Sometimes, work puts you in tight corners. It puts you in positions where youre tempted. The woman sat in her seat, her eyes welled with tears; her fingers trembling. Soon enough, she couldnt hold back the tears. A tear rolled down from the corner of her eyes. She removed her scarf and began to cry. The court had just delivered judgment - her marriage had just been dissolved. Their love story is such that makes you wonder if love is a valid reason for stupidity. The lady met the man while in her OND days at the Polytechnic of Ibadan. The man wooed her and promised to take her to Canada. He showed eagerness to marry her, he met her parents and they began to prepare to get get married. Based on the mans words, the lady quit school since she was going to Canada. The marriage was contracted and after, the problem began. The man returned to Canada. And for the first few months after his return, he kept in touch with his wife. Especially, given the fact that the lady was with a child, their child. However, six months after he returned, he stopped calling as he used to. The baby was born and it was a big beautiful boy. The man never called the lady to celebrate with her. For 4 years, he was incommunicado, no one knew his whereabouts. Suddenly, he surfaced 4 years after the marriage with a divorce suit. Both parties agree to dissolve the marriage. The petitioner is not interested in custody so that is not in issue. However, there was the issue of maintenance. It was in the course of the dissolution that we discovered that the lady had no idea what job her husband did in Canada. How do you marry a man and not know what his job is?! At trial, the husband testified with evidence that he was a student in Canada. In law, the respondent in a divorce suit must show that the petitioner is in good financial standing to pay for maintenance. Not knowing what her husband did for a living, she could not prove his capability to pay maintenance. And in any case, how do you ask a man to pay maintenance when he is a student? On what basis do you weigh how much he would pay when he does not earn anything? And so it was that the marriage was dissolved, custody was given to the lady who is without a job nor a tertiary education. She broke down in tears because the court dismissed the claim for maintenance. Now that the marriage is over and she has custody, it is her headache how to raise the boy. From the bar where I sat, I felt her pain. I hurried out of the courtroom before there was further outbursts. Who do I blame, I dont know. The scene of the crying lady has been impressed in my head ever since. It hurts.
Posted on: Sat, 02 Nov 2013 17:59:19 +0000
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