Meet the first man to e out as gay on Nigerian televisn - The Washgton Post

Contents:

• OPN: NIGERIA IS A LD-BLOOD UNTRY FOR GAY MEN – I HAVE THE SRS TO PROVE
• ‘I WAS THE FIRST PERSON TO COME OUT AS GAY ON LIVE TV NIGERIA’
• 5 SAFT PLAC FOR GAY TRAVELERS IN 2019 (AND THE MOST DANGERO)
• GAY IN NIGERIA: LGBT LIFE IN ONE OF THE WORLD’S MOST HOMOPHOBIC NATNS
• THE GAY MARRIAGE THAT BROKE THE NIGERIAN INTER
• MEET THE FIRST MAN TO E OUT AS GAY ON NIGERIAN TELEVISN
• POLICE RAID 'GAY WEDDG' NIGERIA, ARRT 19

OPN: NIGERIA IS A LD-BLOOD UNTRY FOR GAY MEN – I HAVE THE SRS TO PROVE

Xeenarh Mohammed, the executive director of the Lagos-based Iniative for Equal Rights (TIERS), said the law had historilly been ed to harass and blackmail gay people but there had not been any nvictns. The acced say they were attendg a birthday Same Sex Marriage Prohibn Act, which banned gay relatnships and entrenched tolerance of sexual mori Nigerian society, was signed by Goodluck Jonathan, then print, January law ed an ternatnal outcry, wh nmnatn om global human rights anisatn and wtern ernments.

Surveys have historilly shown high levels of homophobia Nigeria, but some have poted to what mpaigners say is a tentative, growg acceptance of gay men and June, high urt judg Botswana led that laws crimalisg same-sex relatns were unnstutnal and should be stck down, a major victory for gay rights mpaigners Ai. Botswana is regard as one of Ai’s most stable and mocratic natns, but homosexualy was outlawed unr the untry’s penal of, Mozambique and the Seychell have scrapped anti-gay laws recent judg rejected the precent set by India, which last year legalised gay sex between nsentg adults, as well as by a seri of other judgments across the Commonwealth and elsewhere, and said Kenya should make s own laws to reflect s own Tanzania, thori Dar Salaam, the biggt cy, have lnched a seri of crackdowns on gay people recent years.

Women attend an appeal of RozeLks solidary wh Jte Kizo Namisa, who fled om Uganda, to prott and to kiss at the door of the 24-hour receptn of the Missnari of Chary at which Jte is no longer wele due to her homosexualy Amsterdam on Augt 8, 2018. Sce the crimalisatn of sexual relatnships between people of the same sex January 2014, the Nigerian LGBTTQQIAAP (lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr, transsexual, queer, qutng, tersex, asexual, ally, pansexual, and other variants, hereafter referred to as LGBTQ) muny has faced a new wave of discrimatn, hostily and rejectn. The Same Sex Marriage Prohibn Act (SSMPA), signed to law 2014 by former Print Goodluck Jonathan, was enacted on the premise that the Nigerian culture is anthetil to homosexualy.

‘I WAS THE FIRST PERSON TO COME OUT AS GAY ON LIVE TV NIGERIA’

This picture taken wh long time exposure shows participants of the French team holdg a rabow flag as they march onto the field durg the openg ceremony of the 2018 Gay Gam edn at the Jean Bou Stadium Paris on Augt 4, 2018. A poll nducted by The Iniative for Equal Rights (TIERs) via NOI Polls, surveyed 2, 000 Nigerians across the untry and mographic groups, and found out that 39% of Nigerians accept that lbian, gay and bisexual(LGB) Nigerians serve equal accs to public healthre, hog and tn. Essentially, the law prohibs a marriage or civil unn by persons of the same sex, the solemnisatn of such marriage plac of worship and the registratn of homosexual clubs and societi.

The law prcrib a 14-year jail term for anyone who enters to a same-sex marriage or unn and a 10-year jail term for any person who “operat, participat gay clubs, societi and anisatns, or directly or directly mak a public show of same-sex amoro relatnship Nigeria. “There is no jtifitn whether terms of relign, whether terms of morals, [or] terms of whatever is, there is no jtifitn for , ” said Bisi Alimi, an openly gay Nigerian, who now ris the Uned Kgdom.

