I have been reading
interesting comments on social media about the new ‘anti-gay bill’ recently
signed into law by President Jonathan. The supporters of the bill are in the
majority while those opposed to it seem to have found their voices more AFTER
it has been signed by the President. The pro-gay voices are angry, hurt and
stirring up a storm within Nigeria. Many of them are Nigerians who are either
‘enlightened’ about Gay Rights or are sympathetic to the Gay cause.
Some are
also Nigerians living in the diaspora who are in societies where the Gay
Movement have virtually taken over the political and social structures of those
places and being homo-receptive is mostly a way of life.
Nigeria has just
joined 78 other countries in the world which have strong anti-gay laws. About
35 of such countries are in Africa alone, not surprisingly. Africa has a huge
anti-homosexual belief and cultural structure which has been in place for
thousands of years. The fabric of Africa’s cultural beliefs are intertwined
with a pre-dominant heterosexual society.
Africa has homosexuals, no doubt.
Millions of them but they are in a clime where a majority opinion steeped in
the rules and regulations of the ancestral laws of the continent are held
sacrosanct. And so it should be, somewhat. A people, a nation, is defined by
what binds them together in cultural and perhaps theological identities or
affinities. Despite the outcry by the Western nations about Africa’s
homophobia, many African countries are not willing to endorse same-sex
marriages. The core of Africa’s existentialism is rooted in polygamy. Simple as
that. Africans must have sex and sex the heterosexual way. Africans are more in
touch with their Spiritual selves, be it Animism, Christianity, Islam, Paganism
or whichever religion they choose to practice to enhance or evolve their
Spirituality. For those beliefs, however decadent such may be viewed by the
Western Societies, shape the core of its people.
Nigeria is part of
Africa and the points I just highlighted are part of the Nigerian society.
Nigeria , ironically, is one of the most receptive countries in the world when
it comes to Western religions and Middle Eastern linear faith. We lap up
everything spat on us through Western imperialism and accept such totally. But
we have refused to accept the same-sex marriages. Nigeria is not ready for
that, truth be told. Forget about what the Bible or Koran say right now.
Nigeria is not and may never be ready for a Gay overhaul on its social and
family structures.
A good question I
should ask is this; in China, Russia, Saudi Arabia and some other hardline
countries, being Gay is punishable by either death or imprisonment. In fact,
President Putin calls the Gay Movement ‘ Western decadence and perversion’ and
has spoken out firmly against it and like most of those countries, passed laws
against it. But you don’t see the West taking a hardline stance against those
countries which have called their bluff. What will America, Britain and the
rest of Europe do to Saudi Arabia where homosexuality is punishable by death?
Do they tell the Arabs to effectively stop being Muslims because of Gay Rights?
Why are the Western Countries not imposing sanctions or orders on China and
Russia for their anti-Gay stand? Why do they bully the African nations into
accepting this new wave of ‘human rights’?
In Britain and
America and indeed Europe, if any anti-Gay person or group speak out against
the same-sex marriage, they are curiously labelled homophobic and accused of
‘hate speech’. Those countries have succeeded in instilling fear in the minds
of those who oppose Gay marriages. So, majority of their citizens are scared of
voicing their thoughts and just let it be. It is that same climate of fear
which the West aspires to bestow on Africa concerning Gay rights and they are
going about it the wrong way.
Western movies and
television series have been beaming images of Gay lives and marriages to
African homes and these things scare Africans a lot. What is being projected is
unthinkable to Africans in the majority. The very idea that two men would marry
and live together as husband and husband is not in good taste to many Africans.
Likewise lesbians marrying themselves too in Africa. It cannot be accepted and
the drastic laws are being passed to stop this incursion.
There are over six
billion people in the world today. Gays are probably 15% of the World’s total
population. Go figure that out. I have nothing against Gays. I believe in
tolerance. But I do not in anyway support the notion that a Same-sex marital
environment should thrive in Nigeria. There are safe havens for that in Western
Societies. And in South Africa. But it is, at this point of Africa’s
development, not acceptable in Nigeria. That is just the reality.
And my opinion is
basically my opinion.
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