LONDON, February 19, 2007  –  A Nigerian Humanist was repeatedly jeered in Abuja last week during his statement opposing the proposed new anti-gay legislation in Nigeria, the Gay and Lesbian Humanist Association revealed last night.

Leo Igwe, the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Humanist Movement, made his statement at a public hearing to gather views from the public on the proposed Act to Make Provisions for the Prohibition of Relationship Between Persons of the Same Sex, Celebration of Marriage by Them, and for Other Matters Connected Therewith before a committee examines it and sends a final version to Parliament for voting.

Mr Igwe said that law should not be made to oppress people.  It should be made to serve the interests of all the people, he said.

Reacting to the outrageous statement made by an Islamic law professor who said that sometimes the minority should be destroyed in order to protect the majority, Mr Igwe said that that was exactly what the bill was meant to achieve and that it was unhealthy for the country and its democracy.

“One of the hallmarks of a true democracy is not only upholding the will of the majority but recognizing and respecting the rights of minorities,” he pointed out.

In response to the contention that same-sex marriage should be banned because it was alien to Nigeria, Mr Igwe replied by saying that Christianity and Islam, the Bible and Koran, were all alien to Nigeria and if they wanted to ban same-sex marriage they should also ban Christianity and Islam and their holy books.

When the religious groups also said that banning same sex marriage was to protect public interest, good and morality, he said: “The term ‘public’ was all inclusive and included gay and lesbian people and therefore their interest and good should not be excluded or undermined.”

However, the vast majority of those who spoke agreed with Jonathan Adamu of the Christian Lawyers Fellowship of Nigeria who said: “Western society is decaying.  We cannot use Western society as a model for moral values.  If we let a man go with a man or a woman go with a woman, the next thing will be a man with an animal.”

The secretary of the Gay and Lesbian Humanist Association, George Broadhead, said the “courageous intervention” of Mr Igwe was welcome.

“It is hardly surprising that he was shouted down.  Nigeria is split about evenly between Christians and Muslims and the one thing they can agree on is that gay relationships are abhorrent and gay rights have no place in human rights.

“This being the case, it seems highly likely that this pernicious legislation will be enacted and there can be no doubt that it has been driven and fortified by religious hatred,” Mr. Broadhead said.

SEE ALSO

IGLHRC Report: Gay Nigerians Respond to Same-Sex Prohibition Act.  Nigerian lesbians, gay men, bisexuals and transgenders speak out against a proposed law in a new report by the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC).  (UK Gay News, February 18, 2007)

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