A few seconds of eye-to-eye action at a time can establish a better connection, a sense of trust between the two of you, and maybe even a greater sense of closeness.
There's absolutely no reason to be competitive with your in-laws. Instead, allow your spouse to spend quality time with their parents individually from time to time.
Maybe, it's because we're passing through a period of anti-intellectualism, in the country? Yeah, you know. That's a huge problem and a challenge in Nigeria, right now. We're very anti-intellectual. Something needs to be done.