Former Super Falcons striker Iyabo Abade lived for many years as a hermaphrodite - a person
with male and female organ. She/he had surgery in the US in 2004 and is now living as a man
named James Johnson. Punch caught up with him recently and he opened up about his life
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.
Source: Punch
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