While many countries appear to be becoming more accepting of the LGBTQ+ community, the acceptance of these forms of love is not apparent in Nigeria. There, it is still seen as a sinful lifestyle. Although available research reveals that there are a significant number of LGBTQ+ living in Nigeria behind closed doors, Nigerian law restricts the ‘Queer’ lifestyle in the country.
The government enacted certain laws, such as the Same Sex Marriage Prohibition Act (SSMPA), which allows authorities who are supposed to protect citizens to abuse and molest them. Societal norms in Nigeria also make life difficult for LGBTQ+ people. Being different from the norm creates a lot of frowns and uproars; because they don't comprehend it, they discriminate against the uniquely “weird” folks.
For Gen Z and millennials, the internet has been a glimmer of hope, providing new career opportunities and an environment in which people may express themselves. The new gold rush is content creation. Many people openly use this to connect to the outside world and the world within, from the sense of fashion to creating content that is so relatable, increasing the desire to find someone who shares the same interests.
Over the past few years, the use of technology has skyrocketed. Social media platforms, like Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, Snapchat have given the youths an avenue to openly express themselves. The internet has allowed people to connect, share ideas, unlearn and learn new things, arousing so many questions, which the older generation refer to as “being woke” when a question they can’t answer is poised at them.
The content creation is a very good avenue for the people who love to express themselves, however they deem fit, with no sense of judgment and torture coming from people who claim to be “normal”. Moreover, being a content creator allows you to make new friends, meet people who are just like you. Research shows that being part of a community can make us feel as though we are a part of something greater than ourselves.
A community is a collection of individuals we turn to when things go rough; friends, family, and neighbors who are there for us when we need love, support, and encouragement. Because of the discrimination that queer Nigerians confront in real life, they look out for safe, private, and virtual spaces where they are accepted.
However, following the Nigerian government's 2013 SSMPA, gatherings of LGBTQ+ are illegal, and show of public displays of affection between members of the same gender can result in lengthy prison sentences. Harassment by police officers can be both overt and underreported. This is an all-too-familiar story for queer Nigerians.
Even with the community they’ve built on social media, including the gay hook-up app i.e Grindr, homophobes have been known to pose as potential dates or sexual partners, enticing unsuspecting users into meetings that result in attacks or robberies—the community is routinely targeted. Some users are made public in front of their relatives, lesbians have also reported incidents of extortion following meetings with people they met online.
In light of this, LGBTQ+ activists like Ani Kayode Somtochukwu, Victor Emmanuel and others have been on their toes towards creating awareness to mitigate the frustrating predicament faced by queers in the country. In 2020, they organised a Twitter campaign called #EndHomophobiainNigeria in response to the death of a gay man in March 2020. They created a hashtag to push this movement, this trended on Nigerian Twitter, revealing how systemic homophobia hurts LGBTQ+ Nigerians. Thanks to the hashtag, a number of LGBTQ+ Nigerians were able to convey their daily experiences of homophobia, and allies were able to add their voices to the call for change.
“Social media is critical not just in recording queer people's lived experiences in Nigeria, but also in assisting us in expressing ourselves and finding a safe space to grow our voices,” Somtochukwu says. It's "an essential weapon for confronting the issues of governmental oppression that Nigerian homosexuals experience," he says, "since it's tougher for them to target people when it's online." Meanwhile, queer Nigerians protect themselves as best they can, risking abuse in exchange for the potential of making a genuine human connection.
“Finding a community on social media is one thing, but the queer community for me is a lot more personal because there, I get to be myself, learn, find answers, and sometimes more question,” anonymous.
At the end of the day, regardless of the widespread of queer acceptance amongst Nigerians, if the law continues to discriminate against this set of important individuals who have nothing to do with how they feel about the same sex, it would never be the same as countries where it is openly acceptable. Therefore, necessity is laid on the government to make the country home for all people, to love as they wish.
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