Former Super Falcons forward, Iyabo Abade,
is the most celebrated high-profile case of
a hermaphrodite in women’s football, who
subsequently had surgery in 2004 and is
now living as a man, with a new
name, James Johnson. He tells ’Tana Aiyejina about his travails trying to adjust to
his new life as a man, societal
discrimination and his aim to help
hermaphrodites. Please continue below. Now that you are a man, has it been easy
playing men’s football? I thank God for how far He has brought me.
I have made every effort to get to the top
as a footballer but there is no support from
anywhere, even the Nigeria Football
Federation. I am just trying on my own to
get to the top but it hasn’t been easy. You go for trials and you do well and you are
recruited but after sometime, they will start
acting funny; they use my past against me. I
try to ensure that I don’t let clubs know who
I am. I don’t like telling them that I am the
former Iyabo Abade; I have to go there like every other normal player and fight for a
place in the team. But when they hear that
former Iyabo Abade has signed for either
Crown FC or Plateau United, they start
discriminating against me. Meanwhile I got
there as James Johnson but they keep asking, “Can she cope in the midst of
guys?” They have forgotten that I am a man
and I met their requirements before they
signed me up. Once they now know my
past, they won’t allow me to play anymore.
Were they blind when they signed me? With that, I feel frustrated and discriminated
against so I decided that there was no need
disturbing myself and I decided to quit. I am
praying that God helps me so that I can
continue my career abroad. I think things
will be better over there. Has the society accepted you for who you
are? Some do but some have not. Everybody
cannot like you for who you are, so you just
have to take life the way it is. My colleagues
who we played together in the women’s
league all welcome me. Some people want
to be my friends even when they don’t know who I am and even when they know
that I am the former Iyabo Abade turned
James Johnson, they are still happy to be
my friends. I am happy with that. There is no
need for me to be feeling sad that God
created me the way I am. So, I am happy with life but I feel sad because some people
are out there to cut short your happiness. I
will be happy playing football but some
people don’t like it. What is your relationship with your Falcons
teammates? Some of them still welcome me; they see
me just like every other person. They don’t
discriminate against me; we grew up
together and did things together even
though I am no more in their group. I am so
happy about that. When the news first came out, a lot of them were shocked because
they didn’t even know anything about
hermaphrodite. But later, they sympathised
with me; they said I am not God and didn’t
create myself. That was how it went and we
are still friends till now. Your rehabilitation should be in stages. How
far have you gone? I am still on it. After I went for check-up in
2009, I am due for the next stage, where a
surgery will be carried out to enable me
become a full man and live a normal
and perfect life. But every effort has been
futile; nothing is really happening and I am looking up to God to intervene in this issue.
I have made every effort and gone to the
NSC but they did nothing. I took a letter
there and was going there for about seven
months. So I have to look elsewhere to
enable me complete the surgery. I also wrote to NFF when Sani Lulu was the head
and he gave me hope. He said, ‘Bring your
letter and we will see what we can do.’ But
at the end, they said, ‘We don’t know what
happened to your letter.’ When it gets to
releasing money, that is when the letter gets missing. Only Family Worship helped
me a great deal to go for the check-up. How much do you need for the surgery? I will need about N12m for the final surgery.
My doctor says I have to stay in the US for
one year, so that he can monitor the final
process. Aside the surgery, I will have to pay
for accommodation for one year and other
things like feeding and transportation. Now that you haven’t finished the
rehabilitation, would you say you are living a
man’s life? I would say I am living happily but my joy will
be to complete the whole stages of the
rehabilitation. Then I can boast of myself as
a real man just like other guys. I will say I
still need the final surgery before I can
answer your question further. You once had the ambition of becoming the
first person ever to play for the female and
male national teams of a country but the
dream seems dashed. How do you feel? I feel rejected and frustrated because
football is my life but the NSC and the NFF
are not in support of my ambition. If we had
a good sports commission, I won’t be in this
situation. Do they want me to cry to the US
government? That will be a disgrace to Nigeria. Who are those that stood behind you during
your trying times? I want to thank former FCT ministers Abba
Gana and Nasir el-Rufai; they were very
helpful. I wrote to the former First Lady,
Turai Yar’Adua, and Patience Jonathan, who
was then Second Lady. Though I didn’t get
money from the First Lady but I was given the opportunity to enter Aso Rock.
