SOKOTO, Nigeria (AFP) -- Sheltered from the scorching tropical heat by a cool breeze wafting from the branches of the mango tree under which he sat outside his old bungalow in the ancient city of Sokoto in northern Nigeria, 68-year-old Shehu Malami declared his resolve to content himself with his four wives after 201 marriages in 48 years.

"No more marriages for me, this is the end. I will retain my four wives to the end as long as another misfortune doesn't befall me", Malami, who just recently solemnized his 201st marriage, told AFP.

In June 2004 Malami celebrated his 200 marriages which coincided with the bicentenary of the Sokoto Caliphate with a promise never to marry again, but he could not keep his vow as he married another wife last week to replace a 40 year old spouse he divorced recently.

Short, bald and eloquent, Malami could be the world's most married person. Now living in retirement, Malami's life has been characterized by "marital adventures". He took his first wife, a divorcee, at the age of 20, two years after he had dropped out of secondary school. His next two marriages, also to divorcees, did not last despite general acceptance this time.

Malami never hides his pride in his 29 surviving children out of 47 from 25 marriages, and his 39 grandchildren. "My children are not happy and sometimes they come to talk to me about it, begging me to stop. But they have to bear with me because it is my nature", Malami said. He cautions his children not to emulate him, saying times have changed.

He expressed pride in the experiences he garnered from his marriages. "My experiences with women are huge. I see myself as a professor as far as women and their psychology are concerned. There is no type of woman I have not handled". It remains to be seen whether this time, at 68, he will stick to his word.