Gays are not Smiling in Nigeria.
Okay, if you follow the News, you would know by now, that another African Country, the most populous one this time around has issued an anti-gay bill , that purports to outlaw gay marriage, groups and organization with penalties as high as 14 years imprisonment.This bill has been in the works for quite sometime.
Nigeria, a predominantly black country is a very religious country, and as anyone knows , one of the major flaws of organized religion is that it promotes self-righteousness and bigotry, and Nigeria is supposedly filled to the brim with such. Research has shown that the gay community in Nigeria is very low to non existent in some areas and most people don’t even know what it is or can they wrap their heads around it. This however doesn’t change the fact that there are gays everywhere in the world.
And like the proverbial three sides to every story, here are the three sides to the Nigerian Gay story.
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HIS SIDE
Christianity and Islam are the most common religion in Nigeria, with each claiming almost half of the population. Some form of religious affiliation is usually necessary to get ahead in Nigeria and religious leaders ranks among the richest and most powerful figures in the country. These two religious views do not support homosexuality in their core. The Quran, the holy book of Muslims (followers of Islam) reads
” Do ye commit lewdness such as no people in creation (ever) committed before you? For ye practice your lusts on men in preference to women: ye are indeed a people transgressing beyond bounds." Qur'an 7:80-81,
"What! Of all creatures do ye come unto the males, and leave the wives your Lord created for you? Nay, but ye are forward folk." Qur'an 26:165”.
Some scholars have even gone further to reference a certain Hadith Literature which they claim are authentic sayings of the Prophet Mohammed, which puts homosexuality in a bad light and claims the death penalty is the most appropriate.
Two examples are: "When a man mounts another man, the throne of God shakes."
"Kill the one that is doing it and also kill the one that it is being done to."
(In reference to the active and passive partners in gay sexual intercourse). This has been the basis of death penalties in Extreme Islamic countries like Iran (over 4000 executed since 1979) and Afghanistan (10 public executions).
The bible, the holy book of the Christians reads Leviticus 18:22 “Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination.”
and the penalty is also death in Leviticus 20:13 “If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.”.
A lot of Christian scholars also believed God destroyed Sodom because of Homosexuality because the young men wanted to “bang” the angels God sent down to the Land.(Yeah, they saw the angels and they were like, “ We’ve got to tap that!”), thus beginning the word sodomy used to refer to homosexual activities by conservatives. In Christianity however, a lot of words contained in the old testament, the one of two divisions of the bible, the other being the new testament is not taken to be as binding as the new testament due to the old testament being believed to be written during the dispensation of the law and the new testament, the one with Jesus in it, being believed to be written as in the dispensation of Grace which is aimed at drawing the lost children of God back to the father by issuing grace, forgiveness and mercy and turning a blind eye on sin to which the blood of Jesus is believed to cleanse Christians from, which forms the basis of Christianity. A reference to this is reads.
“blessed is he , whose sins God no longer holds against him” in Romans 4:8.
This marks the basis of homophobia in a country like Nigeria, Uganda and so many other very religious countries in the world.
Read: Homosexuality and the Christian: A Guide for Parents, Pastors, and Friends
Read: Homosexuality and the Christian: A Guide for Parents, Pastors, and Friends
HER SIDE
The many beliefs and views of Nigerians can easily be read on the internet(forums like Nairaland), comments on news sites and Social Media. That is the over half of the population of the country who exhibit some form of homophobia. They come up with rationales like "it is unnatural". "The bolt was made for the nut and not two bolts and two nuts". "Gays can’t have kids and this would threaten the world population and indeed the human race". "The asshole is a seat of infection who can fathom?"
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| That's a Banana dipped in Nutella, Any questions? |
Homosexuality is not an African Culture and that animals wouldn't even stoop so low just to get a rush of hormone. Others believe, what happened to Sodom and Gomorrah is going to happen if such drastic measures are not taken and that earthquakes, floods and drought are just warning signs of impending doom. Still, others believe it is a western world agenda to reduce the world Population, others say it is occult. Some simply have simplistic views, that gays haven’t sexually explored enough to find the deep treasures of ecstasy buried in the opposite sex and some of those simplistic views also include being smacked on the head(or in some cases with sticks and stones) to create some kind of mental reset for gays. Some also believe that homosexuality is a sign of the dark demonic world of Satan creeping in on mankind. In the midst of all these beliefs , gays are not smiling.
Read :What's Wrong with Homosexuality?
