) Some Lagos residents have expressed displeasure over married couples who share separate bedrooms.
In separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Lagos, they said the act was detrimental to marriage.
Mrs Rose Zibiri, a 60-year-old businesswoman, told NAN that sharing separate bedrooms could result to a total fall out of a peaceful marriage.
“It’s not ideal, it’s not okay for couples to have separate bedrooms. For instance, for young couples, it is good for them to stay together and to bond, for them to know each other better.
“The man may not be happy. I remember when my husband was alive, he always wanted me around, even when we quarrelled, we still ended up sleeping in the same bedroom at night.
“Most times we settled our quarrels when we are both in bed,” she said.
The mother of five told NAN that it was important for couples to share same bedroom, particularly at night in case of an emergency.
“Anything can happen in the night, couples are each other’s first doctors and nurses.
“Like a couple I know, the man had an attack in the middle of the night, the wife was not there, so he kept calling the wife but she was fast asleep in another bedroom.
“Hours after the wife woke up to check on him, unfortunately, the man had already suffered a stroke and later died.
“Till tomorrow she regrets it,” she said.
Also, Mr Olatunde Layinde, an architect, said that sharing the same bedroom was mutually beneficial to couples.
“Personally speaking, I do sit a lot working on the computer due to the nature of my job, it takes a lot of strain on the brain, and as a man you need the tension to be relived, only your wife should provide that.
“At least when you are on the bed seeing someone beside you, it helps you to relax, also it makes the relationship to be closer.
“With the type of conversations you’d have with each other, privacy is important too, but if you truly love your spouse, it shouldn’t be a problem.
“If you don’t have children, by the time children start coming, the couples are out at work and attending to the various demands of life, there should be a meeting ground,’’ he said.
He also said sharing the same bedroom affords couples to resolve their issues fast. Although, he observed that a husband might find it difficult to share same space with a woman that nags.
A clergy, Stella Benson, described the bedroom as a place of restoration.
“What God has joined together let no separate rooms put asunder, God is very clear when it comes to marriage, God is very clear.
“If you want to stay apart in separate rooms, why get married, the bedroom is a place of restoration, why should anyone stay away from such a temple,” she said.
Adekola Oligbinde, a writer, told NAN that no excuse was tenable for a husband or wife to have separate bedrooms.
“No excuse will sound worthy to me, even when men say things like my wife nags, a woman only becomes a nag when you as a man have repeatedly ignored her caution relating to a specific issue.
“Men that make excuses such as using their own biological children as reasons they move out of the room or ask the wife to move is laughable.
“A child you fathered, your number one sacrifice and you dump it on your wife then you turn around to call such a woman a nag, where is the fairness,” he said.
Bukola Abiodun, a journalist, told NAN that she would rather remain single than be trapped with a man who has a problem sharing his space.
“l don’t like it and l do not encourage it one bit because it breeds unfaithfulness and does not give room for closeness between husband and wife.
“Then, in a situation where one of the partners suddenly develops an health issue like heart attack, nobody will be around to help since they share separate rooms.
“Also, according to the Bible, what God has joined together let no man put asunder not even bedroom, hence the reason I don’t encourage distance relationship.
“Therefore, God has designed couples to always be together, if you have a problem with God’s prescription for marriage, stay single and don’t stress somebody’s son or daughter, or better still marry your type,” she said.
