Anti-Gay Laws In Nigeria: A Symposium

The homosexual community in Anambra State stormed the Atani Chief Margistrate's Court in the Ogbaru Council area Wednesday, June 12, 2013, to protest the arrest of two of their members who had been docked for same sex offences, demanding they should be released unconditionally. However, the two suspects, the alleged homosexuals were remanded in custody on the grounds that the "magistrates’ court had no jurisdiction to hear the matter." The Anti-Gay Law in Nigeria is punishable with a 14-year prison term. The following fascinating responses were from my Facebook page where I posted the news story on the day it was reported.

The Nigerian homosexual community hold signs protesting Nigerian government anti-gay laws outside the Nigerian House, London November 15, 2011. Image: Jaguda/Demotix
EXCERPT:

There is nothing like being born gay. Born gay, how? What is the biological explanation to being born gay? Lets stop excusing this bestiality on the ground of being born gay. Nobody is born gay. Gays are not born gay. Rather people choose to be gay. But it's a wrong choice. Those demonstrators in Anambra are just kicking against their pricks.

Which education are we talking about? I do not know why most people including some Africans living abroad think that Africans do not think well. They still live in the dark because they choose not to go beyond living like mere animals. Abroad and above are not the same thing. It is not everything that is white that is right. Somebody who has been living a normal sexual life will suddenly become gay and people are talking about being born gay. If so, why the hell raising agitations and campaigns? Why the frenzied activism about being gay? Why all the millions of dollars spent in lobbying to the extent that the lobby group has broken the Vatican barricade. Lets tell ourselves the truth and stop all this dancing around issues. One wonders aloud, is this just all about sexuality? With the rate most people are getting converted to the "Gay Religion" It comes to me as a religion of a kind considering the emotions people raise about it. We have encountered people who were brainwashed into this, who came out of it to tell their stories. And some people are writing about education and enlightenment. Yes, teachers here in Africa like Fela will say do not teach us nonsense. Not at all. People who are sick should look out for a doctor and get properly cured.

Eminent professors on medicine and biological sciences have been hitting dead ends on this matter. Or these people talking about education and enlightenment think we do not read and research. One of those scientists recently revealed that homosexuality and lesbianism are together in some cases an extended form of masturbation. Some of them began with masturbation. Which born gay are they talking about?

Sodom was one of the most developed and civilized cities of the ancient world. Sodom was not only destroyed by God for this evil practice, but even its remains is nowhere to be found. Mine is not for gay people to be persecuted, discriminated against or killed. Not at all. But for them to be appropriately helped. The problem is their non acceptance that they are living with a problem, that has a solution. Ron's left hand example does not fly at all. Non-believers may argue what I want to say, but the truth is that the Bible is life's manufacturer's manual. There is hardly a single issue about life that is not well treated in the bible. If gays are born gay, the bible would have said so. Jesus spoke about eunuchs in bible that were so born (Matt.19:12). An eunuch is a castrated male. He has no sexual feeling whatsoever. Go through bible book of Leviticus, every issue on sexuality is well addressed. Bible identified the practice as evil, but nowhere is it stated that gay people are born gay. If they are, like Jesus cleared the air on the eunuchs, he would have done so as well.

Every dotting, every crossing of a T in the Bible is very important. There is no single mistaken dot inside the Bible. There is no single argument made for homosexuality using the Bible that will stand. For those of us who take the Bible serious, we see the whole Bible, both things spoken directly by Jesus and others that God used as his prophets, apostles and teachers to say. Jesus himself said "Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life; and they are they which testify of me" (John 5:39). Scriptures from Genesis to Revelation is all about Jesus. Actually He is God's word made flesh (John 1:1,14). Read what Jesus did while speaking to bring back to faith two straying disciples of His "And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning Himself" (Luke 24:27). Friend, every epic has its overwhelming star character. Every great book has its protagonist. JESUS is the overwhelming star of the bible epic. HE IS THE MAJOR CHARACTER. There is no man that contributed a thought in the bible all by himself. Apostle Peter, one among humans that was very close to Jesus when he was physically here wrote "Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost" (2 Peter1:21). Moses in the old testament was a holy man of God who spake and wrote Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy as he was moved by the Holy Spirit. Homosexuality was refereed to in Genesis 19:4-11). These homosexuals of Sodom as violent as ever rejected Lot's offer of two of his daughters. It was an abomination to godly Lot to see men demanding to sleep with men. And then Moses spoke in clear terms in Leviticus 18:22 "Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination" (Lev.18:22) See how Jude in New Testament wrote about what happened in Sodom "Even as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire" (Jude 7). God's all time precedent that he will surely punish all homosexual and lesbian practice is Sodom and Gomorrah. I wrote last night, that God was angry to the point that he removed these two from the map of the world, sinking them down the dead sea of all seas. Archaeological findings located the remains of Sodom and Gomorrah at the southern end of the Dead Sea. That alone should bring God's fear to all gay right champions.....Now, still talking about the matter of "There are really only seven passages in the Bible that refer directly to homosexual behavior...".