Read :What's Wrong with Homosexuality?
THE TRUTH
Now, even the truth has three sides to it.
HIS SIDE
The gay marriage bill has very little to do with gays in Nigeria. Every thing done in most countries of the world usually have some kind of subliminal mission. In this case, it is believed to be a political move to put the present President Goodluck Jonathan back on the favourable sides of the masses who have been greatly disappointed that his administration has fallen short of what they expected it to be. Goodluck was the epitome of goodluck something Nigerians believe in and with the humble backgrounds of the president coming from a then remote part of the country to occupying the supposedly highest seat of power with a humble charisma and a touching "shoeless" childhood story, he was Nigerian’s sweetheart.
However lots of promises have not been kept and there has been significant cases of daylight corruption, something that has threatened and is still threatening Nigeria . With Political open letters flying here and there and politicians forming and reforming new political parties, the average Nigerian has developed a bad taste to anything government. Here the gay bill comes in, to significantly affect way more than half the population of religious people. There are no courts in Nigeria getting marriage requests from gay people and there were already laws prohibiting unnatural sexual activities .This is no more than a previously proven way by those in power to distract and unify the majority by defining a minority as an object of hate. Germany 1930s.
Some Conspiracy theorist however believe that this is a man shooting himself in the foot because this whole agenda is being orchestrated by his political enemies who gave him the impression that this is the right thing to do knowing fully well, it’s going to affect international relations at a time where countries with homophobic laws are softening them for the sake of international relations and activities such as sporting events and investments. These “wolves in sheep clothing” are hoping that by this , his administration would be further affected, eliminating foreign aid and streamlining international relations, making gay expatriates and liberal investors check out and in turn affecting the country and bringing down his administration. Only time would be able to completely tell his side of the story correctly.
HER SIDE
Jungle justice is prevalent in African Countries, Nigeria included. It is common practice among the poorly educated to take laws into their own hands in most cases with law enformenet officers present. Recently four undergraduates were maimed to death because they were thought to have stolen materials from a neighboring village to their campus. The laws would make jungle justice for gays acceptable and with no clear proof of the sexuality of anyone, it becomes a war of who can shout the loudest and has convincing power. Men living together would start having issues of people raising eyebrows and some hotels have started indicating that police has ordered them not to allow unrelated men sleep in the same hotel room.
THE TRUTH
The gay bill is not going to solve any of Nigeria’s problems of greed, corruption, low employment levels, poor infrastructure and power . A better bill, the petroleum bill would have done that. God didn’t destroy Sodom because of its homosexuality according to Ezekiel 16: 48
” 9 Behold, this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom: pride, overabundance of food, prosperous ease, and idleness were hers and her daughters’; neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy.50 And they were haughty and committed abominable offenses before Me; therefore I removed them when I saw it and I saw fit”.
Apostle paul (a new testament prophet) believes that homosexuality is an evidence of God’s wrath on Mankind in
Romans 1:26-27 “26 For this reason God gave them over and abandoned them to vile affections and degrading passions. For their women exchanged their natural function for an unnatural and abnormal one,27 And the men also turned from natural relations with women and were set ablaze (burning out, consumed) with lust for one another—men committing shameful acts with men and suffering in their own [d]bodies and personalities the inevitable consequences and penalty of their wrong-doing and going astray, which was [their] fitting retribution.28 And so, since they did not see fit to acknowledge God or approve of Him or consider Him worth the knowing, God gave them over to a base and condemned mind to do things not proper or decent but loathsome,”,
He also believes and warns Christians that homosexuals won’t make heaven in
1 corinthians 6: 9 -10” 9 Do you not know that the unrighteous and the wrongdoers will not inherit or have any share in the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived (misled): neither the impure and immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor those who participate in homosexuality,10 Nor cheats (swindlers and thieves), nor greedy graspers, nor drunkards, nor foulmouthed revilers and slanderers, nor extortioners and robbers will inherit or have any share in the kingdom of God.”
Jesus however, says, he is the way to the father in Heaven.
Read:Homosexuality, Marriage, and the Church
Read:Homosexuality, Marriage, and the Church
Homosexuality is as old as man, that the reason it is recorded in all ancient books and from history , homosexuality was widely practiced around the world, African included before the advent of Christianity and other Religions. Homosexual behaviour also exist in animals.
Gays are definitely not smiling ,just ask the guy who was lashed 20strokes and the other 38 arrested in Bauchi for homosexual activity, fact is, no one in Nigeria is right now.