Unfortunately, her husband fell sick and
she couldn’t attend to me. She asked some
people to attend to me but I didn’t hear
from them. The present First Lady has not
done anything to help me despite all the efforts I have made to reach her, a fellow
Niger Deltan like her. If northerners can
show concern for me, why not her? Family
Worship also gave me money for my check-
up as well as the Redeemed Christian
Church of God. I appreciate all of them. Would you accept if the US says you should
naturalise and play for them? I will accept it with both hands. It’s
everybody’s dream to be a US citizen, so I
will jump at the opportunity. What is your advice to other
hermaphrodites, who are ashamed to come
out or don’t have the opportunity you have? I have some already and I have given my
doctor in the US their contacts. They are
two and they are into female football. They
say a problem shared is half solved. If
people don’t know your problem, you will
die with it, so they just have to come out and let the world know what they are
passing through. They need to look unto
God. If not for God, I would have been a
forgotten issue because at times, I feel like
committing suicide. You will want to run into
a moving truck but I thank God for being in charge of my life. I am happy today and
everybody wants to mingle with me. So, life
goes on. Are you thinking of setting up a foundation
for hermaphrodites? Yes, so that many people with such issues
can be treated. I hope to make it a
worldwide foundation. There are a lot of
hermaphrodites but they are shy or afraid
to come out. There was a case that
happened in Delta State when they almost killed a hermaphrodite. They said she is a
witch. But it is not proper because these
people didn’t create themselves. They
should use me as a sign of hope. They can
also be treated and be happy just like
myself. I won’t blame them for not coming out because the support is not there in
Nigeria. If they come out, they will be
discriminated against. When ladies you approach realise later that
you were once like them, do they run away? I am loved by women, there’s no doubt
about that. They want to be my best friend.
Everywhere I go, women always appreciate
me because of my looks even when they
later get to know about my issue. They
always want to grab the opportunity to date someone like me. Some of them are happy
to be with me because they have never
seen such a person before. Every woman is
mixing with James Johnson. How was your trip to the US in 2012 with the
Marasata Soccer Academy? Marasata Soccer Academy brought me back
to life because I felt so frustrated when I
was neglected. The academy brought me in
to lead the female team because I once
played female football. That was how I
became head of the coaching crew and with time, I will get to the top. The trip to the US
last year was a success. Aside not having a club side, do you still play
football? Of course yes. Football is part of me and I
play every now and then, even with my boys
in the academy. I derive joy in football; I play
with Karo All Stars in Abuja and we play so
many competitions. If you look back now, is there a time you will
recount with joy while playing female
football? Sometimes I feel sad that I didn’t continue
what I know how to do best in the midst of
the girls but I ignore it and let go. It’s not
over, I still feel I will play for this country
one day as a man but whether I play or not, I
am happy with life. I was excluded from the 1999 Women’s World Cup but when the
team returned home, my club FCT Queens
had a match against Pelican Stars, which
paraded all the superstars like Ann
Agumanu, Mercy Akide, Eberechi Opara and
Stella Mbachu. I was the only star in my team. It’s a game people still talk about. We
were 2-1 down and I scored an incredible
goal from the flank. That goal helped us
beat Pelican 3-2 and they were complaining
that why did they allow me to play the game
after it was discovered that I am a hermaphrodite. People still say it was the
best game they saw me play. My goal
gingered my teammates to beat them. I will
never forget that game. FCT Queens also
won the Challenge Cup and I was one of the
team’s trainers. That was how I got help to go for surgery. We were hosted in Sheraton
and the then FCT Minister Nasir el-Rufai
sponsored me to the US for the surgery. Initially, was it easy blending from a female
to male? It was not easy in the beginning playing with
the men but I took up the challenge. I didn’t
get support as a male footballer. If I had
remained as a female footballer, I knew
where I would be now. In men’s football, it’s
all about who you know. If you don’t have someone to back you up, forget it, no
matter what you play. I felt there was no
need going to a club and telling them that I
was Iyabo Abade. I wanted to be there on
merit but after signing, I faced
discrimination. I played for NEPA and Plateau United. At Plateau, they brought me
in always as a late substitute because they
didn’t believe I could play. But we were five
