DEMOCRACY AND LGBTs in AFRICA



Few weeks back, I got the message in the image above from someone I do not even know, probably a gay rights activist or a gay. After lashing out on him via social media due to my dislike for gay practice, I thought extensively on the topic of Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals, and Transsexuals in Africa. I posed certain questions to myself, if democracy as I have read and told represents the rights of every mindless of the way they choose to live their lives and  provided they do not harm others or commit crime, why are gays in most parts of Africa not protected under the constitution? Why does most African countries profess love for democracy and claim to embrace the system, yet it is not effectively practiced? It is one thing to embrace democracy and it is another to fully and effectively practice the system. Majority of us in this continent might dislike LGBTs or its practice, but the bitter truth lies in the fact that whether we like it or not, the rights of LGBTs must be protected under the constitution or else we reject democracy.
                                                                 




Most of you might dislike this work due to your hatred towards gay practices, some might question my respect for African customs and traditions, and others will question the authenticity of my claim to Christianity. The point is, we have to look aside our different religious practices, customs and traditions if we must embrace democracy and its tenets. No wonder former world leaders like Muammar Gaddafi and Saddam Hussein were skeptical about democracy. They probably knew all it entails unlike most present African leaders that claim to accept democracy but fail to practice it effectively, I guess that is the explanation for human rights abuses in Africa (that is not to say that human rights are not abused in other continents).
Notable African leaders like Yahya Jammeh when he was the president of the Gambia publicly expressed dislike for gay activities, he once noted that ‘’ If you do it in Gambia I will slit your throat¸ if you are a man and want to marry another man in this country and we catch you, no one will ever set eyes on you again, and no white person can do anything about it.’’ (The Washington Post, 2015), former Zimbabwean leader Robert Mugabe did same back in 2013 when he remarked that homosexuals were ‘’ worse than pigs, goats and birds’’ (The Independent, 2015). These leaders might get public appraisal in Africa due to their hatred towards gay practices but that is not democracy. Democracy is not for few or majority, it is for all and if we must effectively practice it, we must effectively do that unless we want to start being Africa and device a system that suits the African continent. If Africa must copy the west, then she has no power to counter consequences associated with western practices.
“I believe in the principle of treating people equally under the law, and that they are deserving of equal protection under the law and that the state should not discriminate against people based on their sexual orientation, I’m unequivocal on this.'' Barrack Obama (Time,2015)      

LGBTs are humans and nobody has the right to judge any human being due to his/her sexual practices. I disagree with the view that any human is born gay, I believe being gay is a psychological defect and should be treated as mental diseases like schizophrenia. Its time Africans learn to accept the positives and negatives of steps that we take as a continent. Further, Africans should stop associating gay practices to demonic influence, gays are not under any form of spiritual attack like I hear a lot of folks say, and we must understand that it is psychological.  Though most Africans detest gay practices, it is only a matter of time for LGBTs to be protected under the constitutions of African countries. If Africa must blend with the globe, she must be willing to accept global trends.

Comments

  1. UnknownSeptember 22, 2018 at 1:20 AM

    No homo bro, its unconstitutional, lok

    ReplyDelete
  2. UnknownSeptember 23, 2018 at 10:19 PM

    That is still democracy, not every must accept every thing. We are practising our own democracy in our own context, so the wold most respect our decision not to accept LGBT.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

AFRICAN JUJU: MISINTERPRETED OR OVERATED?

Image
Photo credit: Britannica.com                                                                                                                                                           Photo credit: spacesforchange.org The term ‘’African Juju” often referred as charms or African magic play a dominant role in the African rel belief system. If you were born and raised   in Africa, you are surely aware of the existence of local charms because in churches you hear pastors raise prayer points like “lets pray against witches and wizards fighting our lives and progress,’’ individuals that administer these charms are commonly refered as Native Doctors. In Igbo language, native doctors are called Dibia, in Yoruba Babalawo, and in Hausa Boka. It is vital to note that the practice of evil charms should not be associated with the practice of African Traditional Religion (ATR), a lot of folks when they hear juju jump into hasty conclusions that ATR is  responsible, that is dumb. There ar
Read more

IS GOD THE GIVER OF WEALTH OR DOES HARD WORK GUARANTEE WEALTH?

IS GOD THE GIVER OF WEALTH OR DOES HARD WORK GUARANTEE WEALTH? Most times am asked to offer suggestions on how one can be successful, my reply is always ‘’ hard work .’’ The motive for this write-up stem from an argument I had with my mother and siblings on the source of financial wealth. I tend to emphasize less on the role of God in financial wealth attainment when I argue with fellow Nigerians and Africans not because God does not give wealth, (Deuteronomy 8vs 18, the Holy Bible) but because most Africans tend to be lazy and justify poverty on the basis that ‘’God is the giver of wealth’’ as a popular Igbo clique goes ‘’Ego si na chi’’ literally translated as ‘’money is from God,’’ that is not to say that there are no Africans with firm belief in God and hard work. A professor in a Nigerian university once told me ‘’Chinedu money is from God and one’s destiny…if you are not destined to be rich forget it…no amount of work c
Read more

JUNGLE JUSTICE: THE PATH TO JUSTICE OR NOT?

Image
Nigerians would always remember the story of the four innocent university of Port Harcourt students that were brutally murdered by residents of Aluu community on accusation of theft which turned out to be false. Some Nigerians felt pity for them because they were innocent of the crime they were accused and murdered for, others felt pity for their families, and many talked about the dashed hopes and dreams. I was quite surprised that only few debated on the issue of jungle justice in a country like Nigeria often referred as ‘’Giants of Africa.’’ Each time I heard people discuss the issue, I listened with hope that citizens of Nigeria, a country believed to be en route greatness would think about how to end jungle justice in Nigeria. Owing to the public outcry for justice, I thought to myself ‘’Chinedu this will end the problem of jungle justice in Nigeria or at least lead a revolution to end it.’’ With time, I noticed that most Nigerians were saddened by the fact that the boys were
Read more