I’ve just received an urgent press release from Nigerian gay activist Davis Mac-Iyalla, director of the Anglican gay rights group Changing Attitude Nigeria, warning that passage of new anti-gay legislation by the National Assembly will likely result in a mass exodus of LGBT seeking asylum anywhere they will not be faced with daily violence and imprisonment because of their orientation. The Same-Sex Marriage (Prohibition) Act 2006 was introduced by President Olusegun Obasanjo last year and has the full support of both Muslim and Christian clerics, including the powerful primate of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion), the Most Rev. Peter J. Akinola. Although the law purportedly prohibits same-sex marriage, it also: prohibits recognition of same-sex marriages or unions performed in other jurisdictions; punishes anyone who performs a same-sex marriage or union, or who attends the same, with five years in prison; prohibits formation of LGBT groups; prohibits “[p]ublicity, procession and public show of same sex amorous relationship through the electronic or print media physically, directly, indirectly or otherwise,” and; punishes “[a]ny person who is involved in the registration of gay clubs, societies and organizations, sustenance, procession or meetings, publicity and public show of same sex amorous relationship directly or indirectly in public and in private” with a five year prison sentence.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Nigerians have been victims of increased violence since the bill was introduced. Now that it has passed the Nigerian House of Representatives and is about to come out of committee in the Senate, the flames of fear and bigotry are burning ever brighter. Mac-Iyalla, an outspoken critic of the legislation, has fled the country in fear for his life after a series of death threats and believes he will not be the only gay émigré in search of a new home. “We are seeing an increase in homophobic behaviour and attacks because people feel they can get away with it. The climate is already becoming intolerable. Unless the government tones down its language and cancels the bill we are going to see a flood of refugees as people flee for their lives,” he predicts.
I don’t doubt that Mac-Iyalla is right on the money. I had the same thought and asked Ron Buckmire, former board member of International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission and Los Angeles coordinator for Immigration Equality, to share his views on how the Nigerian law, if passed, might affect LGBT immigration here. “The U.S. would still probably try to argue that Nigerian LGBT’s could hide their sexual orientation in their home country instead of fleeing to [this country],” he answered. “However, any PUBLIC gay or lesbian individual, it seems to me, would have VERY good grounds for an asylum claim.” Buckmire, probably best known as creator of the Queer Resources Directory, is a longtime LGBT activist and chair of the mathematics department at Occidental College.
Unfortunately, I don’t think that any government, including ours, has considered the impact the Same Sex Marriage (Prohibition) Act would have on violence in Nigeria and immigration elsewhere. The numbers alone are impressive. Nigeria, a former British colony that gained its independence in 1960, is the most populous country on the African continent and has an area slightly more than twice that of California. Although population estimates vary widely, the 2007 CIA World Factbook puts it at 131,859,731 with adjustments for higher mortality due to AIDS. Mac-Iyalla estimates that 6.5% of his compatriots–a conservative estimate of the percentage of LGBT Nigerians–are currently in the cross-hairs. Using that percentage, almost 8.6 million people will be looking for ways to leave the country.
“We are already getting reports of an increase in attacks on people who are merely suspected of being gay–people who are not even being ‘caught in the act’. This climate of fear will simply drive many people to take desperate measures to find somewhere–anywhere–where they can at least live without imminent fear of death just for existing. For many people, even the prospect of being an illegal immigrant in Britain will seem preferable to a life of perpetual terror and suffocating oppression in Nigeria,” reports Mac-Iyalla.