Apart om that thorny nstutnal issue, Olumi Makanjuola, a sexual health and rights activist and a Guardian Nigeria ntributor, said that many LGBTQ persons who were brave enough to e out of the closet have been greeted wh vic homophobia. For Valente’s Day, we spoke to a gay uple about navigatg romance the world’s most dangero untry to gay people, bee spe prevailg negative attus towards gay relatnships gay love thriv hidg and pla (29, Male) and Moshood (34, Male) have been a relatnship for 5 years and have that time done everythg one will expect of two adults eply love.

5 SAFT PLAC FOR GAY TRAVELERS IN 2019 (AND THE MOST DANGERO)

I wanted to start meangful nversatns around genr norms and masculy that speak specifilly to our reali as gay men wh a culture that is poisonoly patriarchal and eply homophobic.

Agast a backdrop of adly anti-gay vlence, A Nasty Boy dared to be a haven for gay men Nigeria and, no time, received ternatnal attentn through CNN, BBC, The Guardian, The Enomist, Vogue, and others.

And yet, even this gome attack pal parison to the fatal btaly many Nigerian gay men have too often experienced the form of lynchgs or pillory wh tir before they’re set on fire and burnt alive—not for terrorism or worse, but for beg gay, for beg human, a sperately homophobic untry. A 2017 survey by The Iniative for Equal Rights (TIERS), a Nigerian-based human rights anizatn, showed 90% of Nigerians support the ntued enforcement of Nigeria’s anti-gay laws. Gene Robson [ the US, the first bishop an openly gay relatnship] was an spiratn to me at the time, he was g a ripple the church about his own sexualy and showed me that sexualy uld be spoken about publicly.

GAY IN NIGERIA: LGBT LIFE IN ONE OF THE WORLD’S MOST HOMOPHOBIC NATNS

Image ptn, Displays of same-sex affectn are illegal NigeriaMore than 40 men have been arrted Nigeria over the weekend for performg homosexual acts, police are due to appear urt later. Homosexual acts are punishable by up to 14 years jail Nigeria, while gay marriage and displays of same-sex affectn are also event that was raid was to raise awarens about HIV ttg the gay muny Lagos, activist for gay rights Nigeria Bisi Alimi told the BBC.

Livg fearChris Ewokor, BBC Ai, AbujaNigeria has an fluential Christian evangelil movement the south and strong support for Islamic law the north, both of which oppose Nigeria passed a law crimalisg same sex marriage and gay anisatns 2013, law enforcement agents have cracked down on people spected of homosexualy.

Northern stat unr Sharia - Islamic relig law - have the ath penalty for people nvicted of same-sex offenc which other stat rry a 14-year jail is not the first arrt for engagg acts of homosexualy but so far prosecutns have never end relatns are explicly banned 72 untri, acrdg to the Internatnal Lbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Associatn (ILGA) number of stat that crimalise same-sex relatns is creasg annually, though, wh Belize and the Seychell repealg such laws last year. Nigeria is one of a small number of untri which has gone agast a global untry has had a ban on gay relatnships sce 1901, and 2013 also outlawed same-sex marriag, gay groups and shows of same-sex public on this story.

THE GAY MARRIAGE THAT BROKE THE NIGERIAN INTER

The journalists looked at the top 150 most-vised untri the world by the number of g tourists, then ranked them g eight factors, cludg laws agast gay relatnships, legal protectn agast discrimatn and more. “In 2018, India managed to annul Sectn 377, a Brish lonial-era law prohibg ‘unnatural acts, ’ orr to legalize nsensual gay sex, ” says Fergson, who pots out that ancient Indian lerature such as the Mahabharata and Ramayana have many referenc to LGBTQ+ hero cludg transgenr warrrs and two queens who ma love orr for one queen to get pregnant wh an heir for their kgdom.

“We found this to be a b ironic as the reason for many of the harsh homophobic laws untri throughout the world is largely leftover om laws created durg Brish le, ” says Fergson. “Iran ma #6 on the x, due part to s extreme punishments for homosexualy, which clu 100 lash for homosexual terurse or the ath penalty, and 31 lash for same-sex acts other than terurse, ” says Fergson. “Historilly, Barbados and some other Caribbean islands have had poor anti-LGBTQ+ legislatn and practic, largely left over om the Brish occupatn which put the laws place and rerced anti-gay attus.

