Nigeria is a ld-blood untry for gay men -- I have the srs to prove | CNN

Contents:

• 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
• 5 SAFT PLAC FOR GAY TRAVELERS IN 2019 (AND THE MOST DANGERO)
• NIGERIANS RANKED THIRD HIGHT ERS OF GAY DATG APP GRDR

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

In 2017, I started A Nasty Boy magaze to validate and affirm the liv and experienc of gay men Nigeria. 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.

They acced me of beg gay and “spreadg a gay agenda, ” as they pummeled me; each punch was an asslt on who I was.

They took my phone, forced me to unlock , and found further proof of my homosexualy. 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.

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

In Nigeria, gay men are portrayed as ncers eatg eply to the fabric of society—tumors that mt be oblerated.

The feral Same-Sex Marriage (Prohibn) Act of 2014 says anyone found guilty of homosexualy fac up to 14 years prison. A 2013 PewGlobal rearch suggts 98% of Nigerians believe homosexualy should not be accepted by society.

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. Homophobia is the tie that bds a divid untry; the one thg a natn of chronic ethnic loyalti, of relig tensn, of failed ernment, n agree upon.

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

Growg up Nigeria, I wnsed first-hand a eply graed culture of sid hyper-masculy and vilent homophobia. As a child, I was characterized as a “boy-girl” even before I knew the tglg, plex bety of beg gay. In universy, I beme a social pariah and the poster child for “faggots” after beg outed by my bt iend on a mp that waged a ‘War on Homosexualy.

Today, however, I wre this wh urgency my voice as a survivor of btal homophobia.

I wre this knowg how suffotgly fearful the days followg a homophobic attack n be, and how the trma f a person’s life. Wele to queer nightlife Nigeria where, on weekends, apartments turn to gay clubs, barred wh pass-guardg doors to protect agast hoe parti, discrete rav, and clubs are now beg creasgly popular amongst young queer Nigerians. In 2014, the Nigerian ernment passed the highly ntroversial and homophobic Same-Sex Marriage Prohibn Act.

NIGERIANS RANKED THIRD HIGHT ERS OF GAY DATG APP GRDR

While there isn’t an extensive rerd of people beg found guilty for the crim Nigeria, the laws embolned many homophobic mobs who took the laws to their hands and would beat dividuals who they intified as queer and stroy spac and parti that they spected were hosted by or for queer people. One of the most famo stanc was a 2018 se where 57 men were arrted at a party Lagos unr the spicn of beg iated to a gay club. Tamuno, a 31-year-old gay man, tells me of a near-pture experience when he had gone to a party Port Harurt 2020.

It is important that atten feel safe om homophobic attacks om civilians and the armed forc. For the anizers, the secury measur are put place, not agast potential miscreants or robbers but stead to keep off the police force and homophob.