My guess is that most LGBT who can leave will seek asylum in South Africa (the country with the most liberal gay rights policies in the world); Western Europe (primarily Great Britain); and North America. The irony is that Nigeria’s current anti-sodomy laws are a hold-over from its days as a colony. Part of the argument being put forward not only by Obasanjo, but also his homophobic brethren in other African countries, is that homosexuality is not indigenous to Africa but was transplanted by Europeans and Arabs who came in contact with native populations. Therefore, to repudiate colonial rule, Africans must repudiate homosexuality. Africans have been so brainwashed by their secular and religious leaders that they’ve forgotten their own history. While it is impossible to say that the thousands of ethnic groups on the continent were all in accord in their treatment of sexual minorities prior to colonization and trade, it is safe to say that many tribes had a place in their societies for non-heterosexual people. Some of those non-hostile practices have survived to this day, although Christianity has done its best to wipe those practices out. I plan to write more about homosexuality in Africa at a later date, so I will not delve too deeply here. Nevertheless, I suggest reading the book Boy-Wives and Female Husbands: Studies of African Homosexualities (Will Roscoe, Stephen O. Murray) for a very good overview of many traditional African practices.
Gay Nigerian flight may have a more personal dimension for individual Westerners. Changing Attitude Nigeria has received reports of Nigerians seeking British partners on gay dating websites. It’s just a hunch, but if I were an LGBT Nigerian running for my life, I wouldn’t limit myself to my own gender, but would also look at heterosexual pairings which may be easier to achieve. Historically, doing so would not be in conflict with being homosexual. It was not unusual for a man or woman to have a heterosexual family, complete with children, as well as a same-sex lover. Such a configuration satisfies societal obligations for procreation while still allowing the person to be who he or she is. I’m sure some of us have known similar polyamorous relationships in our own circle of acquaintances.
Unfortunately, new immigration also means an influx of people infected with HIV/AIDS. A 2002 National Intelligence Council report names Nigeria, Ethiopia, Russia, India and China as the next hotspots for the virus. The report estimates Nigeria will have 10-15 million HIV/AIDS cases by 2010 and that all five countries studied will have a very difficult time getting control of infection rates. “It will be difficult for any of the five countries to check their epidemics by 2010 without dramatic shifts in priorities. The disease has built up significant momentum, health services are inadequate, and the cost of education and treatment programs will be overwhelming. Government leaders will have trouble maintaining a priority on HIV/AIDS—which has been key to stemming the disease in Uganda, Thailand, and Brazil—because of other pressing issues and the lack of AIDS advocacy groups.” (Emphasis mine.) Yet, the Nigerian government is doing its best to wipe out all groups that mention same-sex practices and risks or encourage homosexuals to get tested and treated. There is no doubt that people with HIV/AIDS will be driven underground or out of the country, heading to safe haven, if the proposed legislation passes. They then become our problem.
In my mind, it really doesn’t matter whether a person is HIV-positive or not if that person is trying to escape imprisonment, torture and, very possibly, death because of who he or she is. That person is deserving of political asylum and, I might add, treatment if they have HIV disease or AIDS. Are we, as a nation, going to send someone back to their native country knowing that the person will face imminent bodily harm? If so, then it is time we looked at ourselves as a country because we used to be a place with open arms, especially for those who had no other options. Then again, we are only allowing a small handful of Iraqis into the country although they risked their lives as guides and translators for American troops in a war that should never have been fought. It is probably exceptionally naïve of me to think that we’d welcome LGBT people. I don’t doubt that professionals will have an easier time finding a place in North America or Europe, but that will, by no means, be the majority of people seeking safety. What are the rest to do? Immigration Equality has an online manual for LGBT and HIV-positive people seeking asylum based on persecution in their native countries. A brief scan of the table of contents indicates that it is pretty thorough. Still, the process must be daunting.
The best possible solution for everyone would be pressure on the Nigerian government to kill this onerous legislation before it comes up for a vote. The bill is based on ignorance and fear about issues that should not be in question in the 21st Century. Although we, as Americans, are not in a position to condescend to anyone about same-sex marriage given that we have the Defense of Marriage Act on the books, we can say that it is not public policy to imprison people who advocate for their rights or assemble in a peaceful manner. The U.S. State Department issued a statement of concern about the Same Sex (Prohibition) Act in February 2006. However, that statement is timid by any stretch of the imagination and, obviously, did no good. It is time for us to do more. The lives of 8.6 million people are at stake.
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