The winner of the 2022 Big Brother Naija reality TV show, Ijeoma Otabor, popularly known as Phyna has revealed why she had two abortions and what she told her dad when he asked why.
Phyna shared details with Punch’s NAOMI CHIMA. According to her, she was young and in a toxic relationship when the abortions happened. She also said she is very blunt when speaking, which she inherited from her dad.
Phyna told her dad she learnt it from him when he called to ask her why she made such a remark on social media.
When asked how she felt about people’s reaction when she admitted to committing two abortions, Phyna responded:
“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..”
Speaking on why she aborted her her pregnancies, the reality TV star said:
“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.”
Phyna also added that she would never have considered abortion at all if she had her current celebrity status. In her words:
“Why would I do that? The way I am now, I have money to take care of 10 children, so why? 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.”