“The act of searching for a partner with the right genotype and looking for a financially capable partner are creating problems for singles in selecting a partner and often times eliminating the feeling of love."
Mope Ogunlusi, a relationship expert and marriage counsellor, has said Nigerians marry late because finding the right partner is usually difficult for them.
Ogunlusi, who has been a counsellor and matchmaker for 15 years, disclosed this on Saturday in Osogbo in an interview with NAN.
She also attributed late marriages to issues of genotype compatibility, financial status and parental influence on who a child should marry.
She said: “A lot of Nigerians are still single and unmarried despite reaching the marriageable age bracket because they often times find it difficult to find the right partners.
“The act of searching for a partner with the right genotype and looking for a financially capable partner are creating problems for singles in selecting a partner and often times eliminating the feeling of love.
“Sometimes, people fall in love just to find out that their genotypes are not compatible and this often times lead to searching all over for a new partner, often times leading to frustration if the same incompatibility keeps re-occurring.”
According to Ogunlusi, a lot of Nigerian singles now have little or no time to socialise and search for a life partner because of the financial pressure they face on daily basis.
“The need for financial security and meeting daily needs has created a routine life style for a lot of people and finding time to socialise has become difficult because of the time invested in searching for daily needs," she said.
In addition to the financial security challenges individuals face, she said some ladies and men are too choosy in selecting their partners based on his or her financial position and status.
She said the trend of looking for rich men or ladies to marry is creating a corrupt cycle that has affected marriage as a sacred institution ordained by God.
She added that some parents set standards for their children on who to marry, which adds to the problem.
"Some parents usually set specification of the kind of man or woman their children can marry in terms of looks, tribe, ethnicity, educational qualification and finance," she said, commending, however, the efforts of matchmaking outfits in trying to help eliminate these problems created by social ills and nature, by creating a platform for singles to meet and have their dream marriages come true.