Nigerian Singer Aituaje Iruobe popularly known as Waje has spoken about how she became pregnant at the age of 16 and raised her daughter alone after the father shied away from responsibility.
While speaking in an interview on The Honest Bunch podcast, the singer expressed the emotional and logistical struggles of teenage motherhood and how she hid the disclosure of the pregnancy from her mother until the fifth month of the pregnancy.
In her words, “I was 16. I didn’t tell my mom until about five months. My mom had gone to his family and said, okay, so your son and my daughter… and he was like, no, it’s not him,” she said.
Years later, Waje revealed that the man reappeared from Canada, explaining that he had been young at the time and now wished to meet his daughter.
She added that she refused, expressing concerns about his stability and the possibility of unsettling her child’s life.
“Many times when fathers or mothers are protecting their child, it’s because you already know that this person is not stable. This person can come and destabilise the life of the child,” she said.
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She also disclosed how they both discussed doing a DNA test, but he kept dragging it.
“He agreed, and I waited and waited. Nine months passed, then years, and he still didn’t do it,” she said.
By the time her daughter reached 18, he could no longer file any claim for her.
“She turned 18 and you can’t file for a child at 18. I was mad because now she’s in university and I’m paying school fees in dollars. You can’t be calling me to say you want to send $200. We could have avoided all this,” she said.
The singer emphasised that her top priority has always been her daughter’s well-being and providing her with the best opportunities in life.
Waje said: “I had always said that my daughter would get the best education that I can afford. So I told him, “You are a citizen, file for your child.”
