An Assessment of the Influence of the High Rate of Divorce in Mararraban Liman Katagum of Bauchi Local Government Area of Bauchi State

The study examined the influence of the high rate of divorce in Mararraban Liman Katagum of Bauchi local government area of Bauchi State. Divorce is a common phenomenon that has attracted global attention and Mararraban Liman Katagum is not an exception. The governmental and non-governmental organizations have been working tirelessly to reduce the menace, but yet divorce is increasing and the problem attached to it is enormous. For obvious reasons, many see divorce as a very traumatic experience. Divorce affects the people involved in all ramifications. In Mararraban Liman Katagum it some men divorce women with ease, when such happened, the women are left to fend for themselves without any preparation. In fact, the way and the manner in which divorce has been practiced adversely affect women and their young children. Three research objectives were formulated which is to: examined the factors responsible for the high rate of divorce in Mararraban Liman Katagum, assessed the effects of divorce on individuals and the society in Mararraban Liman Katagum as well as identified possible ways through which divorce can be minimized. Structural Functionalism theory is used to guide the research assumption. The researcher used survey design and employ quantitative techniques in which structured questionnaire was used to collect information from the respondents. Simple Random sampling technique was used to select 226 respondents out of the total population Mararraban Liman Katagum of Bauchi State . SPSS version 21 was employed for the analysis. Equally, simple percentage and frequency tables were used to analyse the data quantitative data. The study found that; poor standard of living/unemployment, adultery/lack of commitment in marriage (infidelity), communication problems between partners, negligence and excessive cruelty and unsatisfactory sexual relationship are the major causes of divorce in the study area. Findings from the qualitative result also revealed that most of the incidences of divorce occurs in Mararraban Liman Katagum as a result of economic hardship, unemployment and unavailability of husband to provide for their families. Moreover, adultery and communication problems are also reasons for divorce in Mararraban Liman as several cases related to that are brought to my chambers. Thus, it was recommended that to reduce issues of marriage instability to the barest minimum, religious leaders should be recommended for training in counseling psychology, because evidence abound that some issues that are spiritualized needs not to be spiritualized but be addressed psychologically. To do this properly, the religious leaders will do well by acquiring some professional counseling skills.