"All scripture is given by inspiration of God , and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness that the man of God maybe perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works" (2 Tim.3:16-17). This idea of dismissing the things Paul wrote as his personal opinion does not make sense to me. Do we read through Paul's antecedents? When he was called, it was dramatic and direct. He spoke and wrote on behalf of Jesus. Evil is evil. There is no point heaping up argument to unmake evil. Evil cannot be un-made. Homosexual and lesbian behaviors are evil. But as Jesus can save the worst of sinners, there is salvation for the repentant gay person.

Nobody should demonize Nigerians for no just cause. I am a church leader in Nigeria with a special interest on young people, mostly students in secondary schools and tertiary institutions. The position of the Nigerian church is not that gay people should be ostracized, persecuted or killed. Not at all. We love them as we love all sinners trusting God that by the power of the gospel, some will change. Your argument that gay people are born gay lacks a solid evidence of proof, not even a scientific one. Assuming the born gay hypothesis is proved true, I was born a sinner. Every one of us was so born a sinner. But the bible says in 2Cor.5:17 "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away, behold all things are become new" And this newness is found inside Christ, not on myself. It is a real experience. The gay person weather made or born can become a new person. And this miracle of change is taking place in some. There is nothing impossible with God. The problem is when we gather words and phrases to normalize abnormalities. That is unacceptable.

Harold Ikewueze

Abuja, Nigeria


Nobody is born gay. Homosexuality is a choice. Anybody who says that homosexuality is congenital is either deluded or lying. There are thousands of examples of people who have switched from one side to the other and back again. The most recent high profile example i can give is that of Carina Trimingham who, not just a lesbian but even married to a woman. Today, she not only divorced from her spouse but now in love with Chris Huhne, (a former Minister), but also living and will be getting married, hopefully as soon as Huhne's divorce comes through. So, in her case, was she born gay or straight? It is now time to drop that 20th century con about being born gay and start arguing about the right to choose or not. Nobody is fooled any longer.

It’s outside my realm of conviction that this debate centers on whether or not people are born gay. That’s not the issue. The issue ought to be two fold: is homosexuality lawful and is it sinful? That is the question.

Yes, it’s possible for one to be born gay. That one is born gay does not make it natural or ok. A number of things have been discovered that are responsible for the deviance. Take for instance, that some fish have now been found to develop both male and female organs.

Just as, for some reason, a perfectly normal cell can mutate into a cancerous cell, perfectly normal cells in a tissue or organ can go awry, thanks to altered DNA sequence. Such alterations can cause gene mutation, and with it a change of a particular characteristic in an organism. These compromised genes can be passed on to an offspring.

Now, this is an explanation, not a determination of right or wrong. You may ask, what induces these mutations? You don’t have to look far. I’m sure you guys know that by the ingestion of hormones, males can develop feminine characteristics, and vise versa. Men develop boobs, tender skin, and loss of facial hair. Women develop deep voices, large muscles, unusual strength, and even diminished function of reproductive organs.

When these hormone-laden chemicals prevalent in medications, birth control pills, fertilizers, lawn care products, pesticides and insecticides are used or discarded, they find their way into ground water or public water supply, in our own case, the Potomac River. Now, compound this with the chemicals we take in the guise of food and air, you'll see that we have no shortage of what can reshape our disposition and or characteristics.

The fact remains that homosexuality, whether caused by learned habit or as a result of gene mutation, is unlawful in Nigeria and an abomination in the eyes of our Lord. There’s only one king that gives it a thumbs up, the king of this world.

That one is born with vile tendencies in no way excuses his comportment or demeanor. Shall we then say it’s ok for an eight-year-old boy to murder his six-month-old sibling? Is it ok for a child to continue to drink himself into a stupor just because he was born an alcoholic? How about a pugnacious teen, who is know for his bad conduct? There are kids who start lying or stealing form the womb. The list is endless. Shall we blame nature and or God? No, we can only blame what we’ve done to our earth, and ourselves with it.

