Gay In Nigeria: LGBT Life In One Of The World’s Most Homophobic Natns

Contents:

• GAY NIGERIA: 'EVERYBODY SE ME AS AN ABOMATN'
• OPN: NIGERIA IS A LD-BLOOD UNTRY FOR GAY MEN – I HAVE THE SRS TO PROVE
• GAY IN NIGERIA: LGBT LIFE IN ONE OF THE WORLD’S MOST HOMOPHOBIC NATNS
• MY GAY LIFE NIGERIA – ISOLATN, DANGER & FEAR
• LGBTQ+ NIGERIANS ARE CELEBRATG PRI MONTH DEFIANCE OF ANTI-GAY LAW
• "PENSé QUE ERA EUROPA", EL GAY NIGERIANO QUE BCó ASILO EN RIA, EL PAíS N UNA LEY "QUE ALIENTA A LA HOMOFOBIA"
• LOS SIETE PAíS DON SER GAY CUTA LA VIDA POR LAPIDACIóN
• ONE MAN'S EXPERIENCE OF BEG GAY NIGERIA
• BARR GAY EN ABUJA

GAY NIGERIA: 'EVERYBODY SE ME AS AN ABOMATN'

They also claim there’s been a rise stanc of extortn and blackmail of the LGBTQI+ muny by secury a after the law passed, our rrponnt Mayeni Jon vtigat what life is really like for Nigeria’s gay muny.

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

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. La ley en Nigeria tipulan que la homosexualidad ilegal bajo s artículos nstucnal 214 y 217 don se pue stigar n 14 años cárcel, mientras que el o anal entre hombre tiene una penencia 100 latigazos para solteros y hasta pena muerte mediante lapidación en sados.

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

La igualdad, privacidad y dignidad son rechos que Nigeria no noce y que ha sido una nstante lucha Michael Ighodaro; él dijo al diar glés The Inpennt que tras la golpiza que le proparon snocidos no podía ir al hospal o nunciar el ataque a las toridas porque le negarían os servics públis por ser gay. D afuera su país, lejos sa, alejado su faia y amigos, Ighodaro alza la voz por los homosexual Nigeria y el mundo que viven las cel persecucn por parte las toridas. 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.

MY GAY LIFE NIGERIA – ISOLATN, DANGER & FEAR

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. Still, they, like everyone else terviewed for this story, asked to be assigned psdonyms bee of the harsh penalti that n rult om beg intified as gay the prs.

LGBTQ+ NIGERIANS ARE CELEBRATG PRI MONTH DEFIANCE OF ANTI-GAY LAW

”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.

Someone you’re sure is gay troduc you to someone else who is, who troduc you to someone else who is, and so on, ” he, Aola has been threatened and sulted on numero ocsns.

"PENSé QUE ERA EUROPA", EL GAY NIGERIANO QUE BCó ASILO EN RIA, EL PAíS N UNA LEY "QUE ALIENTA A LA HOMOFOBIA"

Kgsley, a straight iend of Aola’s who has wnsed anti-gay discrimatn of others firsthand Abuja and surroundg areas, said that such sentiments are sadly que mon Nigeria. “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.

A large proportn of Nigerians draw their tolerance of homosexualy om relig and cultural tradns rangg om fundamental Christian and Islamic teachgs to centuri-old tribal norms. But even some highly ted, fairly secular and otherwise progrsive Nigerians simply nsir homosexualy to be transgrsive or agast nature, and therefore refe to accept . “Every woman or man is born to be attracted to the oppose sex, but I don’t know, if maybe there’s a change [gay people’s] bras somehow, there has to be a reason, ” she posed over drks.

LOS SIETE PAíS DON SER GAY CUTA LA VIDA POR LAPIDACIóN

”Azu said she has had several gay iends over the urse of her life and that she do to this day, but she still scrib gay dividuals nscendg terms that illtrate her views on their sexual orientatn. She said she was eply disturbed when a lleague at the ernmental office where she works who is not aware of her sexualy said a discsn once, “Gays should all be killed, ” but that such vlent remarks are rare her world, where sual ignorance is much more mon.