they selected out of over 100 players that
came for trials. If I was not good, why did
they pick me from such a large number of players? Do you sometimes feel like being a woman? I chose to become a man because it is what
God wants me to be. I didn’t use money as
my priority in opting to be a man. If it was
for money reasons, I would have remained
as a woman because I was getting to the top
of female football in Nigeria. I am happy with the decision I took. If I became a
female, I probably wouldn’t have been
happy with my life. So I just decided to
move on. I am not regretting the step I
made. I can tell you, women are running
after me like Usain Bolt and I think it is better for me. I like it that way. I never
expected it that way. Today, I am pleased
that people want to know me. We know you have been very close to
Agatha Agu for a very long time. Are you
planning to get married to her? She is a very good person and if God says
she is going to be my wife, I will be the
happiest man because she deserves it; she
has always been there for me right from our
days in female football. She has been my
backbone even when things are not working well. I know by His grace, we will get there. Can you tell us your best moment? I don’t have any yet until I wear the colours
of the national team. If I cannot play for the
main Eagles, at least I can for the home-
based Eagles. I will appreciate if I get the
opportunity. If the home-based Eagles camp is thrown
open ahead of the 2014 CHAN, do you think
you can make it? With God, I will make it. I am so sure of
myself. What is your word for coach Stephen Keshi? I wish him the best. He has won the AFCON
trophy, so we should appreciate him even if
he is making some mistakes. We shouldn’t
be criticising him always. He is a good coach
and he needs our support
PUNCH
is the most celebrated high-profile case of
a hermaphrodite in women’s football, who
subsequently had surgery in 2004 and is
now living as a man, with a new
name, James Johnson. He tells ’Tana Aiyejina about his travails trying to adjust to
his new life as a man, societal
discrimination and his aim to help
hermaphrodites. Please continue below. Now that you are a man, has it been easy
playing men’s football? I thank God for how far He has brought me.
I have made every effort to get to the top
as a footballer but there is no support from
anywhere, even the Nigeria Football
Federation. I am just trying on my own to
get to the top but it hasn’t been easy. You go for trials and you do well and you are
recruited but after sometime, they will start
acting funny; they use my past against me. I
try to ensure that I don’t let clubs know who
I am. I don’t like telling them that I am the
former Iyabo Abade; I have to go there like every other normal player and fight for a
place in the team. But when they hear that
former Iyabo Abade has signed for either
Crown FC or Plateau United, they start
discriminating against me. Meanwhile I got
there as James Johnson but they keep asking, “Can she cope in the midst of
guys?” They have forgotten that I am a man
and I met their requirements before they
signed me up. Once they now know my
past, they won’t allow me to play anymore.
Were they blind when they signed me? With that, I feel frustrated and discriminated
against so I decided that there was no need
disturbing myself and I decided to quit. I am
praying that God helps me so that I can
continue my career abroad. I think things
will be better over there. Has the society accepted you for who you
are? Some do but some have not. Everybody
cannot like you for who you are, so you just
have to take life the way it is. My colleagues
who we played together in the women’s
league all welcome me. Some people want
to be my friends even when they don’t know who I am and even when they know
that I am the former Iyabo Abade turned
James Johnson, they are still happy to be
my friends. I am happy with that. There is no
need for me to be feeling sad that God
created me the way I am. So, I am happy with life but I feel sad because some people
are out there to cut short your happiness. I
will be happy playing football but some
people don’t like it. What is your relationship with your Falcons
teammates? Some of them still welcome me; they see
me just like every other person. They don’t
discriminate against me; we grew up
together and did things together even
though I am no more in their group. I am so
happy about that. When the news first came out, a lot of them were shocked because
they didn’t even know anything about
hermaphrodite. But later, they sympathised
with me; they said I am not God and didn’t
create myself. That was how it went and we
are still friends till now. Your rehabilitation should be in stages. How
far have you gone? I am still on it. After I went for check-up in
2009, I am due for the next stage, where a
surgery will be carried out to enable me
become a full man and live a normal
and perfect life. But every effort has been
futile; nothing is really happening and I am looking up to God to intervene in this issue.
