Nollywood actor Deyemi Okanlawon, father to three boys, was recently interviewed by Teju Babyface. When Teju inquired about Deyemi’s experience as a father of only boys and whether he desires to have a daughter, Deyemi responded candidly, perhaps not realizing the controversial nature of his reply. Here’s what he said.
During his interview, Deyemi was asked “Do you feel like you need to have a female child? Do you want to have a daughter? Do you miss having a girl?” to which he said:
DEYEMI OKANLAWAN: I told my wife I only have men inside me, and I have the energy for them. Uhmmm, I will be honest with you, as much as I will love to have a little princess in front of me in my arms, raising a girl is a huge responsibility. You know we guys they can just throw us on the road, we will wake up, and we’ll have grown up. But raising a girl takes so much. Even when we first found out that we were having a baby, I know I wished it was a girl but then I also realized that mehn, she’s just going to steal my heart and my time and I probably won’t be able to take my eyes away from her. Then when we found out it was a boy, we were like okay, God knows what he wants me to have. But you see, never say never. It can still happen.
The response Deyemi gave of raising girls being a “huge responsibility” as compared to boys is a huge topic of debate online and people have a lot to say.
Somebody said “Where did this notion that girls are ‘harder to raise’ come from? Sounds like internalized misogyny to me” while another said “Girls are only ‘harder to raise’ because you actually discipline them and hold them accountable for their actions. They’re taught to be responsible and guilty and shamed at a young age but y’all just let your sons do whatever and ‘boys will be boys’”. Meanwhile there are others that align with Deyemi’s claim saying “Girls are 1000x harder to raise than boys. Fact!”
