you can then imagine what the outcome would be like if we say okay, let’s start taking statistics one-by-one.