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16 June 2022

Fighting the Nigeria’s LGBTQ Community Restrictive Cross-Dressing Bill





The new bill is set to provide a new measure that calls for a punishment of six months in jail or a fine of about $1,200 for cross-dressers. isn't this absurd! the citizen of a country can not dress in whichever way they deem fit any longer. na wa o

Dressed in rainbow-colored vests, members of the LGBTQ community marched in a risky demonstration in Nigeria’s capital, Abuja, to protest the absurd bill introduced by lawmakers in Nigeria’s lower house of parliament in February seeking to ban cross-dressing in Nigeria.

Exactly two weeks after this bill was introducesed in the House, a mob attacked a transgender woman and was beaten and stripped in Lagos.

This is an outcome LGBTQ activists feared and the reason we say we’re fighting back. Kayode Ani is a chair at the Queer Union for Economic and Social Transformation or QUEST9ja.

What laws like this do is that they basically encourage people to take violence into their own hands, just as we had after the SSMPA was passed — individuals forming vigilantes and going into people’s homes because they suspect that they’re queer, beating them, murder them.”

The cross-dressing bill is an expanded version of Nigeria’s 2013 Same-Sex Marriage Prohibition Act that punishes gay sex with up to 14 years in prison.

The bill would only allow comedians to cross-dress for entertainment purposes, which will definately worsen the existing violence against nonbinary or transgender people.

12 March 2022

Breaking the Bias

 There has a misunderstanding of what we mean by breaking the bia.

23 January 2022

Stop stigmatizing LGBTQ



Bolu Okupe the son of former presidential special Assistant on Public Affairs, Doyin Okupe recently posted on social media on why he feels LGBTQ can be less stigmatized against suggesting that a lot of women in Africa are married to bisexuals without knowing.

His post reads:” Bisexuality within the Black / African communities should be more openly discussed and less stigmatized. In Black / African communities the topic of bisexuality (usually amongst men) is almost as taboo of a discussion as homosexuality. The issue that a lot of bisexual men face is that both the heterosexuals as well as other Gay men will be very quick to brand them as simply gay & in denial because many of the people on both sides ignorantly have the opinion that once you are open or fluid enough to same-sex attraction & experiences, it makes you automatically gay/lesbian, which is not the case.

“So it can sometimes be understandable (however not excusable) why a large portion of Black/African bisexual men choose to remain in the closet and hide under the straight umbrella in order to avoid the vapid & relentless judgments from both sides, the “straights” and the “gays”. In all of this, the people affected the most are the women who will have no idea of the kind of double lives their husbands live. This is a direct result of the toxic & backward culture that many women also, unfortunately, participate in which in turn actually affects them negatively. As a woman, you, your mother, sister or daughter could be currently married to or will eventually marry a bisexual man”.

12 December 2021

We suspended 'Eternals' in Nigeria due to 'gay kiss'




Adedayo Thomas,  
Executive Director, The National Film & Video Censors Board (NFVCB) has finally addressed the viral temporal suspension of Marvel's 'Eternals' from cinemas.

Adedayo Thomas, made this known at the Blue Pictures Entertainment Next Gen Mini Conference. He said: "I am a liberal person but I am standing before you as the executive director of the NFVCB and everything about the law has to be effected. he also confirmed that the controversial kissing scene between two gay characters influenced the suspension.

"I had to stopp it before it was released because there is a gay kiss, man to man kiss and that is against the country's ethics. It is against our cultural and moral values. at that point, Disney said they were not going to do anything about it and I refused to budge and when I didnt budge, other countries too joined and we succedded because Disney had it edited out."

Filmone Entertainment, which is the sole distributor of Disney-owned movies in Nigeria released a statement, following the suspension, stating that the film has returned to the screens. The distribution company has, however, refused to issue a statement on the circumstances leading to the film's suspension and subsequent censorship.

'Eternals' continues to ignite debates especially in countries that are hostile to LGBTQ rights.

5 December 2021

Justice for Sylvester

 


Today I join other Nigerians to demand justice for the 12 years old student of Dowen College, Lagos, Sylvester Oromoni Jnr who died from the injuries he sustained from being bullied in the school by other students. this is an extremely sensitive topic and I want everyone to be open-minded.



