"They broke me" Sports journalist bullied over her looks after she posed with Super Eagles players speaks

A sports journalist who was bullied over her looks after she posed with Super Eagles players has shared how the incident affected her.

Ikio Annabel, a CAF accredited sports journalist, took to X on October 14, 2024, to post photos of her posing with Ola Aina and Victor Boniface.

The photos quickly went viral as Nigerians called her names and shamed her for her looks.

Reacting one year later, Ikio said it took her a long time to find her confidence because she was bullied in secondary school over her looks. She said when she finally became confident, Nigerians broke her again by mocking her over the viral photos.

She added that as her photos were used as memes, she became withdrawn and extremely quiet. She said she was broken as the insults from the public kept coming.

She further stated that it affected her so much that during her first coverage back at the Super Eagles camp, she subconsciously tried “everything physically possible” to make sure she looked "beautiful”, yet, in spite of her efforts, the trauma from the insults she received reared its head.

She added: “I went to the press conference, training sessions, i was happy, then suddenly i was in total despair. I went to a corner and cried until I got to my lodge. That day, i couldn't appear on camera to do content. I was so mad at myself, but that was the last day. I realised i just needed to release everything I was bottling. Fast forward to today, I've never been more confident.”

She said she is speaking up now because she wants to create awareness.

She wrote, “I want people to realise that it's never just words. I want people to choose kindness and most importantly, I want those who struggle with self-confidence to know that they can come out stronger. You are enough.”

See below.