‘She gave me five grandchildren’: Charly Boy defends daughter’s same-sex engagement

Veteran Nigerian entertainer Charles Oputa, popularly known as Charly Boy, has come out firmly in defence of his daughter Adaeze following criticism over her engagement to a female partner, saying he has no power — and no right — to dictate how a 50-year-old adult woman chooses to live her life.

According to Tribune, in a post on his Instagram page responding to public backlash, Charly Boy invoked his own experience of self-determination to explain his position.

“How you wan tell 50-year-old woman how to live her life? At that age, she don already live enough life to know herself. As a father, I fit advise. I fit talk my mind. But I no get remote control for another adult’s life,” he wrote.

The entertainer revealed that his daughter had endured a painful previous marriage before meeting her current partner. “She was in a marriage where she saw pepper. Na after she commot dia, she jumped into dis one,” he said.

Charly Boy also noted that his daughter had given him five grandchildren and a great-grandson, saying she “will always be my daughter” regardless of her choices.

Drawing a parallel with his own father’s inability to prevent him from becoming the unconventional entertainer he chose to be, Charly Boy said: “So who am I to stand in front of my daughter and try to control the life she has chosen for herself?”

He concluded with a message of universal tolerance: “Everybody deserves the freedom to pursue their own happiness. Make everybody live their truth and find their own happiness.”