“A lot of people feel like ’s a personal offense if you don’t accept a man’s advance, no matter if you’re gay or straight, bee the penis is God’s gift to humankd. In January, four men were arrted, stripped naked and parad along a public street Imo State on spicn that they were homosexual, as noted by OnleNigeria News.

And Augt, an Ogun State man was btally beaten for allegedly beg gay, as reported by the same the laws aimed at crimalizg gayns and same-sex marriage threaten to dify a new paradigm of heightened timidatn and margalizatn for the natn’s gay for urban Nigerians wh enough money, there are some hopeful signs the face of so much discrimatn and misunrstandg. ”Aisha poted to another promisg trend, which Abuja and certa parts of Lagos n be much safer for moneyed gays than elsewhere the untry, although limatns exist and endure.

ONE MAN'S EXPERIENCE OF BEG GAY NIGERIA

”And a small but growg number of openly gay activists speak out regularly support of gay rights Nigeria whout beg slammed wh lengthy prison terms, although they are still often harassed and attacked by dividuals for their said that spe all the challeng, life as a homosexual Nigerian n approach normalcy for members of her enomic class. Among those supportg the new homophobic legislatn were the Christian Associatn of Nigeria, Ndigbo Cultural Society of Nigeria, Adada Media Fom and Jama’atu Nasril Islam.

This is a untry where people die om Boko Haram bomb explosns, r accints due to bad roads, a high crime rate and poor healthre, yet the majory of people support the ernment’s claim that homosexualy is the ma issue Nigeria. J stopped those men om stong the adulters the Bible but the Nigerians, the Ains persecutg homosexuals the name of God, have fotten the actual the word of God. By Pelumi SalakoILORIN, Nigeria, June 23 (Thomson Rters Foundatn) — YouTuber Victor Emmanuel knows first-hand how tough life is for people who are openly gay Nigeria, where LGBTQ+ relatnships and even same-sex displays of affectn are year, he was kidnapped by seven men who blackmailed, extorted, and tortured him for two days an attack that has sce left him nstantly lookg over his shoulr.

BARR GAY EN ABUJA

"Nigeria is a eply relig untry, where many reject homosexualy as a rptg Wtern 2014, the Same-Sex Marriage (Prohibn) Act was signed to law, which bars not only gay relatnships but also any public sign of same-sex affectn or membership of LGBTQ+ groups, wh punishments of up to 14 years prison. Gay sex is illegal more than half of Ain untri, acrdg to global LGBTQ+ rights tracker Equalx, although Gabon, Kenya, and Botswana have all crimalised same-sex relatns recent spe the risks, activists are phg to exprs themselv and mand change this June, a month which is marked around the world wh LGBTQ+ Pri ralli and parti.

The legislatn amounts to "refully nstcted state vlence" which "exacerbat queerphobia and prevents om havg a muny, " said Kayo Ani Somtochwu, founr of the Queer Unn for Enomic and Social Transformatn (QUEST) Mistry of Jtice and the police force did not immediately rpond to requts for 2018, a group of 47 men were arrted and later charged for allegedly jog a gay club, a se that drew ternatnal outcry and was wily seen as a tt of the men said they were at a birthday party and the se was thrown out by a judge due to the "lack of diligent prosecutn. "But LGBTQ+ people are growg creasgly vol and visible, wh the ter providg a space for gay-iendly films, talk shows, and rights groups barred om formally registerg as an anisatn unr the same-sex marriage law, most anisg and support groups take place onle. Cómo un gpo "aficnados" logró burlar la prohibición símbolos gays en Ria Pero te hombre 32 años no nocía la preria suación la unidad LGBT (lbianas, gays, bisexual y transexual) en el país anfrión la Copa l Mundo.