Former Super Falcons player, Iyabo Abade, now known as James Johnson, is appealing for help from the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to undergo corrective surgery. Johnson, a hermaphrodite who underwent a sex change operation in 2004, requires N69.7 million to complete the final phases of surgery to enable him to father children.
Johnson, who played for the Super Falcons from 1997 to 2000, successfully underwent the initial phases of his sex change operation in the United States, sponsored by Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, the then Minister of Federal Capital Territory. Now aged 40, Johnson seeks NFF’s financial assistance to complete the remaining phases.
“Anytime I think that I can’t father a child yet, I feel broken. That is 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 told Punch.
In a heartfelt letter addressed to the NFF president, Johnson detailed his journey and the need for the final surgeries. The letter, dated April 4, 2023, emphasized his desire to become a fully-fledged man and father children.
The letter reads:
“My President, I am using this medium to passionately appeal to you for God and humanity’s sake, to use your good office to assist me financially to enable me travel to the United States of America where I did the 1st and 2nd phases of surgery at Midway Hospital Medical Centre, Los Angeles, for the 3rd and 4th phases of my transformation to a full-fledged man so that I can father children.
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).
I was born a hermaphrodite, i.e., both female and male organs, and was brought up as a female. I love football and played very well, which led to my selection to play for the Super Falcons in 1997. During my playing days, an issue arose that led to a test confirming I am a hermaphrodite, 70% male and 30% female. This led to terminating my appointment as a female player. The NFA (Nigeria Football Association) instructed that I should go for sex corrective surgery. The then Minister of Federal Capital Territory, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, sponsored my trip to the United States for the surgery. I was told I would undergo four phases of surgery. The first and second phases were completed, and I was invited to join the Flying Eagles camp in 2005 under Coach Samson Siasia, but 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, where I faced discrimination and humiliation.”