I have made every effort and gone to the
NSC but they did nothing. I took a letter
there and was going there for about seven
months. So I have to look elsewhere to
enable me complete the surgery. I also wrote to NFF when Sani Lulu was the head
and he gave me hope. He said, ‘Bring your
letter and we will see what we can do.’ But
at the end, they said, ‘We don’t know what
happened to your letter.’ When it gets to
releasing money, that is when the letter gets missing. Only Family Worship helped
me a great deal to go for the check-up. How much do you need for the surgery? I will need about N12m for the final surgery.
My doctor says I have to stay in the US for
one year, so that he can monitor the final
process. Aside the surgery, I will have to pay
for accommodation for one year and other
things like feeding and transportation. Now that you haven’t finished the
rehabilitation, would you say you are living a
man’s life? I would say I am living happily but my joy will
be to complete the whole stages of the
rehabilitation. Then I can boast of myself as
a real man just like other guys. I will say I
still need the final surgery before I can
answer your question further. You once had the ambition of becoming the
first person ever to play for the female and
male national teams of a country but the
dream seems dashed. How do you feel? I feel rejected and frustrated because
football is my life but the NSC and the NFF
are not in support of my ambition. If we had
a good sports commission, I won’t be in this
situation. Do they want me to cry to the US
government? That will be a disgrace to Nigeria. Who are those that stood behind you during
your trying times? I want to thank former FCT ministers Abba
Gana and Nasir el-Rufai; they were very
helpful. I wrote to the former First Lady,
Turai Yar’Adua, and Patience Jonathan, who
was then Second Lady. Though I didn’t get
money from the First Lady but I was given the opportunity to enter Aso Rock.
Unfortunately, her husband fell sick and
she couldn’t attend to me. She asked some
people to attend to me but I didn’t hear
from them. The present First Lady has not
done anything to help me despite all the efforts I have made to reach her, a fellow
Niger Deltan like her. If northerners can
show concern for me, why not her? Family
Worship also gave me money for my check-
up as well as the Redeemed Christian
Church of God. I appreciate all of them. Would you accept if the US says you should
naturalise and play for them? I will accept it with both hands. It’s
everybody’s dream to be a US citizen, so I
will jump at the opportunity. What is your advice to other
hermaphrodites, who are ashamed to come
out or don’t have the opportunity you have? I have some already and I have given my
doctor in the US their contacts. They are
two and they are into female football. They
say a problem shared is half solved. If
people don’t know your problem, you will
die with it, so they just have to come out and let the world know what they are
passing through. They need to look unto
God. If not for God, I would have been a
forgotten issue because at times, I feel like
committing suicide. You will want to run into
a moving truck but I thank God for being in charge of my life. I am happy today and
everybody wants to mingle with me. So, life
goes on. Are you thinking of setting up a foundation
for hermaphrodites? Yes, so that many people with such issues
can be treated. I hope to make it a
worldwide foundation. There are a lot of
hermaphrodites but they are shy or afraid
to come out. There was a case that
happened in Delta State when they almost killed a hermaphrodite. They said she is a
witch. But it is not proper because these
people didn’t create themselves. They
should use me as a sign of hope. They can
also be treated and be happy just like
myself. I won’t blame them for not coming out because the support is not there in
Nigeria. If they come out, they will be
discriminated against. When ladies you approach realise later that
you were once like them, do they run away? I am loved by women, there’s no doubt
about that. They want to be my best friend.
