Social media influencer Aba Dope has shared an account of her childhood days unraveling the intricacies of her familial ties, notably her relationship with her biological father while announcing her decision to disown him.
Unlike her stepfather Bannerman Martin who was significantly present during her upbringing, her biological father whom she did not disclose his identity, except mentioning he is a twin, did not provide the support, care, and guidance that are integral to a parent-child relationship.
As a result, Aba Dope in an interview on The Delay Show aired on October 14, 2023, said while her biological father is alive, she no longer considers him as her father.
“My biological father is a twin,” she disclosed. “He is the eldest. He has a shop at Takoradi Number 1 where he sells cocoa drink and bread. When I was young, whenever I was heading to school and got to his spot, he would give me cocoa drink and bread.”
According to Aba Dope, the turning point arrived when her biological father, one day, chose to disclose his true identity to her by making reference to how both of them shared a notably hairy trait.
“I never knew he was my father until he told me so, and when I asked my mother, she confirmed it. He is alive but he’s no more my father. He never catered for me,” said Aba Dope.
This narrative came to light when Aba Dope was responding to why she decided to bleach her skin. According to her, her mother possesses a naturally fair complexion, with two of Aba Dope's siblings sharing the same fairness.
However, in contrast, her other sibling and her biological father have darker skin tones.
In her interview with Deloris Frimpong Manso, which was monitored by GhanaWeb, Aba Dope said during her days in Senior High School (SHS), she wanted to contest in a beauty pageant competition but her teacher took her out because she was not beautiful enough.
The social media influencer noted that the action by her teacher diminished her self-confidence and influenced her decision to bleach her skin to improve her looks.
She indicated that because she was hawking and playing football consistently when she was in SHS, the scorching of the sun on her body made her skin quite dark, and that made her look ugly.
“I was quite dark, so every time I looked in the mirror, I looked like a transgender. I was not happy about myself because my teacher made me have that mindset, he was called Mr. Tibu.
"In secondary school, there was a beauty contest so I went to join them and the teacher took me out to join the school choir citing the fact that I was not beautiful,” she said.
“I went to play football in school so I fell and my chin hit the floor and it was disfigured. Because I was playing football and hawking, the sun was scorching me a lot so it affected my body. It made my skin very dark so I decided to bleach when I was in secondary school.”