“For the loyal readers of my blog, I offer my sincerest apology for the recent break in transmission on this blog. I am sure some of you must be wondering why and also eagerly anticipating my next post with bated breaths. I want to assure you that from now on, I will do my utmost to keep them coming regularly.” This would have been my opening statement for today’s post if this was a much more popular and widely read blog. Nevertheless, I still appreciate those who eke out the little time and internet data that it cost to read my posts. I really hope I have been able to, at the very least, instigate thought provoking reactions that may initiate progressive attitudes towards this country. I encourage you to leave your criticisms, additions, subtractions, corrections or comments afterwards.
Sometime last year, when I decided to start blogging; the picture I had in mind was that of a blog with a followership numbering in the thousands; I could almost see myself as an inspirational figure catalyzing ground breaking changes in Nigeria’s political terrain. I remember countless debates where I would discuss, argue and make jokes about recent developments in the country with friends. I remember thinking to myself “criticizing is so easy, can I really guarantee anything different or better if given the chance?” Sadly, the answer is no. It gets worse; this is true for many if not most of us. By ‘us’, I mean those of us in the latter part of our 2nd decade or early part of our 3rd decade on earth. Simply put, my reason for starting this blog is to contribute to the intellectual revolution which I believe is the only option for Nigeria when this current political contraption goes kaput!
In any write-up or series of write-ups, the introduction should always be the first thing. Maybe I was just being overzealous in the pursuit of my dream that I mistakenly put the cart before the horse. In my enthusiasm to publish my first article then, I did not take the time to explain fully what this blog would be about. By now, it is clear to anyone who has had a glance through this blog what it’s about. Action speaks louder than words; in this case, doing the actual writing speaks louder than talking about writing.
Apparently, I am not the only one guilty of said offense. The National Assembly and the executive of the federal Government of Nigeria are equally guilty of misplacing their priorities. I believe there are other bills in the National Assembly that may have meaningful impact on the lives of numerous Nigerians which could have been given the speedy instead of the ‘anti-gay bill’ which only worsens the lot of an already stigmatized group in the country.
Having put forward this kind of opinion, I am aware that I may have placed a prominent bull’s eye on myself. Chief among those lying in wait to take a shot at me will be my Christian brethren. My Muslim friends may also partake in the melee. Now would be a good time to state, emphatically, that I AM A CATHOLIC. I believe homosexuality to be an aberration of the normal, a mental deformity in other words; though I am also ashamed to confess that I may be biased against someone simply because he/she is homosexual turning a blind eye to the other possibly good qualities he/she may possess; that still doesn’t give me the right to enforce my religion’s laws on other citizens. In the same vein, some accepted practices among Christians are seen as ‘haram’ by Muslims but that does not give them the right to legally criminalize such actions. Therefore, it is inappropriate to make laws binding on the whole federation based on religious sentiments, especially in a multicultural and secular state like Nigeria
In my next post, I will publish some arguments for and against the actions of the Federal Government with respect to this issue; some of them will be mine while others I gathered from the social media.
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ReplyDeleteNigeria is a traditional and a religious country, Homosexuality is against the law of the land and every single religion in Nigeria, so if you are to check it from every corner homosexuality is a grievous sin in Nigeria , Having stated it that it is against our law , tradition, all religion and our custom in Nigeria so we have every right to criticize and ban these act of homosexuality, by saying the national assembly is wrong for banning these act you are wrong because homosexuality with cause moral decadence in the country and it will also bring about destruction , i am not saying the country is perfect but as time goes on we are going to iron out other evil in the country's system and do away with them . calling yourself a catholic you should know that the holy roman catholic church is totally against it and GOD himself is against it ,so you are very wrong for saying we have no right to condemn the homosexuals and lesbians
ReplyDeleteThank you, Mr Olajiga, for that comment. I will ask you this question; is the Nigerian constitution the ultimate source of law in Nigeria? I presume you know the answer is- 'YES'. I would then go on to quote some salient parts of this constitution
ReplyDeletesection 17, subsection 2a: EVERY CITIZEN shall have EQUAL rights, obligations and opportunities before the law
section 17, subsection 2b: the sanctity of the human person shall be recognized and human dignity shall be maintained and enhanced
section 34, subsection 1: EVERY PERSON is entitled to the DIGNITY OF HIS PERSON
section 37: the PRIVACY OF CITIZENS, their homes, correspondence, telephone conversations, telegraphic communications is hereby guaranteed
section 38, subsection 1: every person shall be entitled to FREEDOM OF THOUGHT, CONSCIENCE AND RELIGION, including freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom(either alone or in community with others) and in public and private to manifest, and propagate his religion or belief in teaching, worship, practice and observance.
if i am allowed under the law to have consensual sexual relations with a woman and a gay woman is not allowed to, We could as well amend s17 above to say: EVERY CITIZEN shall have EQUAL rights, but some shall have more equal rights than others simply because they form the majority
sexual orientation and behaviour is a private affair, we have no right looking into other people's privacy.
there is nothing dignifying about intrusion into someone's private life.
some people quote religion as being against such practices, i totally agree. like i said earlier and you pointed out, i am catholic and the catholic church is totally against such things and i am no supporter of homosexuality. Our constitution states that everybody is free to practise any religion and even change religions when he wants. that means no religious law is binding on anyone under the Nigerian law. being homosexual and christian are mutually exclusive in Nigeria so, by default, they are not christians. so the question is "why enforce religious beliefs on non-members?"
If we impose grievous punishment on people because they decide to have CONSENSUAL sexual relations with someone of the same gender and all we can quote is preservation of tradition, then i'm afraid to say that we are on the edge of the precipice of becoming like the represive regimes of the world; the likes of Taliban Afghanistan, Communist North Korea etc. while we are punishing the gay people, we should go ahead and prescribe jail terms for commercial sex workers and their clients; a 5year jail term may be appropriate punishment for watching porn on your mobile phone. having pre-marital sex should be punished too.