When Angela Ihegboro first laid eyes on her newborn daughter, she was left utterly speechless. “She’s a miraculous baby,” the 35-year-old mother expressed yesterday. “But still, how can we explain this?”
The remarkable event unfolded when baby Nmachi, a blond, blue-eyed white infant, was born to two black Nigerian immigrant parents at a hospital in London.
Ben Ihegboro, the father, was equally astonished. “The first thing I said was, ‘What in the world?’” he recalled. “After her birth, we both sat there, staring at her for a long time without saying a word.”
Seeking to dispel any doubts, he reaffirmed his paternity, stating, “Of course she is mine. My wife has always been faithful to me. Even if she hadn’t been, the baby wouldn’t look like this.”
Genetics experts, though they don’t believe in miracles, struggled to provide simple answers to the enigma surrounding baby Nmachi. Instead, they offered three possible theories:
- She might be the result of a unique gene mutation. If that is the case, Nmachi could pass the gene to her children, and they, too, might inherit the trait of being white.
- She could be the product of dormant white genes inherited from her ancestors, which remained hidden for generations until now.
- Although not an outright albino, Nmachi may have a mutated version of a genetic condition, and her skin might darken over time.
The birth of baby Nmachi continues to be a fascinating and perplexing phenomenon, captivating both the scientific community and the wider public.
