Former Super Falcons player Iyabo Abade, now living as a man and renamed James Johnson, has appealed to the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) for assistance with a payment of N69.7 million to complete a corrective surgery that will enable him to father children.
Johnson, a confirmed hermaphrodite, played for the Falcons from 1997 to 2000 and successfully underwent a sex change operation in the United States in 2004, sponsored by then Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai.
This operation followed several failed attempts to correct the abnormality that led to his removal from the women’s national team.
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A hermaphrodite is a person with both male and female reproductive organs, a condition that is common in animals but rare in humans.
“Anytime I think that I can’t father a child yet, I feel broken. That’s why I wrote to the federation for financial assistance. The NFF president Ibrahim Gusau is a man with a listening ear and hopefully, through him, the federation can help me achieve my dream,” Johnson said.
“The total cost of the surgery and treatment is one hundred and sixty thousand dollars ($160,000), equivalent to sixty-nine million seven hundred and fifty thousand naira (N69,750,000:00).”
In the letter to Gusau, Johnson explained, “I was born a hermaphrodite with both female and male organs and was raised as a female. I love football and played very well, leading to my selection to play for the Super Falcons in 1997.
During my playing days, a test confirmed that I am a hermaphrodite, 70% male and 30% female, which led to my termination as a female player.”
“The Nigeria Football Association (NFA) instructed that I should undergo sex corrective surgery. The then Minister of Federal Capital Territory Mallam Nasir El-Rufai sponsored my trip to the United States in 2004 for the surgery.”
“I was told that I would need to undergo four phases of surgery. The first and second phases were completed, and I was invited to join the Flying Eagles camp in 2005, coached by Samson Siasia. However, I was dropped due to overage.”
“I signed with NEPA Football Club of Abuja, then Plateau United of Jos, and later Crown Football Club of Ogbomoso in Oyo State, where I faced discrimination and humiliation,” Johnson concluded.
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