Families are becoming aware of the plague- paternity fraud which has taken a deep cut in the society, this comes with raising kids which after years unfortunately you found out they are not your biological children through genetic- DNA. This is a very big sad moment for most men, after years of affection and bond with kids allegedly claimed to be his, just to found out otherwise. This leaves an open scars which will be nearly impossible to heal. To bounce back to handle the situation in a best possible civil and “orderly” way often don’t come like that, most likely it ends in chaos having nurtured seed of discord and acrimony, principally breach of trust and loyalty.
This could be an end point of moral crime one can commit in the family, it carries a lot of weight, and the burden is unbearable when unleashed. It is a big test on marital fidelity, especially when there are differences in character, looks and synonyms when compared with the alleged parent. Before now families pay less attention on this topic, the widest presumption is that once a man and a woman are cohabiting any child born during that period is the product of the pair, but the notion is no longer the same recently, since high rate of paternity fraud a lot has changed in the society, families who think, it is of no use to do paternity test are queuing in the line to quench their doubts or live with the harsh reality, and it is fast pushing the society into decay; which families who are major mechanism of progressive growth in the society have fallen apart.
Following the attention which paternity fraud has drawn, a Nigerian using his social media handle as “drpenking” shared experience of a victim some time November 2021. The victim recognized as Mr. Allen talked about his experience, he said that he started suspecting his wife when on many occasions he saw her sneaking into the toilet to answer calls. While waiting to gather solid evidence to confront his wife proved abortive, he alleged that her wife leaves no traces of her infidelity and called her “very smart cheat”. When it is dawn on him to conduct DNA test, the result came out, and out of the 3 boys allegedly claimed to be his, only the last one belongs to him, the first two belong to a man whom the wife cheat on him with. Talking about the outcome of the results, he said “I feel angry, betrayed and frustrated. I feel very sad and only God can fill the kind of hole I have in my heart right now”.
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While the issue has grown to be a dominant one, Nigeria has been somewhere very close to the top as country with highest rate of paternity fraud. Paternity fraud is not only related to Nigeria, it has cut across many countries and still breaking relationships. In 2011, a woman named Mariah Yeater accused Justin Bieber, when he was starting to hit the global stage and fame, of having fathered a child with her. DNA confirmed that he wasn’t the father. Later, he wrote a song titled “Maria” as reference to accusations levelled against him.
The number of men seeking for paternity test in Uganda, has recently increased by 70%, according to the spokesperson for the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Simon Mundeyi. Talking about the unusual rise for the genetic test, he said “some men now are now waking up to the fact that they are looking after children that do not actually belong to them”. This is a sad reality for families embarking on DNA test, whether the result is positive or negative, it will surely dent trust and fidelity, which are core ingredients of healthy relationships. He further said that “out of 12 results that they have got back this week so far, only two confirmed the father was the biological parent”.
The rising effect of paternity fraud can be narrowed down to societal collapse and dysfunctional society. Where the foundation is shaky, everything built on it, is bound to collapse, a lot of people are not paying attention to the signs and details, and they are more into the surface than the interior. Paternity fraud is an open cut that is almost impossible to heal, it leaves perpetual scars that will continue to bring up shattered past. It could be hard to find a lasting solution, going back to the basis will be pivotal in reintegrating younger generations coming up, not to follow the same step as their predecessors.
