Dear MIMsters: In-Laws Wahala! Or Am I The One With The Problem?

I’m having an issue with my in-laws, so I want to know if I’m the one with the ‘wahala’ or if I am over reacting.

They always come to my house, sometimes, early in the morning. They would even wake me up from bed. Once they enter, they head straight for my room, especially my father in-law. Then, he will start telling me that I am not supposed to put this here or there and I am not supposed to do this and that.

I usually would ignore and won’t say anything just to avoid having a quarrel with them. I can’t even go into details here. In summary, they always make me feel like the house is not mine and they often issue out orders to me.

As a result of this, this is what is happening now. My husband is not based in Nigeria. When he left Nigeria, he gave me his keys. We have two keys; one for him and one for me. After he left, his mother came to me ask for his keys and I gave it to her. They would come around whenever they liked, whether I am home or not. When I am not home, they will let themselves in.

My husband returned and has just left the country again and gave me his keys. He’s just told me that his dad has asked for his keys and he wants me to give it to him. I just feel this is not right, even though they were the ones that he sent money to, to help him build this house when he was abroad. I asked my husband why his parents are always asking for keys. His reply was that I can always chose to lock my room while he has the right to give his keys to whoever he likes. He also said that if I am scared of them putting juju in my room, I should lock my room whenever I’m going out.

I simply told him that I have never seen this kind of thing before and that I may also have to drop my own keys too when I am leaving for school. My question is, am I the one with the problem? Am I overreacting? Is it OK for my in-laws to have access to my husband’s keys and let themselves in whenever they want?