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By Leo
Igwe
Introduction
On January 18, 2006, the Federal Executive Council
proposed a bill that prohibits same-sex marriages
and relationships. This bill provides for a term
of five years with no option of fine for anyone
who contracts or has a relationship with a person
of the same sex; including anyone who aids or supports
in any way same-sex marriages or relationships.
Two government ministers - the Minister for Information
and National Orientation, Mr. Frank Nweke Jr., and
the Minister for Justice and Attorney General of
the Federation, Mr. Bayo Ojo - provided insights
into this bill. According to Mr. Nweke, the bill
has become necessary in order to "check basically
the possible erosion of our value system" in
a Nigeria that is "basically a conservative
society".
On his own part, Mr. Ojo said that same-sex relationship
"is unAfrican and is prohibited in the Bible
and Koran". Thus re-echoing a statement made
by President Olusegun Obasanjo, who told African
Bishops last year that homosexuality "is clearly
un-Biblical, un-natural and definitely un-African.
Ojo further stated that "we all know that marriage
is a unique institution between a man and a woman
and this fact is universally acknowledged and it
is contained in the Holy Books".
Cultures, Values Bound to Change
I would like us to critically look at these points.
First, cultures and values systems are never static.
They are constantly undergoing changes and transformations.
Is there any society in the world whose values have
always remained the same? So, no one should expect
the value system in Nigeria to remain static. Just
as the value systems in other cultures are changing,
ours in Nigeria will continue to change.
Again, diversity defines how human beings are and
do things. Human beings think, live and relate differently.
Just as there are different individuals and groups
with different ideas and opinions of life, so also,
there are different value systems. But this does
not rule out the fact that there are common moral
values and decencies shared by all.
As new ideas come up and new discoveries are made,
values are bound to change - and will keep changing.
Without such changes, the individual and the society
will stagnate and die. Without such changes, there
will be no improvement; there will be no progress.
Nigeria is such a diverse country of people with
different ideas, beliefs and philosophies. There
are conservatives as well as liberals. And the Nigerian
government should make laws that take into cognisance
the nation's plurality as well as dynamism; laws
that are fair, balanced and inclusive.
Homophobia UnAfrican
And so, is homosexuality unAfrican? No, not all.
Homosexuality is definitely not unAfrican. Homosexual
practices have been going on in Africa for ages.
The anti-homosexual attitude is largely a response
to the Christian Bible and Islamic Koran. Before
the coming of Christianity and Islam, African societies
were largely tolerant and accommodated people with
diverse sexual preferences and orientations.
So, what is unAfrican is not homosexuality but homophobia
- strong resentment and fear of gays and lesbians.
Admittedly, homosexuality is perceived as a religious
(cultural) taboo - often proscribed by law in many
African countries. But in Burkina Faso, Central
African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo Brazzaville,
Eritrea, Gabon, Reunion, Sao Tome and Principe and
South Africa, homosexuality is legal. In fact, under
South Africa's new constitution, discrimination
on the basis of the sexual orientation is illegal.
And if homosexuality is unAfrican, why is it legal
in some African countries?
It is true that gays in western nations are more
open, expressive and assertive of their rights and
liberties. And no one should think that they won
the freedom they currently enjoy on a platter of
gold. Gays in Europe and America went through -
and are undergoing - a lot of persecution and oppression.
Homosexual practice is therefore not a Western lifestyle.
After all, the Western world has made tremendous
progress in the areas of human rights, democracy,
science and technology? Does that make these values
Western?
Human Sexuality Complex
And that brings me to the next question. Is homosexuality
un-natural? According to Random House Webster's
College Dictionary, the word natural means, "existing
in or formed by nature". That means something
that is part of a thing's (a person's) inherent
qualities or makeup. Going by this definition one
can rightly say that homosexual acts are natural,
because they are - and they reflect and express
- inherent feelings, passions and desires of gays.
The claim that homosexual practice is unnatural
raises a lot of questions. Is everything natural
good? Is everything unnatural bad? Is every natural
behaviour right? Is every unnatural behaviour wrong?
Is every unnatural act morally reprehensible? When
we talk about morals, values and attitudes, are
we not talking about culture, and not nature? Since
culture is "unnatural", is culture then
immoral?
These questions point to the fact that there are
still a lot of issues yet to be resolved about human
sexuality and morality in general. And does the
proposed executive bill banning same-sex marriage
resolve these issues in any way? No.
Religion and the State
Now let us examine the claim that homosexuality
is un-Biblical and un-Koranic? Definitely there
are statements in the Holy Books that prohibit homosexual
practices. But essentially morality has nothing
to do with religion. And why should Nigerian politicians
in this 21st century still refer to the Bible and
Koran when making laws or drafting legislations
particularly when we have a constitution that provides
for the separation of religion and state?
Definition of Marriage
Lastly, on the definition of marriage. Agreed, marriage
is popularly defined as a union between a man and
a woman. But this definition of marriage like every
other human expression has not always remained the
same. The concept of marriage has been changing
and will continue to change as we gain more knowledge
about human and sexual relationships. In traditional
African societies, marriage is not a union between
a man and a woman, but a union between a man and
many women (polygamy). Hence, the idea of marriage
as a union between a man and a woman is unAfrican!
Monogamy is not universally acknowledged and practised.
At a time, marriage entailed a man going to acquire
a woman like a piece of property. And formerly,
marriage in Europe and America was anti-miscegenetic.
It did not embrace the union of people from different
races. But now all that has changed. And who says
the definition of marriage will not also change
to include a union between a man and man or a woman
and a woman? Who says that our understanding of
marriage will not change such that we can talk about
homosexual and heterosexual marriages - or better
partnerships - just as we have monogamous, polygamous,
bigamous, polyandric marriages?
No one should make a scapegoat of homosexuality.
No one should blame homosexuals for the problems
confronting our nation. In fact there are absolutely
no connections between homosexual practices and
much of the social and moral problems that Nigeria
faces- poverty, diseases (including bird flu), corruption,
ignorance, ethnocentrism, religious bigotry, the
crisis in the Niger Delta and the decaying infrastructure.
HIV/AIDS
We cannot put the blame for the spread of HIV/AIDS
solely on homosexual attitudes or practices. In
fact, in Nigeria particularly, HIV/AIDS is mostly
contacted through heterosexual acts.
It is very evident that the debate over homosexuality
in Nigeria is characterised by ignorance, prejudice,
holy hatred, dogma, intolerance and religious fanaticism.
There is need for caution, knowledge, love, tolerance,
human solidarity, and empathy in the management
of issues like homosexuality and other human affairs
in the country.
President Obasanjo should not copy the U.S. President
George W. Bush who wants to change the American
constitution to make gay marriages unlawful. Instead,
Nigeria should emulate South Africa and make discrimination
on the basis of sexual orientation illegal. Nigeria
should honour its commitment and obligations as
a signatory to the UN's Universal Declaration of
Human Rights and other human rights documents.
I am using this opportunity to appeal to the honourable
members of the National Assembly not to pass the
bill banning same-sex marriages. Nigeria is a better,
freer, more progressive, more promising and more
democratic nation without this bill.
First Published in The Guardian newspaper
in Nigeria on March 1, 2006
* Leo Igwe is the Executive Secretary, Nigerian
Humanist Movement.
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