By Chukwudi OHIRI
Apart from the
All Progressives’ Congress, APC who have vowed never to see anything good in PDP
nay, President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration and a few other disgruntled
elements within the country, Nigerians in their numbers have continued to applaud
the signing into Law of the anti-gay bill by the president who defied pressure
from the western powers to act decisively. This might go down in history as the first
time in a long while that Nigerians will be standing on the same divide with
the present administration on a national question. Unfortunately, the Western
countries have continued to bicker over the rationale behind the passage of the
law against their whims and caprices.
The Canadian government speaking through its Foreign
Affairs Minister John Baird described the criminalization of homosexuality in
Nigeria as contained in the anti-gay law as “human rights violations committed
against people on the basis of their sexuality”. A statement from the Canadian Foreign
affairs ministry made available to journalists in Abuja last week reads in
part: "Canada is deeply concerned that Nigeria has adopted a law that
further criminalizes homosexuality. This law can be used to impose prison sentences
of up to 14 years. We call on Nigeria to repeal this law and to promote and
protect the human rights and fundamental freedoms of all Nigerians regardless
of their sexual orientation."
Apart from Canada,
the United Nations, United States of America as well as Britain have reportedly
kicked against the passage of the law calling on the government to repeal it or
face certain sanctions ranging from aids withdrawals to other diplomatic
strangulations. Unconfirmed reports also
had it that a
state visit being planned by Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan to Canada for
February 13 and 14 was canceled by the Canadian Government on account of the
anti-gay law. (This was reportedly refuted by Canadian authorities shortly
after)
The
status of Nigeria as a nation, defined as a group of people who share the same CULTURE (emphasis mine), language,
institutions, religion, and history is enough reason for the west to let us be.
Although Nigeria is a conglomeration of diverse cultures and religion, all seem
to concur with the notion that homosexuality (gay or lesbianism) is a taboo; an
evil that should be discouraged and condemned. Just the way it is evil to the Christians,
the Muslims abhor it as well and Nigeria is dominated by these two major world
religions.
The traditional religion which is in the minority and other
pockets of belief systems in Nigeria detest the obnoxious act in its totality.
As Governor Uduaghan of Delta State rightly puts it, gay marriage is a
taboo in Nigeria. It is nauseating, disgusting and malignant. His submission
and analogy in
Dublin, Ireland where he received an international award last week was quite apt
to the scenario. His words: “I am sure no one here in this country would accept
a condition in which an adult can sleep with a 10-year old girl,”. “If that
situation is not acceptable, we in Nigeria view gay marriage as such…. In
Nigeria marriage between two people is usually between a man and a woman and
not just between them but between their families too. Whenever a couple come
together, they are not coming together by themselves, it almost involves their
different families and if it is known that in that family there are married gays,
the danger is that the taboo emanating from that might even affect others who
are straight and that is not right.”
What he rightly implies here is that condoning, aiding and abating gay marriage
has negative (albeit superstitious) ripple effects of families that contrive
such marriages.
The principle of democracy was imposed on the global
community by the West, and according to the principle, where the majority agree
on a subject matter over and above the minority, the wishes of the majority
prevails. How come the West is now questioning the decision of a vast majority
of Nigerians in the ‘gay’ matter when it is crystal clear that an overwhelming
majority stood behind the criminalization of gay practices?
Ordinarily, a bill of this nature ought not to be debated in
our hallowed Chambers given our socio-cultural leanings, but in recognition of
the opinion of the minority which is what ‘democracy’ as preached to us by the
West entails, the bill was thoroughly debated and finally passed into law. What
is Human Rights violation again in this matter as the Western countries want us
to believe? Perhaps, we may as well permit pedophilia
(which is illegal in the West) since it also violates the natural inkling and ‘sexual
orientation’ of such adults who feel strong sexual desire for under-aged
children. If pedophilia is a crime in the west, then Gay, which is worse than sodomy,
must be condemned by African cultures.
A joke from an unknown ‘intelligent’ author which spread on the
social media shortly after the objections from the West crept in aptly captures
the imperialist, preposterous and egotist posture of the West towards Africa
and Nigeria in particular. According to the joke which is a known fact, Oyibo (meaning,
the West or the white man), came to our country and forced down our throats, cultures
that ordinarily are not compatible with our system, climate, morality as well
as our cultural heritage and sheepishly, we followed and even outdid them in
some of them. Here is the joke: Oyinbo, na wa for u ooooooo!
U asked us
to wear coat under hot sun, we did! U said we should speak ur language, we
obediently dumped ours! U asked us to tie a rope round our necks like goats, we
obeyed! U said our ladies should wear dead people's hair instead of the natural
ones God gave to them, they obeyed. U said we should marry just one woman in
the midst plenty damsels, we reluctantly obeyed! U said our decent gals should
wear catapults instead of the conventional pants, they obeyed! Now u want our
men to sleep with fellow men AND women with fellow women so that God would
visit us like Sodom! Oyinbo, we say tufiakwa! If u like keep your aids. As
Nigerians we say NO to GAY relationships.
What more can anyone add to the
political and socio-cultural imperialism of the West? Interestingly, Nigerians
are kicking back at those threatening us with aids starvation and other ‘leprosy-infested’
benefits. Nigerians unanimously say “to hell with your so called ‘AIDS’, we can
make do with ‘HIV’. No going back on anti-gay law.
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