Children come in different ways. Some people become parents by birth, some people become parents by adoption, and some people become parents through surrogacy. Through any means, a child is a blessing and it is a blessing that a lot of people seek for.
Surrogacy is by definition a practice where a woman (a surrogate) carries a child for another person through artificial insemination of eggs. In Nigeria, it is still something that is not very common and not widely talked about. There is still a mentality that a woman must carry her own child for her to be seen as a mother, a mentality that must stop as it serves nobody.
Thankfully though, more and more people are coming out to share their fertility stories and journeys, and also talking about why they decided to become parents via surrogacy. One group of such people lending their voice to the discourse and helping to shift the conversation in a new direction is of course our Nigerian celebrities.
Without further ado, here are 4 Nigerian Celebrities Who Have Become Parents by Surrogacy.
1. Ini Edo
This is the most recent Nigerian celebrity to come out and speak openly about her decision to have a child through surrogacy. Ini Edo is one of Nigeria’s most popular and recognizable actresses and for a long time, many womb watchers have had their sights on her asking her constantly about when she would have children.
Finally, in an interview with blogger Stella Dimoko Korkus, Ini Edo revealed that she is in fact now a mother and got her daughter through surrogacy. Speaking to Stella about this, Ini said:
Yes I do have a daughter and I had her through surrogacy. The Eggs are mine and so genetically she’s my blood. I chose this path to fulfil my dream of becoming a mother. I still have a good number of eggs frozen in case I decide to do surrogacy again or carry my baby myself .who knows.
I am not someone who allows any situation to control me. I make lemonades out of lemons thrown my way and have no regrets. Life itself is so fragile and short to be striving for perfection. I am well and capable of taking care of my own child as I’ve been taking care of myself .I wanted a child and thank God for the options of surrogacy and donors…
2. Folasade Tinubu-Ojo
Folasade Tinubu-Ojo, first daughter of the national leader of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Bola Tinubu also welcomed her second baby, a girl, through surrogacy.
3. Emma Weymouth
Nigerian-born British royal, Viscountess Emma Weymouth and her husband welcomed their second child, Henry, into the world via surrogacy after Emma’s doctor warned she could die if she decided to try have the baby through pregnancy.
4. Nike Oshinowo
Ex-beauty queen Nike Oshinowo also welcomed a set of twins into her life via surrogacy. Speaking on how she made the decision, Nike said:
I was out of my marriage and I was lying in bed, talking to my God.”Okay, so, here I am, is this what you want for me? Please tell me the next step. What am I supposed to do now? And I fell asleep. As I slept, I felt a tug on the bedding and I opened my eyes, there is nothing and so I look at the bottom of my bed to see a little child tugging at the bottom of my duvet.
It was a little girl so I carried her, put her on my bed and she played while I slept. She would always come in my sleep and play and then I would put her on my bed, we would play and then we would sleep.
The one day I thought ‘This little girl I keep seeing in my dreams, maybe I can have a child. Maybe it is God’s way of telling me its time. I take my iPad while lying in bed and I start surfing the net all the while thinking I have Endometriosis. I literally typed in Google search ‘what is the best way to have a child if you have extreme Endometriosis? I hit search and it came out!
Surrogacy is a wonderful scientific breakthrough and an option for conception that should never be looked down upon. It’s good to see these celebrities being open about their surrogacy journeys. So many people try to hide it, I’m glad they didn’t. Let me know what you think about this story