Unfortunately, imposed punishment for homosexualy is severe and the existence of gay people Malaysia was nied by their tourism mister as recently as March 2019, ” says Fergson. That said, the LGBTQ+ muny is margalized this untry and there are heavy nsequenc for beg homosexual, which clu seven years to life prison for any same-sex act, ” says Fergson.

MEET THE FIRST MAN TO E OUT AS GAY ON NIGERIAN TELEVISN

Unfortunately, thgs may soon be gettg even worse for the LGBTQ+ muny, as the Ugandan ernment has recently lled to retroduce an anti-homosexualy bill, which would clu the ath penalty for same-sex acts, the midst of the recent murr of a gay Ugandan activist. Currently, Kenyan law stat that same-sex terurse between mal rults 14 years prison, while all other homosexual acts between mal are punished wh five years imprisonment, ” says Fergson. Many Ains who are not gay or bisexual – sexually attracted only to people of the same sex or of both sex – claim that beg gay or bisexual is not acceptable for relig and cultural reasons.

LAGOS, Nigeria -- Life Nigeria, one of the world’s most anti-gay natns, is a daily stggle for Aola, a closeted, workg-class homosexual man livg on the outskirts of Abuja, the natn’s small, central (not his real name) has been lled offensive nam, sulted and ostracized over assumptns about his sexualy, so he shields his te self fear that g out would only attract more tense abe. Meanwhile, some young, wealthy gay Nigerians who spend most of their time the louche, Wternized Victoria Island sectn of Lagos -- the massive, quickly mornizg megalopolis on Nigeria’s southwtern ast -- are able to live a quasi-open life spe the vilent homophobia that l much of the rt of the Aola, a portly man his thirti who earns a most livg as a ok at a terg pany Abuja, that life of openns is difficult to said he worri about discrimatn every time he walks out the door, pecially light of a law passed this year that, should be signed by Print Goodluck Jonathan, would make the sheer act of beg gay punishable by up to 14 years prison. ”Aola’s fears are supported by statistil evince: A study of 39 natns published by the Pew Rearch Center June emed Nigeria the least-acceptg natn of the lot for gays, wh 98 percent of survey rponnts sayg society should not accept homosexualy, edgg out ultranservative Jordan by a sgle percentage Acceptg BubbleSix upper-class gay profsnals who met wh the Internatnal Bs Tim at a Victoria Island rtrant last week say that bee they mostly stay wh that neighborhood’s fairly tolerant bubble, they are largely able to avoid Aola’s nstant state of fear.

POLICE RAID 'GAY WEDDG' NIGERIA, ARRT 19

”Crimalizg HomosexualyBeg gay Nigeria has long meant hidg the shadows of society, but fear and anxiety among most members of the natn’s gay muny have grown markedly sce May 30, when the Nigerian Senate passed a bill makg the simple act of beg homosexual a crime punishable by as long as 14 years prison. Jonathan has not yet signed or vetoed the bill -- which was prevly passed by the Nigerian Hoe of Reprentativ -- nor has he sent a clear signal of which si he will eventually take on the ntroversial bill, upled wh legal rtrictns on gay marriage, is actually lenient pared wh the suatn faced by gays the Mlim-domated north of the natn, where Shariah Islamic law mak homosexualy a pal offense punishable some areas by stong to though the measure is not yet officially on the books, has already had a chillg effect on gay life Nigeria, acrdg to Aisha, a lbian iend of Fatima’s. ” But now, she said, there is a wily held, albe premature, belief that “’s illegal and rri a sentence” of more than a dozen years behd bars, which further timidat Nigeria’s gay populatn.

Although Fatima nsirs Abuja to be “like gay central of Nigeria, ” the place she said she would go to “hook up wh a girl, several girls, one weekend, ” that si of gay life isn’t accsible to many homosexual rints of the pal who aren’t as well-heeled as said that due to the discrimatn he fac Abuja, he unrground channels and word-of-mouth to fd other gay people to teract wh or date.

“There are people like me who accept them, but then there are lots of people who once they fd out someone is gay, they refe to have any kd of ntact wh them, ” Kgsley explaed as we sat his sedan, wag out one of Abuja’s notor “go-slow” traffic jams. “They don’t stay groups, they’d rather rema not mixg wh other gay people, bee they don’t want other people to be able to say, ‘Those guys are gay, ’” he Of The UnknownKgsley is rare among straight Nigerians that he has a well-veloped sense of the nuanc of human sexualy, and he has chosen to unrstand and accept the gay muny rather than ri for s otherns.