GAY & PROUD?

So the president signs the anti-gay bill into law. Is that a good thing or a bad thing? Does it affect us as a people or is it a very irrelevant bill that has no bearing on the more pressing issues affecting the masses?

Maybe it does not affect us or improve the roads or the state of power supply, doesn’t make that bill irrelevant. Some things matter more now, you would say, but how does this law and many others affect us presently and maybe in the future.

I am not a political analyst but I think I know some facts.

• There is a gay population in the country. I know this for a fact

We as a people do not see homosexuality as a mental disorder but more of an abomination and anomaly that must not be encouraged.

Many people who will suffer the consequences of the law are the few poor people whom I doubt will ever come out openly and say they are gay.

The gay community in Europe and America has a lot of politicians and celebrities who pushed and kicked against what they called sexual discrimination. It worked for them, it didn’t work here though.

The bill, along with the Yerima issue of child marriage goes a long way in defining who we are as a nation. Or does it?

• Most people discriminate against homosexuals (especially the male aspect) because the bulk of the community is heterosexual and homosexuality goes against what a heterosexual society believes in.

Nigeria is a heterosexual society. A very heterosexual one.

The law kicks against homosexual marriage or open show of homosexuality in public or any homosexual act that becomes public knowledge. Be careful whom you go home with.

• It does not stop people from being homosexual, but at least it prohibits the act in the country. It is a crime and punishable under the law.

The law shows to a large extent that the majority of the law makers elected by the people of this country are not homosexual or inclined towards that sexuality,.... for now.

For the homosexual community they would remain trapped in the closet. Let us hope, for their  sake that no one opens that closet. Some will however go looking for that closet.

"Sending a homosexual person to prison should be enforced if a homosexual man should serve his 14 year term in a female prison and is forced to shower or bath (if they do that in Nigerian prisons) with the other female inmates. That could change his sexual orientation on the long run."

• Most Nigerians will not report a case of homosexuality to the police, neither will the culprit confess to such when accused of it so the case of evidence to show ones sexuality will have to be defined and practicalised in whatever way possible.  However the inhuman and degrading acts they would be subjected to when found out would be intolerable....and filmed with a mobile phone and put on the internet.

I can say that GEJ has balls for signing the bill despite the loads of pressure from US and Europe to quell the process of passing the bill to law. These people have legalized abortion and weed(we should legalize the latter too), and they intend for the rest of the world to follow suit even if it is wrong , just because they are world powers does not make them right or God.

We all are waiting for the first Nigerian celebrity or politician to openly say they are gay so we can start a long process of ‘what happens now’ and ‘let us see what will happen’. Maybe, Jonathan will no longer be president when this happens.

• Whoever decides to come out of the closet on their sexuality had better come out from a closet in US or any other country that allows for homosexuality.

If your closet is in Nigeria, it should also contain a third party, for the gay men, a lady and for the lesbians, well its easy , except you are an ugly lesbian, men will keep chyking you and you can easily say your lesbian friend is your ‘bestie’. Men don’t do besties like women do so the gay closet has to have a third party that is either sworn to secrecy or will never find out. Nigerian ladies will find out.

• As with heterosexual relationships that have not being brought to the alter or court room, a lot of discretion would still be advised.

One question though, When a homosexual who has served his term (or her term) of 14 years in prison, and they still remain homosexual, will they be sent back for another 14 years?