Nigeria: Human Rights Failures in Nigeria
Considering all of Nigeria’s problems it is unfortunate that the National Assembly has the audacity to welcome the homophobic bill presented to it by the Presidency to punish lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transvestites (LGBTs) . But it is a shame that the National Assembly went along to give a precious time to giving consideration to this obnoxious Bill despite the fact that there are many other issues that demand urgent national attention.
Part of the expectation of the Bill is to punish severely whoever is canvassing for same sex marriage, promoting it, sponsoring it or taking part in the marriage either in Nigeria or abroad and to punish severely LGBTs who exhibit their sexuality with punishment of up to five years in the prison. I have no doubt that issues surrounding sexual affairs should be left for individuals and theologians to decide upon with the state setting only the guidelines on how it should be conducted.
For instance, though I have got the right to marry any girl of my choice, the state in as much as they are morally obligated to respect this my choice, should be able to provide me with a guideline on how this should be done to avoid infringing on the fundamental human right of the girl I so much desire to marry. In this case the state is expected to come up with regulations on how this should be conducted. For instance the state in a bid to safeguard the right of the girl child to teenager is morally justified to come up with a law that would prevent me from marrying that girl if she is below 18 years and should also punish me if I contravene this law.
In the same vein two same sex adults who agreed to have sex, should not be punished for their choice but should be protected by the state since the main locus of the sex is a prior agreement and consent between two of them. The state can only punish this form of relationship in the event of rape or when one has a carnal knowledge of his same sexual partner who is below the age of consent for sex in the state or having carnal knowledge of someone without their consent.
A nation like Nigeria is made up of various interest groups ranging from religious, commercial, ethnic, sexual and many other groups and therefore the state is under obligation to protect all these interests and especially to ensure that the minorities are not unduly victimised. The state should also protect the interest of religions but should not allow religious groups to impose their beliefs upon those who agreed not to believe in anything or do not share their beliefs. The state should also go a step further to uphold that right if I choose to be an atheist. Religion and religious matters should be made to be a very private and personal issue and the state should be ready to protect me from whoever wants to infringe on this my fundamental human right.
The argument the National Assembly advanced forward in going forward with the Bill is that being a LGBT is not part of Nigerian culture. These we have heard over and over again but how does one explain that even though this is not part of Nigeria culture, we still have gays, bisexuals and lesbians in different parts of the country and in every aspect of its life including the Executive, Legislative and Judicial arms of the Government, churches and in a nutshell everywhere. What then could be referred to as Nigerian culture? Maybe corruption is?
In the middle of the 1980’s when the first case of HIV and AIDS was reported in Nigeria, the first reaction of the then Government and of course the nation was to completely deny its existence claiming that it was a Whiteman’s disease. Before we could know it, the so- called Whiteman’s disease had affected about 3.5 million Nigerians and continues to wreak havoc on our young population. But the most agonising part of the whole drama is that despite huge human resources we have both here and abroad, no single person has had the audacity to sue the Federal Government for the initial denial that led to this present day AIDS and HIV epidemic in the nation. It is also a shame that this single episode has not taught Nigerians a good lesson. Bearing then in mind the bitter lesson we are learning from our initial responses to the HIV and AIDS epidemic, it is a shame that no single Nigerian has mustered the courage to challenge both the Presidency and the National Assembly on the effect their homophobic stand would have on the future of the nation, especially as it relates to the war against HIV and AIDS.
The impact of this proposed legislation on the LGBTI community is that many LGBTs would have their fundamental human rights trampled upon simply because they are gays, lesbians or bisexuals. Many of them could lose their lives in the future either by being attacked by homophobic people or by committing suicide since their lifestyle does not have any form of protection under the law. But the most agonising part is that the current fight against HIV and AIDS is likely to be a complete failure, if nothing is done to accommodate gays, lesbians and bisexuals under the law. Let me illustrate this in a very simple term, a bisexual who indulges in sexual intercourse with both men and women is likely to end up transferring the virus from his male partner to unsuspecting female partner.
Research conducted in countries with a very strong homophobic attitude, noted that it is only a microcosm of gays, lesbians and bisexuals that are ever identified or known due to their strong tendency to deny their sexuality throughout their entire life for fear of public opprobrium towards them. In addition, due to high levels of illiteracy and ignorance in homophobic and third world countries, many gays, lesbians and bisexuals have a strong culture of unprotected sex amongst themselves. This is partly because they believe that same sex love can never transmit Sexually Transmitted Diseases. The implication of this is that so far they are forced to live in the closet putting themselves and others at risk.
There is no point in denying the reality that the nation is not yet ready for same sex marriage or civil partnership but to completely deny the existence of gay life and culture in Nigeria or use stringent measures and laws against them would never help the situation but would only go a long way to aggravate the already bad situation. By the way how are we convinced that putting them in prison for five years would return them non gays or lesbians at the end of their incarceration? On the contrary the Government should at least be working towards creating a conducive environment for LGBTs by providing them with legal protection under the law.
It is the function of the Government to break down all the walls of barriers and discrimination that still exist in the nation by emphasising what people can contribute towards the nation building rather than who they are. And for Nigerians who do not see anything wrong in discriminating against gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transvestites, they should also not be offended or shocked when they are denied employment based on their ethnic group, religion or any other stereotype.
A number of Nigeria’s religious leaders headed by the Primate of the Anglican Church of Nigeria, Rev. Peter Jasper Akinola, have continued to inculcate the minds of their congregations with a fascist victimisation, annihilation and hatred against LGBTs. Akinola by spearheading this has positioned himself as the most holy one but he forgets one thing, that his life style may not be compatible with his office. The question we must ask ourselves here is how is Akinola and his cohorts living up to the expectation of their model, Jesus Christ.
The essence of this article is therefore never to cast aspersions on religion or anybody representing it but to point out that things are not going the way they should go. And for those who are going to crucify me for the stand I have taken, I have just one message for them. I do not care for I am a staunch believer in that yet to come Nigeria and world where and when individuals should no more be classified based on their colour, race, ethnic group, religion, creed, belief or sexual orientation but on what they can contribute to the development of the nation and the entire human race.
And the quickest way to break all these artificial boundaries and barriers is by creating a Commission that should be charged with the power to severely punish any individual, group or establishment engaged in promoting any form of discrimination. This Commission could be called Commission For Equality or Equal Opportunity Commission or whatever name we chose at the end of the day. It should have a tribunal status with the responsibility of trying and bringing to justice those promoting these discriminations and hatred.
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