Meet the most popular Nigerian transgender women across the globe. Most of these women escaped Nigeria to live the kind of live they now have.
With the way the Nigerian society and community and treats or look at gays, lesbians, and transgenders, these four former men who now lives their lives as women are not afraid or ashamed to reveal their true selves to the world. Meet the 4 most popular Nigerian transgender women in the world.
Miss saHHara
Miss saHHara is the most popular Nigerian transgender in the world. She was also the first Nigerian to openly tell the world she was formerly a man but now lives as a woman (2011) and enjoys being a woman. Miss saHHara who moved to the United Kingdom about 12 years ago said she tried to kill herself twice because of the identity pressure she was facing while in Nigeria. ‘I left Nigeria to save my life’, she told the BBC.
Apart from constantly sharing her photos on social media and being a strong voice for the transgender community as a human rights advocate, the former Nigerian man is a fashion model who also enjoys participating in transgender beauty pageants. She is also a singer and a songwriter. Some of the places she has represented Nigeria in beauty contests is in Thailand and Spain.
While in Nigeria, SaHHara was known as Clifford Oche. She is from Benue state in Nigeria and was also a student of the Benue State University. Today, she is on top of the list of popular Nigerian transgender women worldwide.
Stephanie Rose
Stephanie Rose is a Nigerian man who was known as Dapo Adaralegbe before he did a sex change operation to become a woman. In 2015, Stephanie, who does not believe in the Christian faith or an almighty father in heaven said God was “daft and senseless”. Stephanie wrote,
“I HATE GOD, FUCK HIM …. Such wicked and useless God can go fuck himself and eat shit. GOD IS SHIT AND WICKEDNESS. That is not a good God but a very foolish and useless skydaddy! A God that destroys people’s lives and destroys their bright hopes in life is a very wicked Maggot! A God that instigates violence, instigates humiliation, instigates rejection, instigates bloodshed and instigates the killing of people is a pervert and a very devilish idiot!”
In 2001, Stephanie was expelled from the Nigerian university he was studying law (Obafemi Awolowo University). The reason for her expulsion was due to his/her identity crisis at the time. In Nigeria, being gay, a lesbian or transgender is considered an abomination and against the law.
Stephanie is also a writer and one of her book is titled, “Nobody Goes To Heaven Because Nobody Goes To Hell Fire”.
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Candy La Mandy
Based in Canada, Candy La Mandy is another Nigerian man who went under the knife to become a woman. Like saHHara and Stephanie Rose, this former Nigerian man who now lives as a woman enjoys flaunting her looks on social media by sharing her photos. Before becoming a woman, Candy La Mandy was known as Okwudili.
Noni Salma
Born as Habeeb Babatunde Lawal, Noni Salma Lawal is another popular Nigerian transgender woman who said she regretted not making her transition while she was still a teenager. “My 20s was just full of emptiness. The only regrets I have is that I wished I transitioned way earlier. I wish I did it when I was in my teens. When I was 5/6 years old, I was convinced I was a girl and then people started telling people me about it” she told the Young Africa Media in an interview.
Salma attended the University of Lagos in Nigeria where he studied Theatre Arts and later worked as an entertainment journalist. He relocated abroad and did a sex change operation to become a woman.
Are there other Nigerian transgender women that did not make it to this list? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
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