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| Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani |
Late
in 2014 when my friend, Zachary, invited me to his wedding taking place
in The Berkshires this September, I was less concerned about having to
travel all the way from Abuja to Massachusetts. Zachary is gay. "What if
lightning comes and strikes the building?" I asked. He replied that
there had so far been under 100, 000 gay marriages in the U.S. -- and no
bolts. "Of course, my partner and I could be the last straw," he added.
That exchange may have been
facetious, but many Nigerians are genuinely terrified of gay marriage.
And they are distraught over the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision to
legalize gay marriage in America.
They
express sadness and pity for what is supposedly God's Own Country. They
predict America's inevitable decline. But the emotion most potent in
their words is fear. The kind you might expect from news of an impending
tsunami. Many Nigerians appear terrified that, having finally won the
victory on home soil, America will now set its sights on imposing
similar legislature in countries like Nigeria. "We must resist this
wave," I have heard people say.
Rumors
of America's plan of action have already started making the rounds.
Over the past few days, a number of articles in local newspapers have
revealed what some Nigerians believe to be the secret agenda behind
President Obama's invitation to Nigeria's new president, Muhammadu
Buhari. Allegedly, the meeting, scheduled to take place in the White
House on July 20, is aimed at persuading President Buhari to repeal
Nigeria's infamous Same Sex Prohibition Law signed by the previous
Goodluck Jonathan administration. "Beware of Obama's Invitation," read a
headline in one of Nigeria's dailies.
A June 2015 survey
conducted by Nigeria's NOI Polls (which works in collaboration with
Gallup) shows that 90% of Nigerians believe their country would be a
better place without homosexuals. In addition, 81% do not agree that gay
people should have the same rights as other Nigerians. Only 30% of
Nigerians were shown to believe that gay people deserved equal access to
public services such as healthcare, housing and education.
Despite
these hair-raising data, I would be surprised if the anti-gay bill were
the only reason why President Obama has extended this warm invitation
to Nigeria's president, what with issues like Boko Haram currently
siphoning global attention. But if indeed he has the welfare of gay
Nigerians in mind, President Obama must proceed with caution.
Careful conduct
At
the October 2011 Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in Perth,
Australia, British Prime Minister David Cameron told African leaders
that if they resisted homosexuality in their countries, they risked
losing aid money from the United Kingdom. Those words registered quite
highly on the scale of African indignation. From Ghana to Zimbabwe to
Uganda, commentators, columnists and government officials encouraged
Cameron to zoom off to hell with his aid.
Nigeria,
the giant of Africa, went beyond mere sound and fury. Within weeks, the
country's Senate swept aside other pressing national concerns and
called for a 14-year prison sentence for anyone convicted of
homosexuality -- an issue that had previously not featured on the
national agenda. In December 2013, then president Jonathan signed the
anti-gay bill, which illegalized public displays of affection between
gay couples, and banned organizations that promote gay rights. NOI Polls
showed that 92% of Nigerians were at the time in favor of the new law.
Cameron's
bid to advance gay rights clearly backfired. And not just because
homophobic sentiments are especially intense in Africa, where same-sex
relationships are illegal in the vast majority of the countries on the
continent. The Prime Minister's controlling and imperialistic choice of
words inspired the need to reassure any doubters of their countries'
absolute autonomy from Britain. Choosing the exact opposite of what
pressured views stipulate is sometimes a way to re-establish your
freedom to conduct your own affairs.
If
the topic of gay rights arises in his conversation with President
Buhari, President Obama must remember that he is the helmsman of
America, not of Nigeria. He must realize that "We must not allow these
'white people' tell us what to do" is increasingly becoming a valid
reason for Africans to ignore both unconstructive and beneficial counsel
on various issues.
The legalization
of gay marriage in America has led Nigerians to build up a fresh
readiness to resist anything homosexual. The anti-gay swords have been
unsheathed. How carefully President Obama and other activists in America
conduct themselves when advocating on behalf of the gay people in
countries like Nigeria will go a long way in either ameliorating or
worsening the welfare of those they seek to help.
Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani is a Nigerian novelist, humorist, essayist and journalist.
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