On Culture and the Right to Sex(uality)
“Homosexuality is un-African” has been the ringing mantra of ongoing state campaigns against LGBTQ+ individuals across the continent. In its worst outcomes, it has become the excuse for some of the most gruesome instances of the denial of the rights of LGBTQ+ individuals not just to sex but to being. From Zimbabwe to Nigeria, this […]
Courage or Competence? What Advocacy Demands of the Advocate
In every domain of advocacy, particularly concerning the rights of LGBTQ persons in Nigeria, the relationship between courage and competence has become extremely important. Recent clampdowns on certain advocacy endeavors have led numerous groups and initiatives to close down their virtual spaces and halt their activities for fear of confrontation. Despite being highly competent—which is […]
The Rights of Queer Persons Are Not About Privileges
An issue that sparked a debate on X (formerly Twitter) sometime ago was a tweet about how the queer community want to enjoy more rights and privileges over and above the average citizen. The contention was that LGBTQI persons expect to be treated as a privileged class of persons due to some perceived social advantage. […]
How To Approach Key Terms in Advocacy
At a human rights conference a few months ago, a discussion ensued during a panel about why policymakers and rights groups still use the term “Key Populations” (KP) to refer to LGBTQI individuals. This is in relation to a broader conversation about how we address and advocate for marginalized groups. The question remains: Does using […]
Living Proudly in Nigeria with Dignity and Respect
This January, a group of young, brave and queer Nigerians joined the trending “of course I am” challenge on TikTok. In the challenge, they made a video where they boldly talked about their sexual orientation and gender identity. The video went viral. It attracted a lot of negative comments. Most of the commenters expressed the […]
THE QUEST FOR EXPOSURE AND THE DIGNITY OF QUEER PERSONS
When Nigeria’s Same Sex Marriage Prohibition Act (SSMPA) was signed into law in 2014, there were speculations from scholars, activists and most importantly, from the queer community itself, about how the new legislation would violently impact queer life in Nigeria. A decade later, it is easy to point to the concrete ways in which it […]