Everywhere I go, women always appreciate
me because of my looks even when they
later get to know about my issue. They
always want to grab the opportunity to date someone like me. Some of them are happy
to be with me because they have never
seen such a person before. Every woman is
mixing with James Johnson. How was your trip to the US in 2012 with the
Marasata Soccer Academy? Marasata Soccer Academy brought me back
to life because I felt so frustrated when I
was neglected. The academy brought me in
to lead the female team because I once
played female football. That was how I
became head of the coaching crew and with time, I will get to the top. The trip to the US
last year was a success. Aside not having a club side, do you still play
football? Of course yes. Football is part of me and I
play every now and then, even with my boys
in the academy. I derive joy in football; I play
with Karo All Stars in Abuja and we play so
many competitions. If you look back now, is there a time you will
recount with joy while playing female
football? Sometimes I feel sad that I didn’t continue
what I know how to do best in the midst of
the girls but I ignore it and let go. It’s not
over, I still feel I will play for this country
one day as a man but whether I play or not, I
am happy with life. I was excluded from the 1999 Women’s World Cup but when the
team returned home, my club FCT Queens
had a match against Pelican Stars, which
paraded all the superstars like Ann
Agumanu, Mercy Akide, Eberechi Opara and
Stella Mbachu. I was the only star in my team. It’s a game people still talk about. We
were 2-1 down and I scored an incredible
goal from the flank. That goal helped us
beat Pelican 3-2 and they were complaining
that why did they allow me to play the game
after it was discovered that I am a hermaphrodite. People still say it was the
best game they saw me play. My goal
gingered my teammates to beat them. I will
never forget that game. FCT Queens also
won the Challenge Cup and I was one of the
team’s trainers. That was how I got help to go for surgery. We were hosted in Sheraton
and the then FCT Minister Nasir el-Rufai
sponsored me to the US for the surgery. Initially, was it easy blending from a female
to male? It was not easy in the beginning playing with
the men but I took up the challenge. I didn’t
get support as a male footballer. If I had
remained as a female footballer, I knew
where I would be now. In men’s football, it’s
all about who you know. If you don’t have someone to back you up, forget it, no
matter what you play. I felt there was no
need going to a club and telling them that I
was Iyabo Abade. I wanted to be there on
merit but after signing, I faced
discrimination. I played for NEPA and Plateau United. At Plateau, they brought me
in always as a late substitute because they
didn’t believe I could play. But we were five
they selected out of over 100 players that
came for trials. If I was not good, why did
they pick me from such a large number of players? Do you sometimes feel like being a woman? I chose to become a man because it is what
God wants me to be. I didn’t use money as
my priority in opting to be a man. If it was
for money reasons, I would have remained
as a woman because I was getting to the top
of female football in Nigeria. I am happy with the decision I took. If I became a
female, I probably wouldn’t have been
happy with my life. So I just decided to
move on. I am not regretting the step I
made. I can tell you, women are running
after me like Usain Bolt and I think it is better for me. I like it that way. I never
expected it that way. Today, I am pleased
that people want to know me. We know you have been very close to
Agatha Agu for a very long time. Are you
planning to get married to her? She is a very good person and if God says
she is going to be my wife, I will be the
happiest man because she deserves it; she
has always been there for me right from our
days in female football. She has been my
backbone even when things are not working well. I know by His grace, we will get there. Can you tell us your best moment? I don’t have any yet until I wear the colours
of the national team. If I cannot play for the
main Eagles, at least I can for the home-
based Eagles. I will appreciate if I get the
opportunity. If the home-based Eagles camp is thrown
open ahead of the 2014 CHAN, do you think
you can make it? With God, I will make it. I am so sure of
myself. What is your word for coach Stephen Keshi? I wish him the best. He has won the AFCON
trophy, so we should appreciate him even if
he is making some mistakes. We shouldn’t
be criticising him always. He is a good coach
and he needs our support
PUNCH
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