I personally went to a boarding school and seniority in boarding school was always a thing but it only revolved around fetching water, cutting grasses, sweeping portions, and kneeling down. I am of the opinion that what happened to this poor 12yr old is a reflection of our society. you see, children in general, are very fast learners and they learn from what they see and hear around them most especially from their parents. because I do not understand why 5 senior students will go into a hostel and beat up a junior student kick him, step on him, give him a chemical substance to drink, and then threaten if he or any of the witnesses say anything other than the boy was injured in a football game would be in trouble. this is what they have seen done before and the people that did it got away with it and that is why they have the guts to try it.

today I stand with the word and I say that these boys must be brought to book and they need to face the law! they must serve time for this wickedness.



theses are the aledged faces of some of the senior students that bullied Sylvester.

I watched the emotional interview of the father on BBC and punch and I was heartbroken. I am not here to assign blames but I have questions......

I understand that because the boy was scared for his life and that is why he did not say the truth about what happened early enough but looking at that boy I believe that the first action of the person the father sent to pick his son should have been to take him straight to the hospital. the school sickbay must have called because the boy needed more medical attention but he was taken home and didn't get the medical that he needed.

my conclusion is that not that this boy was bullied but our society killed this boy. i remembered the father said they had a doctor do xray of the leg because he said he was injured from playing football........common which doctor gets a report of symptoms of fall/injuries from football and bleeding from the mouth and doesnt suspect internal injury and done a full xray?

like i said earlier, the society cut this boy's life short but that not withstanding, bulling and acts of wickedness needs to stop and the boys that perpetrated this evil must be brought to book.

7 November 2021

Ikoyi collapsed 21 story building



On the 1st of November 2021, a 21-story building collapsed at a construction site for luxury apartments in Ikoyi, Lagos Nigerian, killing people and leaving dozens more unaccounted for.



The incident happened just after 2 p.m. on Monday when the high-rise building on Gerard Road, in the city’s affluent Ikoyi neighborhood, completely collapsed onto itself.



The Lagos state Governor Sanwo Olu told reporters that the search and rescue operation was still an ongoing process and adds that the causes of the collapse are not known but there were many irregularities including not having a record of all the people on the site each day. He's stated that he has set up an independent panel to investigate and expects feedback in 30-day to reveal their findings.

So far Sixteen bodies, including that of the assistant of the building's owner, have been recovered so far while nine people have been pulled out alive, according to emergency services on the ground, as excavators sifted rubble from the heaps of shattered concrete and twisted metal where the building once stood.

 Building collapses are frequent in Nigeria where regulations are poorly enforced and building construction materials are often substandard. In most cases where a building eventually collapses, the government comes out to cover the story by saying something was approved and something else was done by the builder. Isn't it obvious that something is not right with the narrative of the collapse? No one can specifically confirm the actual number of the floors. Even the government said they approved 15 floors and the builder constructed 25. Some say it is 24 floors, others say it is 21floors.

My conclusion is that the government killed these people and be held responsible for the building collapse. Why did you watch the building get to that stage without interfering with the building?

24 October 2021

#EndSARS Massacre! We will never forget



 

It has been a year since the peaceful End Sar protest that was turned into a massacre. On October 20th, 2020, young Nigerians were openly shot at a peaceful protest in Lagos Nigeria. looking back a year from when this incidence happened, we are yet to find out who gave the command for the light at the Lekki Tollgate to be suddenly turned off on this faithful day. I clearly remember that the Lagos state Governor abruptly imposed a curfew in the middle of the day when the whole city was at work, protesting, or going on with their daily living activity (no prior notice). was he indirectly telling us he knew something that we all had no idea of?

a lot of young Nigerians was killed on this fateful day and there has been no explanation as to why a Government will ask its soldiers to shoot at a peaceful protester. The society just swiftly moved on while others that were killed rots in jail. which way forward Nigeria!

why are we quiet?












 

13 September 2021

Methodist Church Nigeria versus British Methodist Church



The Nigeria Methodist Church recently blasted its Britain counterpart for approving same-sex marriages in England, making known to the world its disapproval over the development, it went ahead to warn other Methodist Churches in Africa not to engage in such activities as it is not in line with the vision of the founders of the church. The Methodist Church, Britain which is the fourth largest Christian denomination On June 30, 2021, gave its approval for same-sex marriages.

