Actress Eniola Ajao has talked candidly about her experience becoming a mother at the age of 20, highlighting the difficulties she had because of social norms.
The director described how becoming pregnant outside of marriage was highly stigmatised, which made her feel alone and ashamed on a recent episode of the Talk To B podcast.
According to Ajao, she feared being called a “baby mama” and possibly never getting married.
“You know things are not what they used to be before now. Ladies at my age, then, their parents were always skeptical about not being exposed to so many things that were going on during that time,” she said.
“Having to get pregnant at 20 was a bit dramatic; you just feel like the whole world is coming against you. You probably want to kill yourself or die at a point, and you would probably not be able to get married again.
“So you want to hide it from your parents and the public. At that time, it was considered a thing of shame. Not that it was a thing of shame for me, but it was considered to be early.”
The actress disclosed that she kept her pregnancy private, confiding only in close family and friends. She emphasised that while early motherhood wasn’t inherently shameful, societal norms in her community made it difficult.
“Omotola got married at 18, a lot of people got married at 17, but where I come from, they want you to finish your school, graduate, and do a couple of things. I was already in Yabatech when it happened,” she added.
“Thinking that probably you may not get married, somebody calling you a baby mama, and you do not want to get stigmatised. Just close friends and family members knew about it.”
It, however, remains to be seen if the 44-year-old film star is married or in a relationship.