By Seun Pinheiro
First they came for the Jews
and I did not speak out–because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for the communists
and I did not speak out–because I was not a communist.
Then they came for the trade unionists
and I did not speak out–because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for me—
and there was no one left to speak out for me.
Pastor Martin Niemoller
Two months ago Nigeria passed an Anti-Gay law which bans same-sex marriages, gay groups and shows of same-sex public affection. Now, when I’m in Nigeria, I spend all of my time in what I feel is the most ‘liberal’ state in the country, Lagos. I have never seen gays show affection in front of me nor have I ever seen or heard about gay couples who are married. But I guess The Senate and President Jonathan have, so it must have really grossed them out.
I’m lucky enough to have travelled around the world. I’ve seen a lot of beautiful places, Paris, Milan, New York, the buildings, the cars, the statues and monuments etc, all incredible. However that’s not what makes a country beautiful, it helps a lot seeing it’s the first thing people see, but what makes a country beautiful is the type of people it has. From that I can say Nigeria is one of the most beautiful countries I’ve ever seen. Too bad we decide to show our ugly side way too often. That’s what the Anti-Gay law is to me in Nigeria, ugly.
“Any person who registers, operates or participates in gay clubs, societies and organizations or directly or indirectly makes public show of same-sex amorous relationship in Nigeria commits an offence and shall each be liable on conviction to a term of 10 years in prison,” Funny how 44 words taint an entire country of 160 million.
The people who support the law are not the problem with Nigeria, rather their mentality and way of thinking is. As long as the majority of the people in Nigeria continue to think like this, we may progress but we will never achieve our full potential.
In Nigeria, most of the population is affiliated to a particular religion. When asked “What’s wrong with being gay?” a very common answer is “It’s not of God”. Now before debating what’s in the bible or Quran, let’s look at the political system in Nigeria. Nigeria is a democracy. Religion should have no influence on the law; politicians should not make decisions based on their religion. It’s often said that Religion is the root cause of most wars. You can’t govern a country based on what the bible teaches simultaneously with what the Quran teaches, and let’s not forget about the people who aren’t Muslim or Christian or don’t even believe in a God. Religion can serve as a guide but it shouldn’t be infallible.
I had an argument with someone who said “Being gay is a thing of the West”. That’s not true. The west is just more tolerant. That’s not to say they still don’t face persecution. Did you know that scientists recently discovered that there were gay Egyptians in Ancient times? Is Egypt in the west? They’re gays in Russia too, is Russia in the west?
The only thing more irritating than a homophobe is a black homophobe. We used to be persecuted for the colour of our skin. We had the opportunity to take the right path by tolerating those who are sexually other and missed it. As absurd as it is, it’s almost funny; I almost can’t believe such a thing happened. If you support this bill, you’re no better than that white racist from the past. This too, shall pass. Just as with time and the hard work of some activists Racism’s gone away, one day people will realize Homophobia’s just as irrational.
When people say things like “It’s not natural”, I ask some questions. Would any sane man in a country like Nigeria where there is very little tolerance of gays, choose to be gay?
I had an acquaintance who said if her son was gay, she would abandon him. You would abandon your son? Now she’s a Christian and so I asked why she should throw away her gift like that, because child birth is a gift. She said “because it’s not of God”. Weird, seeing how God gave her that child, or was that the devil at work? “Seun what if you have a son, who turns out to be gay?” I will love him, because he is my son and I will not see him differently.
Chimamanda Adichie wrote a piece on this very subject, also condemning the Anti-Gay law. When I read through the comment section to see the reaction it would have, someone said the law serves as a deterrent. Well, deterrents stop people from doing certain things, things we have some choice over. Since you don’t have a choice concerning your sexuality then it’s hardly a deterrent, rather a lifetime in jail from the minute you’re born.
Human beings being are mammals. There is homosexual behavior among many species of animals. So I’m guessing those animals chose to be gay right? It’s their ‘lifestyle choice’ right? The straight animals tell the gay ones to stop being so Western right?
People really need to think about what they say, use deductive reason. “Oh it’s un-African” or “un-Nigerian”. I will ask though, what makes you African? What makes you Nigerian? Can we please have a list of things we have to do to meet these criteria? Unfortunately that’s going to be especially hard seeing as we are all born different and have been shaped by our different experiences.
Let’s talk about the impact this law has on the country. Due to the world becoming more ‘transparent’ and as Globalization takes a more significant hold, Nigeria is hindering itself. Why? We could potentially lose investors and tourists (Mark Zuckerberg’s threat to withdraw his companies from Uganda, a case in point). Nigeria is a democracy. Democracies exist especially to protect the minority and let people be as free as possible provided their actions do not affect others or disrupt society. And just before someone says something as silly as “Oh! So people should be allowed to have sex with dogs”, no that’s not what I mean. Gay people do not practice bestiality either.
This law is a complete contradiction of the political system that we want as Nigerians. This law is creating more problems than it is solving. This law is uniting Nigerians in a bad way. You would think the Legislature would be more worried about some of the greater issues plaguing the country, but I guess someone saw Brokeback Mountain and decided the ‘Anti-gay’ law was much more important.
I’m not campaigning for gays to have the right to get married; I don’t know where I stand on that. I do know that’s up to the religious bodies that the government recognizes. My campaign hinges on gay people being treated equally, with the respect that would be afforded the reasonable person. What would Jesus do? Would Jesus would give a gay man a hug or would he send him to prison for 10 years?
My writing this was partially borne out of the desire to persuade people to think logically, but most especially because it’s the right thing to do. Years from now our children will look at us and ask questions. I want them to take pride in knowing their father stood for what was right; I treated all humans the same. Black, white, gay, straight, we are all the same.