Dr. Samuel Chukwuemeka Kanu Uche, during a press conference made available by the Director, Media and Public Relations, Rev. Oladapo Daramola, expressed his concerns by describing same-sex marriage as un Africa and against the law of Nigeria. While condemning this, he asks Nigerians to not join these acts as it is against the law as the church believes in the holiness of God. "We are as Methodist Church Nigeria condemn in totality anything gay relation, same-sex marriage, it is un Africa and it is even against the law of Nigeria passed by the National Assembly which was duly signed into law".

“Even when our Nigerian president was beckon to reverse the law, he refused to do so because it is not practised by Africa, and we believe sound doctrine as promulgated by John Wesley" adding further, Dr Uche contended that the new law in Britain didn’t apply to Methodist Church Nigeria because it was no longer under the control of Britain Methodist Church. According to Dr Uche, Methodist Church, Nigeria is no longer under Britain Methodist Church because the Methodist Church, Nigeria became autonomous in 1963, adding that any decision taken by Britain Methodist Church is not binding on Methodist Church Nigeria.

he also stated that the Britain Methodist Church is not the mother church of Methodist Church Nigeria again, Methodist Church Nigeria became independent in 1963.

 

22 August 2021

Crime in The Nigerian Police force




I remember when Security and Emergency Management Awards (SAEMA), received nominations of gallant Nigerian policy officers mostly unsung security personnel, who are mostly involved in intelligence and combat operations. That was the time when Abba Kari was decorated a Supercop because of his extra ordinary ways of tracking and arresting armed robbers and kidnapper.

Those were indeed the days i thought we were beginning to have some dedicated security personnel in the Nigerian police Force, who are performing exceedingly well in their areas of responsibility. it is regrettable that the same Abba Kyari allowed overzealousness, exuberance and indiscretion to define his actions in his security and law enforcement duties.
it was quite unfortunate that many top public functionaries and business people were wooing the DCP Kyari to their events and yet ill-advisedly too, instead of becoming very cautious, Kyari got carried away and swam in the spotlight, leading to the abuse of the privileges and disposition of his sensitive strategic positions, and mingling with people of questionable integrity, and also posting these on various social media platforms.

While the media praised him for his exploits as a crime fighter, they allowed him promote his efforts, rather than those of his team to the high heavens. This became one of his major Achilles heels. 
As an institution that should have moral and ethical values, the Nigerian Police appeared not to have been able to tame Kyari and his likes, even when they show up in very lousy places for the glitz and glamour. the were even tagged celebrity Police Instead of reprimanding and curtailing him, the command seemed to have gotten caught up in the cult of the crime, rather than the intelligence and combat operators that they should be. In fact, when his younger sister got married in 2019, the creme de la creme of society ‘stormed’ Maiduguri, in what was a high society event witnessing guest arrivals in different aircraft.
When you consider the income of the police force and the flamboyant lifestyle these people lead, we are all forced to understand that they are getting these money from places and deals that are not on their pay checks. so i am not surprised when he got linked to the Hushpuppi syndicate by the FBI

21 July 2021

I will not go down without a fight

 

it is no longer news that the Nigerian legislative has forced LGBT+ people in Nigeria to live a life that is miserable and left vulnerably exposed to police persecution and even tortured beyond imaginations.

Victor ihingere was a living example of this until he decided to seek refuge in the United Kingdom. 

According to his interview with Metro UK, he says, he say he wants his story to be one of hope to people because 'i thought, if I’m going to die, I’m not going to go down without a fight. I’m not going to make it easy for you.’

Recalling the moment he was caught kissing his boyfriend in the car, Victor narrates to Metro.co.uk: ‘When two men are caught together, they’d be beaten up by a mob, set ablaze, burnt alive

The young man never in his wildest imagination imagined he would become a refugee. Having come from a well-off family and launching his own business after studying mechanical engineering at university, Victor thought his life was set. 

But growing up in Nigeria, where homosexuality is a crime, and with a strict religious family who believe it is a sin, he was left with no alternative.

Victor endured conversion therapy, exorcisms, and a brush with death before he sought UK asylum in 2017 with the hope of living life freely as a gay man. But his struggles were far from over and he became homeless within two months.

Fast-forward four years and Victor is now happily married and living with his loving husband in Birmingham UK.

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