We can no longer blame birth anymore. That argument is off the table. If we find ourselves displaying certain tendencies that are unnatural, we ought to look for the root cause and correct the error. When one mentally deranges from birth murders someone, do we give him a pass and say, carry on? No. We either find a cure for what ails him, or place him in a environment where he is not a threat to himself or others. Thank God, modern science can isolate these things and probably fix them. We can’t condone or promote it.

Prince Emeka Onyeneho

Owerri, Nigeria


The point is one does not choose their sexuality. Believe it or not if there is a God that divinity makes both straight and gay people. Your nation chooses to persecute people who who are gay not by choice but by nature. I am straight. I did not choose to be straight. I do not choose to sleep with my own sex. People in your country who are gay run the risk of death or jail terms that are worse then death. Who whould choose that? I guess you can't understand that sexaulity is not a choice but a birth right. It comes down to love. In your country it is sinful to love who you do, but you must choose to be "straight" if you are gay. How sad for that family who is forced to be "straight" when they are gay. Society forces someone to be who they are not? Why is it such a threat to straights to know that there are gay and straight people in society? Are you straights afraid that you will become gay if you allow gay people to be themselves? That is not how it works. Very sad indeed for the gay's in your society.

Historically, many societies viewed left-handers with suspicion and shunned them. This discrimination was justified as traditional and by various passages in the Bible and the Quran. However, modern societies realize that there is nothing evil, second-rate or worthy of discrimination in left-handedness. It is simply how a minority of people are born.

One more thing. Gay people are not bad by nature and I find it very offensive prince that you suggest that they are. They are thought to be bad becase you choose them to be so. They are not bad by nature or any other measure humanity. Religion teaches hate I guess on this subject in your eyes not love and acceptance.

What Does the Bible Really Say About Homosexuality? Actually, a whole lot less than you might imagine! That may be hard to believe given the fierce rhetoric Christians often employ when talking about homosexuality, but there are really only seven passages in the Bible that refer directly to homosexual behavior, and none of them are associated with Jesus. There are two passages that refer to homosexual behavior that are set in larger narratives. That is, they are part of a story, not a legal or moral code. Each deals with the threat of homosexual rape. Read this article if you dare to learn...

I think if some of you auctually knew som gay people you might find, If you could curb your prejudice against these people, you might find they are very much like you and me. People in this country used to treat black people much the same as you treat your gays in your country, that is with expreme prejudice up until around the late 1960's. Once people got to know black people (plus blacks fought for their rights to be treated equal) they found they were very much alike, except in many ways I believe black people are better than whites. Therefore once embraced as equal's they enriched our society for the better. We have a black president now. The power of love is all that matters. How we treat all people is how we should treat ourselves. Not all laws are fair and just...

There is the gay gene that does suggest that there is a scientific evidence that the brains of gay's are different than hetro sexuals... but genes are really hard to prove, and it is debated. People will use religion to hate those that they don't know or understand. Being a gay person is not a sickness, or a choice for most. God do I feel sorry for any gay people in your country... What a horrible life they must have knowing that everyone thinks they are wrong because they are biologically different. Being gay is more than having sex with someone. It is about love and caring and working and helping people, raising adopted children much like hetrosexuals do in their lives.

Ron Brazil

Ron Brazil Photography

Cypress, California


The thing with some Africans is that once they have little contact with the west, they tend to jettison their culture as a way of showing they are advanced and have come in the world. What a terrible complex!

Emeka Aneke

Margate, Kent, UK


Born gay? congenital? interesting innit?- that's man trying to absolve the culprit and blame the creator( God) for mans moral failure. what the hell is same sex marriage other than the misuse of words. But of course, for some morality is defined by some absurd director(s) in Hollywood and some French fashion walk way managers, and these zombies are dancing in our streets claiming 'human rights' for an obvious human wrong.

Abubakar Umar S

Zaria, Nigeria


I need some education; and I need it fast, some education to understand that some humans are born homosexuals and lesbians instead of straight. For me it is not enough to say "some are born that way". Give me a proof, a credible research finding. While I am prepared to argue in favor of same sex marriage for a different reason, I need this education (solid proof) to tidy my points for or against gayness. Help me if you can.

Basil Mbanefo

Awka, Nigeria


You assume that your beliefs are everyone's beliefs , that your mythology is everyone's mythology . What if Zeus has no problem with it or Isis or Thor ? What if Sagan sees it as a natural thing . It's arrogance you speak . You have no more proof that your religion is true than every other religious belief in this world of ours . Vanity and arrogance and faith still equal vanity and arrogance .

