ON THE NIGERIAN ANTI-GAY MARRIAGE LAW

ON THE NIGERIAN ANTI-GAY MARRIAGE LAW

Ever since Nigerian lawmakers begun debating an anti-gay marriage law have I expressed reservations against it. My attitude then and even now is that our government has a penchant for prioritizing things that they should not prioritize and they have perfected the art of ignoring pressing national issues to pursue things that are not important. Take for example the Freedom of Information Bill (FIB).

Jonathan signs Anti-Gay Marriage law

As important as this bill was, it was thrown out of the National Assembly in the last political dispensation and was only passed into law in this present dispensation. Even at that, the bill is only in letters as journalists and lawyers have been expressing their handicap at withdrawing information from government coffers despite a so called Freedom of Information. Most state governments have refused to implement this law as they insist that it must be domesticated in their states before it can become law in their respective states. One then wonders why the whole effort at passing the law, if it will simply remain in the coolers and be non-effective. The same predicament has befallen the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB). That bill has been at the National Assembly since forever and no one has thought it right to pass it. But alas, someone wakes up with a useless bill, to curb homosexual marriages, an act that is totally foreign to our culture and whala(!) it is passed into law; with everyone playing the self righteous and applauding it. Apart from the FIB and the PIB, the Nigerian nation is begging for laws that will make it work. For example, the constitution needs to be amended to allow for a true federal state. We need to have a constitution that shares the wealth of this nation equally, that allows regions producing the nations wealth enjoy it and that gives minority tribes voice in the matter of the running of the country. The issue of providing immunity to the President, Vice-President, Governors and their deputies in a corruption ridden society is a matter that is long overdue for an overhaul. There is also the matter of providing laws in this country that will allow local governments, all 774 of them, greater independence from the hegemony of their state governments. The laws of this nation must be strengthened to allow for a truly independent electoral  body, so that elections can begin to approximate to something that is free and fair in Nigeria. And so many other sundry matters; and all our lawmakers can think about is to pass laws banning gays from marrying. The question we should ask is how many gays have we seen in our society who have expressed a desire to marry? The truth of the matter is that the nature of our laws in this country already criminalizes homosexual acts and so a law further banning their marriage is simply not needed.

This essay is not a justification for homosexuality. Indeed the urgency of the matter of gays and homosexual acts gaining ground in our society was brought home to my consciousness when Edmund Obilo recently played an  interview he had with four gay men on Splash FM Radio - a local radio station in the city of Ibadan. Obilo wanted to have their response to the anti-gay marriage law and in

the process these boys let out some really gory details. They insisted that they were gays not because they were involved in homosexual acts but because they were born gays. They argued that the United Nation no longer considers homosexuality an abnormality or a mental problem. They said they were born with gay genes (whatever that means). In spite of what they said one of them related the story of how he became involved with homosexuality. He said that his own uncle introduced him to the act as a young boy. He claimed that their illicit action continued on for some twelve years, right into his teenage years, until his uncle ended the "relationship"; leaving him hurt and used. That story betrays the thought that homosexuality is natural; it is not. Homosexuality is a learned act! Simple. If someone does not introduce another to it, such an individual will never learn the act. For those of us who are religious, it is easy to see this from a spiritual point of view. Take the example of men that become bloodthirsty and sometimes turn out serial killers. No one is ever born a serial killer or with a taste for blood. One thing leads to another. First, it starts with simple anger and then an opportunity to kill. After the act is done and the killer is not punished but let loose, he finds it easy to settle every score with death. If he does it long enough, he becomes bloodthirsty and quick to kill. It is a spirit that latches on him and continues to propel him on. He can very say also that he has a killer gene in him - a gene that should be best exorcised with an electric chair! The same thing goes for the homosexuality. God forbids that the first time turn out "enjoyable", the spirit of homosexuality latches on and he keeps looking for men (or women as the case may be) to carry out the act with.

The solution does not lie with a law prohibiting gay marriages but the need to strengthen families values. Most of the gentlemen that get themselves involved in homosexuality and lesbianism for the ladies, were introduced to it in childhood by trusted individuals in families, friends or at the boarden schools. Parent have a great role

"Are You Sick?"

to play here. Parenthood is not all about making money and giving the children the best in life. It includes teaching our children right cultural and religious values. When a child is  taught the way that he should go, he would not depart from it in adulthood says the Christian Bible. It is possible for parents to know the where about of their children at every point in time. It possible for them to be able to notice a child's change in demeanor. A parent who is sensitive enough must be able to discern if a child has become sexually active. And, God forbid, if it turns out to be homosexuality, that parent must be able to first discipline the child, then counsel him/her, before helping him/her get back to their feet. Parents should hold themselves accountable for how their children turn out in life. And most of all, parents must pray continually for their children/wards, trusting the Lord to keep them from evil temptations - including homosexual ones. The government can also take a step further in strengthening already existing laws that criminalizes gay acts. If a number of these people can get some convictions and be sent to jail, it will act as a deterrent to others. It is abundantly clear that Nigeria's problem is not the absence of laws but the absence of those who will enforce them. Solving the homosexual debacle will start from the home and then unto a strong and reliable law enforcement. Enacting laws against gay marriage is as good as pouring water on the back of a duck; it will achieve nothing.

The Nigerian bias against homosexuality stem mainly from our religious and cultural beliefs. Homosexuality is simply a taboo in our culture and there is very little we can do about this. What I have a problem with is the religious bias against homosexuality, especially the Christian stance against it. One would think that Christians should know better but it seems we do not. Homosexuality is no less a sin in Christianity than adultery, murder, covetousness, malice, stealing, corruption, hatred, etc. God does not see a homosexual more of an evil doer than those listed above. This is the reason why if society vilifies homosexuality, Christians cannot afford to do so. When we join them in doing this, we condemn ourselves also - as God brings up our own sins against us in judgement. Do we then permit homosexuality to thrive in society? No. Rather, gay people must be treated with great care and concern. The church must be at the forefront of ministering to gays as their numbers are increasing more and more. What the anti-gay marriage law is going to produce are people who will go further into their shells and continue to perpetrate this evil and probably recruit more people into the act. The church should however encourage that folks like this will come out and be ministered to. We must start with the gospel of Jesus Christ and show gay people, along with all sinners, that Christ died to redeem men from sin. We must then help those who express desire to know Jesus to understand him more and more. We must teach them the word of God, which is the truth and that has enough power to set men free from every bondage to sin. We must then accept them

into our fellowship and love them enough until Christ completely transforms them. Christians must not join society to condemn homosexuals, rather we must raise the flag of Christian love that loves the sinners but detest the sin.

On a final note, the government of Nigeria and the international community's attitude to the gay matters is sitting on two unhealthy extremes. While the west thinks that gay culture has come to stay and should be allowed to thrive in modern life, the African and Nigerian attitude is that homosexuality is foreign to our culture and must be resisted. My position is to go with the Nigerian attitude but nonetheless accepting the fact that homosexuality is a reality in our societies today. The law against gay marriage will not solve the problem of homosexuality. It has the tendency to make gay people go under and in that hidden position the act will only fester. Our lawmakers may consider reviewing that law and if they cannot, the government could build institutions that will help cater for individuals seeking to be liberated from the homosexual lifestyle. There are former gays and lesbians who are happily married today and who can help in rehabilitating those under the yoke of homosexuality. Homosexuality should best be considered a psychological dis-order and gay people should be made to understand their need for rehabilitation. Rather than vilify these people, society through government institutions and religious bodies must be at the forefront of helping former gay people find liberation from this insidious lifestyle.