NIGERIAN SAMESEX LAW IS DISCRIMINATORY AND RUN FOUL OF FUNDAMENTAL HUMAN RIGHTS

‘Discrimination is the prejudicial treatment of an individual based on their actual or perceived membership in a certain group or category, "in a way that is worse than the way people are usually treated." It involves the group's initial reaction or interaction, influencing the individual's actual behaviour towards the group or the group leader, restricting members of one group from opportunities or privileges that are available to another group, leading to the exclusion of the individual or entities based on logical or irrational decision making.’

It will be recalled that on January 7th, 2014, President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan signed the Same Sex Marriage Prohibition Bill 2013 into law. The law bans same sex marriage, and through its wording, also seeks to criminalise people, organisations and agencies that support homosexuality and those who do not immediately report any known homosexuals, or homosexual activities. 

By signing this law, Nigeria government according to EU foreign policy Chief Catherine Ashton, described Nigeria’s ban on same-sex unions as discriminatory and in contravention of fundamental human rights. She went further by saying that: “I am concerned about the signing into law in Nigeria of the Same Sex Marriage Prohibition Act,” Ashton said in a statement. “The European Union is opposed to discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation.

“It is firmly committed to fundamental human rights and the rule of law in respect of those rights, including freedom of association, conscience and speech and the equality of persons.”

“I am therefore particularly concerned that some provisions of the Act appear to be in contradiction with those fundamental rights, which are themselves guaranteed by Nigeria’s 1999 Constitution, and to be inconsistent with the legal obligations enshrined in a number of international agreements to which Nigeria is a party.”She added.

I love Nigerian political leaders so much, they know how to play on Nigerian intelligent, with their diversionary system, and it is easy for them to divert the people’s attention from the burning issues at hand to non-issues.

Of recent, Nigerian were eager to know the outcome of  the House of Representatives Committee, investigating the controversial purchase of two bulletproof BMW cars by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority allegedly for Oduah, at a whopping N255m, had established some infractions against the Minister of Aviation, Ms Stella Oduah, and the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, also the Non-Repatriation to the Federation Account by Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) of $49.8 Billion representing 76% of the value of crude oil liftings in 2012 and 2013 and the failure of NNPC to pay N22billion Nigerian Export Supervision Scheme (NESS) Levy. But the government, just played down these issues with anti-gay law!!!

Retired Archbishop Desmond Tutu lend his voice to gay issues when he said: “Anywhere where the humanity of people is undermined, anywhere where people are left in the dust, there we will find our cause. Sometimes you wish you could keep quiet. It’s the kind of thing you heard the prophet Jeremiah complain of where he says, “You know God, I didn’t want to be a prophet and you made me speak words of condemnation against a people I love deeply. Your word is like a fire burning in my breast. It isn’t that it’s questionable when you speak up for the right of people with different sexual orientation. People took some part of us and used it to discriminate against us. In our case, it was our ethnicity; it’s precisely the same thing for sexual orientation. People are killed because they’re gay. I don’t think, “What do I want to do today? I want to speak up on gay rights.” No. It’s God catching me by my neck.”

The Founder and Project Director of House of Rainbow Fellowship, Reverend Jide Macaulay, in his open letter to Nigerian President complained about the discrimination against gay people since the inception of the law that,  ‘’in the East of Nigeria, many are fleeing their homes. One gay man, labelled “a leader of the homosexual” is on the run. His parents and brother were threatened with arrest if they don’t provide information about his whereabouts. In the same region, more than six people were arrested. In the West of the country, we can confirm that nearly ten people have been arrested and bailed. Also the police have extorted funds from each victim at an average of between $120 to $300. Most of the people arrested were tortured and asked to provide additional details of other gays or lesbians. In the North of Nigeria, in Bauchi and Kano, there are two separate cases of arrests and harassment of gay people. Both areas are firmly under sharia law, which carries the death penalty’’.

Moreover, the Nigerian Constitution under Chapter IV enumerates the following as fundamental rights.

*          Right to life.
*          Right to dignity of human persons.
*          Right to personal liberty.
*          Right to fair hearing.
*          Right to compensation for property compulsorily acquired.
*          Right to private and family life.
*          Right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion.
*          Right to freedom of expression.
*          Right to peaceful assembly and association.
*          Right to freedom of movement.
*        Right to freedom from discrimination on the grounds of ethnic group, place of origin, circumstance of birth, sex, religion or political opinion.

In conclusion, I will like to say that ‘If anybody can find someone to love them and to help them through this difficult thing that we call life, I support that in any shape or form’.