Father of 77 rejects polygamy

GIWE ABOSSA, Ethiopia, April 24 (UPI) -- A man in Ethiopia with 11 wives says he has changed his mind about polygamy and is urging others not to go the same route he did.

Ayattu Nure, 56, said he married his 11 wives as a way of sharing his wealth but the costs involved in raising his 77 children have depleted his fortune, The Daily Telegraph reported Thursday.

"I want my children to be farmers but I have no land, I want them to go to school but I have no money," he said.

Ayattu said his wives gave birth to 100 babies total but 23 of the children died at young ages. He said the size of his family makes it difficult for him to spend as much time as he would like with each of his wives and children and he often has trouble feeding them all.

"People see me as a funny man but there is no fun in my condition. I am a desperate man struggling to survive," he told The Daily Telegraph.

He said the government has refused to help him, despite his pleas for assistance in obtaining photographs of his children so they will be allowed to attend school.