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Article by O.O of Golden Icons
What we remember about Dapo Adaralagbe’s early years when we were all growing up decades ago at the Obafemi Awolowo University (O.A.U.) staff quarters in Ile-Ife, is a properly brought up kid, who had the best of education and had parents that were both professors at the great citadel of learning in Nigeria. He went to the University’s staff school and was an exceptionally smart boy, but must have suffered a traumatic experience when he lost his mom at a very young age.
Back in our college days, Dapo started using make-up and dressing like a girl, which was so absurd at the time because the whole LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual, Transgender) community was so alien to us at that particular time in the 90’s, and regarded as totally absurd!
Dapo, as he was called back then, dropped out from the Obafemi Awolowo University over mounting pressures from the school on his gender identity and reportedly now resides in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Everyone moved on with life, so we never heard of Dapo Adaralagbe until now, when the name started trending on social media.
Fast forward to 2015, and we read about the former Dapo Adaralegbe we used to know now being referred to as Stephanie Rose. Not only is he a transgender woman now, the former law student of O.A.U. has written a book titled ‘Nobody Goes to Heaven Because Nobody Goes to Hell Fire’, where ‘she’ was showing ‘her’ anger towards God and the disappointments she’s had in life. Some of the excerpts from the book were posted on her Facebook page and has indeed caused a lot of social media stir!
Here are some of ‘her’ views from the new book shared on Facebook:
Here is the story about Dapo Adaralagbe, now Stephanie Rose that was previously shared on various media outlets:
“I was studying Law at the Obafemi Awolowo University, (OAU), Ife. I am of the 1995 set, but I had to leave school in 2001 because of pressures. People were too harsh on me; they did not understand me at all. When I was in school, the school authorities got to know that I slept with my fellow male students. There was also an incident when I had to be admitted in the hospital. I was bleeding from the anus and I had bad pile arising from sexual intercourse.
“When the school got to know the kind of person I was, they sent me to meet a Guidance Counselor, Professor Roger Makanjuola, who was the Vice Chancellor, who took care of me. You know he is a re-nowned Psychiatrist. He handled all issues relating to psychiatry with me.
He said I was okay and that nothing was wrong with my preferences, sexual-wise. He said it was just because I lived in an environment that did not tolerate that kind of behavior. He recommended that I should meet another Guidance Counselor but I did not follow up. Even at that, there seems to be very little assistance one can get medically in Nigeria.“After a time, I tried going back to school but they told me I have stayed too long away from the system. I applied to change over to University of Lagos (UNILAG) and OAU authorities promised to assist with my transcripts, but they did not send it early, that was how I lost the chance of changing to UNILAG. I eventu-ally dropped out of school.”
“I know this will shock you but I started having sex at the age of six. I had this cousin of mine who used to bring his friend to our house. He was the first to make love to me.
“Since I was small, I realized that I had this feeling that I was a woman. I used to paint myself up and wear girls’ clothes. Nobody stopped or cautioned me. My mother later died when I was 11 years old. My father has other wives and no one particularly bothered about me. I am the last child of my mother, she had four of us”
“I started having sex at the age of six, but no one in my family noticed the problem until I was 14 years old. My father is a Professor of Education. My mother was also a Professor in the same discipline. When my dad got to know, I think he was among the people who made Professor Makanjuola to examine me.
“The truth is that I had gone too far, and I don’t want to talk about my family in this issue. I have slept with a lot of people but my problem is that they were not faithful to me. They were not committed; we just have sex and they go away. I wish to have a committed partner that is why I have been trying to get a real lover, one that will care about me. In the alternative, I will like to relocate abroad where my kind exist.
In the University, I had several lovers but they were not serious. I have several men that I sleep with, I won’t mention their names. They cut across the low and highly placed, just let’s leave it at that. What I want is a committed partner. If I had a choice between getting cured and go¬ing for a surgery that will change my sex to a woman, I will prefer becoming a full woman.“I am already a trans-sexual, the difference between me and other homosexuals are that while they just have the preference for sleeping with fellow men, I feel that I am a woman; I feel that someone should be making love to me the way men do to women. Since I started having sex, I am usually the female, the dormant partner. But do you know that right now, I need two things; a lover that is committed to me or help me to relocate out of this country,” he said.
