Homosexuality in Nigeria - Condemning bigots who seek death
Suffering a different sexuality
It is no more a surprise that people whose sexuality does not align with the majority can get persecuted in some societies; however, African societies tend to prosecute them.
Add religious intolerance and tyrannical moralising to the mix and you have the result of people being condemned to death for being different.
Now, there are certain punishments which might serve as deterrents to others when it comes to crimes, but how would capital punishment serve as a deterrent to a situation that is inherently accepted as genetic?
Homosexuality a norm
Medical science no more considers homosexuality a mental disease, an aberration or treatable condition, it is a norm for the people who exhibit those tendencies and the same people have been, are and will continue to be worthy and contributing members of our societies whether we accept them or not.
Nigeria comes to the fore on this matter again as 18 men were remanded in custody for transvestism and homosexual practices (for those who seek great revulsion – sodomy) in a state that practices Sharia Law – Bauchi State.
When I was in Paris in June, I observed the Gay Pride march where a group against capital punishment highlighted a number of nations that imposed the death penalty on homosexuals (See Slideshow) - Sign their petition if your are concerned.
Stoning a taboo
Nigeria prominently featured in that list and it got me worried and quite concerned that all death sentences imposed through Sharia Law have yet to be carried out in Nigeria, but the possibility of execution is getting closer than is comfortable to countenance.
What better way to excite a lynching mob since the stoning of these people would most likely be done by the public who would be provided the stones to commit a public murder than to present them with a homosexual?
This is a human rights issue has been hijacked by irrational religionists and painted with the epithet of a taboo – but whose taboo is it anyway? And what right has anyone to make their taboo a crime on others who do not subscribe to that taboo?
Bigots deserve no tolerance
However, beyond the news of these arrests comes the comments (scroll down the linked page to see selected comments) that accompany the news, people who want to appear objective and rational spew out the most savage and primitive notions predicated on nothing but religious adherence and the willingness to sacrifice fellow human beings on the altar of fanaticism and irrational thought, with the hope that it makes them better human beings or committed religionists in line for great heavenly reward. I think not.
These selfsame people are the cancer that eats into our societies and deprives our humanity of talented, reasonable, tolerant and albeit different people to perpetuate an illusion of ridding our societies of corruption and moral laxities.
In my view, if anyone so advocates the death penalty for people being who they naturally are and are found committing supposedly victimless crimes amongst consenting partners then the accuser does not deserve justice for wanting to unnecessarily punish the innocent to validate their bigoted and prejudiced views, they should be first in line for the stoning - be they bishops, disciples, imams, politicians, fanatics or people who just refuse to use their God-given right to think and rationalise.
Our societies can tolerate and accept homosexuals but we must not tolerate or accommodate bigots and religious fanaticism that fork lifts Scripture for their own selfish ends seeking evil rather than mercy, speaking death rather than saving life.
Web logs by Akin Akintayo is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Netherlands License.