January 11, (THEWILL) – Ijeoma Otabor, aka Phyna, winner of the Big Brother Naija season 7 edition, has revealed why she had two abortions.
The reality show star had earlier revealed during an altercation with some of her critics on Twitter, that she has had two abortions in the past.
“Yes I have had 2 abortions but I don’t do sugar daddies and force small small boys to sleep with me and hoeing around with disease. At least, I am not barren due to drugs,” she responded angrily to a critic, who tried to compare her with Beauty Tukara, a fellow housemate in the reality show.
Revealing why she decided to have the abortions, Phyna, in an interview with Punch, tried to generalize, insisting that majority of Nigerian women have had abortions at some point in their life.
“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,” she said.
“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,” she explained.
She, however, made it known that if she had gotten pregnant in her current state, as a winner of the reality shows with the luxuries and perks attached, she would rather choose to keep the pregnancies regardless of the circumstance.
“The way I am now, I have money to take care of 10 children. In fact, if my parents were rich at the time of my first pregnancy, I wouldn’t have aborted it. But because I knew I was from a very poor background, we used to eat once a day then, especially in the afternoon and then carry it till the next day. So, keeping the baby then was no option for me,” she stated.
Asked why she felt comfortable divulging such personal information, Phyna said it had to do with being open, which is her nature.
She said, “In my family as a whole, we are very open. People just read meaning to things and say whatever they want, I really don’t 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.”
She, however, did admit that committing an abortion is a sin in the sight of God, one which she has had to go to confession for as a Catholic.
“In the face of God, it’s a sin and I have prayed and gone for confession. I am Catholic and I know God has forgiven me. It is what God says that counts. I don’t care what anybody thinks or says.
“I am not proud of committing abortion but the situation surrounding it was what I couldn’t help. For me, I do not see the essence of bringing children into this world when you are not ready. So, it’s either you abstain from sex, use protection or when it happens; you are either ready to chest the baby or take it out, especially when the situation is beyond you.
“Everybody has their own purpose behind their actions, just that there are some who are not scared of committing abortions at all, which is not good,” she added.
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