I'm sure they exist but I've yet to meet a bad gay person . I can't stand it when people pull the faith card as if they know more than anyone else . Faith in any dark age story is at best a guess and the hope that you guessed correctly . To put all your eggs in the basket of corrupt church bishops and a frightened Emperor seems a bit crazy to me . But what do I know . I have my own guesses

What I can't fathom is the absolute certainty with which these guys speak . Do not consider for one moment that they know more about the afterlife than you do. They have no proof of which they preach . The book they read and preach from has such a flawed history . When they say Paul spoke for Jesus I have to ask , on who's authority does a murderer who claims to have been changed in the wilderness get to be believed ? A con man ? Joseph Smith claimed the same thing . Are we not to believe him ? There have been religious charlatans throughout the ages . All have drawn power from the tales they told . Remember this when reading a book devised by men to control the masses . Remember Irenaus who was sent to destroy documents not ok'd by the church and to brand people with a different slant heretics and had them killed . Religions have been spread around the world at sword point . This does not make them true . Faith ? Again , is just a hope and a guess

Paul Infantino

Folsom, California


It is unfortunate that so many abnormal behaviors are existing including gay, to be fair to all there is no circumstances to accept abnormal behavior as normal, this is not an issue of religion or believe, every abnormal behavior is unnatural behavior. it is unfortunate that someone may find himself trapped, but what such a person should do is to continue to find a way out, or remain with it but seeking for the consent of the public or state to practice such habit or consolidate on exhibiting it, is completely unacceptable. And there is nothing like born gay, I have lived with one, it is simply a habit formed and addicted to. gay, promiscuity, prostitution, nudity, molester, rapist, lesbianism, porn addict, alcoholism, drug addicts, bestiality, stealing etc are habits formed and addicted to and are all abnormal behaviors which we may tolerate but can never approve. Some people want to go naked on the street of New York, but they are not allowed by law why? Prostitutes want to be free to ply their trade but are not allowed, Molesters are not happy that laws are criminalizing their feelings and acts, Drug addicts are being caged by law and desire to have their liberty. If we must legalize gay, we will apologize to the rest forms of addicts and abnormal or unnatural habit exhibitors and also legalize them.

I am well knowledgeable in the issue of homosexuality and lesbianism and as such can not easily be bamboozled into accepting any lies cooked out of sympathy for any unnaturally affectioned fellow, who by himself erroneously cultivated an abnormal habit. Dorothy Parker had only said what she feels, I don't feel so. besides what authority has she in law of natural biology and life? as well as social and human developments.

I need scientific and practical prove. I insist, there is no such thing like being born gay. It is a formed habit. What is there to understand? Get your expert to prove the born gay theory. Crusaders' absolute freedom are same as crusaders of religion. I'm not part of the crap.

I do not subscribe to theological point of view, I subscribe to natural phenomenon. The habit and act is unnatural, it is repugnant to natural phenomenon. I have been among the gays, there is no such thing as one being born a gay or having gay hormones or genes. It is all abnormal habit gradually cultivated. Prostitutes and prostitution do not constitute any harm or havoc, they are normal human beings who enjoy their life style but their trade is prohibited because it is unnatural to commercialize sex, the same goes to nudity and nudists as well as bestial and incest. I can tell the history and origin of gay in my community, I maintain it is a habit formed and got used to in the course of exposure and time under an abnormal circumstances. I want a scientist to disprove me. Having a sympathy for people with abnormal habit for me does not extend to legalizing the abnormal habit. What the gays and the like need is REHABILITATION not LEGALIZATION. Except a state that has lost her sense of judgement and natural reasoning to excessive clamor for freedom. Give me two of your boys under 8 years I can make one a gay and make the other straight. Let's stop deceiving ourselves trying to defend people that went out of their way to cultivate an unnatural habit that does not promote the social well-being and dignity of man. I know of a young boy in my community since three years ago, whenever he had an urge, because he lacks the courage to approach the female folks for sex and probably does not know about masturbation, he goes to mate a sheep. I approached him and interviewed him and discovered his problem. Ever since he was assisted and he began to have sex with a woman, he has not gone back to sex a sheep. If it was not corrected early enough, tomorrow you will tell me he is a born bestial. Odd habits are many, my argument is if you legalize one, legalize all. If not let us maintain the law of nature which has been there for us from time immemorial. Create rehabilitation centers for gays now, employ me to do the job, I can bet on my ability to change a gay to straight. I rest my case!

Eze Ojinkeya

Lagos, Nigeria

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