Tope Delano
Nigeria is a country known for his gross dislike for anything homosexuality but the country has had a few who went out of their way to live their truth.
Here are 5 popular transgenders of Nigerian desent.
Stephanie Rose
Born Dapo Adaralegbe, Stephanie grew up in Ile-Ife with both her parents working at Obafemi Awolowo University. She, however, discovered she was not like other young boys and decided to change everything about her even going as far as transitioning. Stephanie left the country in 2011.
Miss Sahara
he discovered quite early like a few others that she is different and took the big step of changing her insides to match her outward appearance. Miss Sahara, who is a model, left the shores of the country in 2014 for the UK where she studied at the London Metropolitan University. On why she decided to become a woman, Miss Sahara revealed in a Q and A session with fans that;
READ ALSO: Transgenders and our Nigerian beliefs
I could ask you the same thing… Why do you like being a boy? I am being a woman because, that is who I am very good at being, anything else is definitely not me!
She made news again when she wrote an open letter to bloggers asking that they stop addressing her as male.
“#LindaIkeji TO LINDA IKEJI ET AL., this is not a rant, rather an education: I never lived as a ‘Gay man’ in Nigeria! How could I have struggled as a gay man when I was never a man, as unfathomable as it may be for you and your readers, it is the fact.
I know my validation as the person I say I am doesn’t come from you or anyone else, rather it comes from me, I wear the shoes, I know where it hurts and I alone can tell you how it feels…….But when you lot publish the wrong messages in other to get attention for your blogs, it encourages hate and trans-phobia from Nigerians and beyond.
As a ‘Journalist/blogger’ you should have the duty of care for all your subjects when writing about them, especially when it is about sensitive marginalized subjects such as the LGBTQI+ community.
You all have immense power to influence your readers positively or negatively, so I suggest you use that power to educate yourselves and your readers, instead of inciting hate. Yes it is sensitive to talk or write about the LGBTQI+ community because we are at risk all around the world due to , bigotry and lack of education………………
MY BRAIN HAS ALWAYS BEEN FEMALE. JUST BECAUSE I HAD MEDICAL CORRECTION TO ALIGN MY BRAIN WITH MY BODY DOESN’T MAKE MY CHILDHOOD AS A FEMALE INVALID…… MY SEXUALITY HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH MY IDENTITY AS A WOMAN EITHER, I AM A STRAIGHT WOMAN AS I HAVE ALREADY STATED IN THE VIDEO BELOW.
WHO I GO TO BED WITH DOESN’T DEFINE WHO I WAKE UP AS……..NO I DID NOT ‘TRANSITION’. JUST BECAUSE I WAS ASSIGNED A CERTAIN GENDER ON PAPER WHEN I WAS A BABY DOESN’T MAKE ME LESS OF A FEMALE AS A CHILD….. SOME TRANS PEOPLE AND MYSELF HAVE AND STILL USE THE WORD ‘TRANSITION’,
I DON’T ANYMORE, BECAUSE CORRECTING MY LIFE MEDICALLY IS NOT A SWITCH FROM ONE THING TO THE OTHER, IT IS RATHER AN ENHANCEMENT OF WHO I HAVE ALWAYS BEEN…………Please save your insults and religious quotes for those who care, it will not affect my already solid confidence.
PEACE!”
Noni Salma
Salma was raised in Lagos and attended the University of Lagos before finally leaving the shores of the country. She was bullied for her feminine ways and fought for years to live according to how the society saw her but gave in and finally transitioned to whom she really feels like. She attended the New York Film Academy and bagged a degree in Film making
Rizi Xavier Timane
Rizi was born a girl and lived in Nigeria until he moved after years of being bullied by people closest to him. He went on a downward spiral until he finally found himself and God, later becoming a church minister. He opened the Happy Transgender Center and created the Rizi Timane Annual Transgender Surgery Scholarship. Rizi, has been married for more than 5 years now.
Mandy la Candy
Not much is known about her except that she is from Nigerian and lives somewhere in Europe.
DON’T FORGET TO SUBSCRIBE WITH YOUR EMAIL BELOW AND GET MORE OF THIS EVERYDAY
Comments