If There Are 100 Women In Nigeria Today, 98 Have Done Abortions, No One Should Judge Me – Phyna

Winner of the 2022 Big Brother Naija reality TV show, Ijeoma Otabor, aka Phyna, in a recent interview with Punch, shares her life experiences before and after winning the show. Read excerpts below:

How has life been after winning the 2022 BBNaija reality TV show?

 It has just been great, and things have been falling into place. Sometimes I try to balance the whole new life although it is not always rosy like that, I am getting used to it.

 How was life before winning the show?

Life was a struggle and as the first child of the family, before Big Brother Naija, I had to work. I did different jobs for money. I went to clubs to hype; I baked, made people’s hair, and did makeup too. I used all my skills to make sure I could provide for the house. So, life was a bit of a struggle. But it’s all better now.

How did you feel about people’s reactions when you admitted to committing two abortions?

In my family as a whole, we are very open. People just read meaning to things and say whatever they want, I really do not care. I was just laughing at their responses to me because those that know me know me, I am an open book. I actually responded to that woman when she said “I can’t respond to you, you are an abortionist,” and then I said yes that I have committed abortions. It is fine how people want to see me, I am not ashamed of anything about myself. If I ever make a mistake, I own up to my mistakes. When my dad called me about it, he asked why I said something like that, I just said daddy I learnt it from you oo.

Can you tell us the reasons for taking the decision?

As for my reasons for taking abortion pills, if there are 100 women in Nigeria today, 98 have done abortions. So, no one should judge me. I was in a 12-year relationship then and I was so young. The first abortion was when I was 19; I couldn’t go home to tell my parents that I was pregnant at that age. And the two pregnancies were so early like two to three weeks that I could just use tablets. The second was when I was 24, and I had finished serving then. I was ready to keep it but the relationship was getting toxic. He abused me and always beat me up. I said to myself that I couldn’t do this anymore, so I took it out and that was how I ended the relationship.

-Punch