The recent altercation between the Federal Government and Daily Trust Newspapers over the latter’s report that the Samoa Island Agreement signed by the Government contained pro-LGBT themes has sparked off renewed public debate on the legalization of homosexuality, lesbianism, and same-sex marriage in Nigeria. According to the alleged report, the Agreement contained some clauses that compel underdeveloped and developing countries to support Lesbianism, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) agitations as a condition for eligibility for $150 billion funding by the west. The Federal Government has since refuted that report stating that there was no such thing in the Agreement.
To put the matter in perspective, and for the purpose of clarity, it is important to define same-sex marriage and to examine what the Nigerian constitution says about it. Same-sex marriage is a marriage of individuals of the same sex. It could be either between two males or two females. The law in Nigeria makes this kind of marriage illegal and it is a punishable offence. Section 214 of the Criminal Code provides that any person who has carnal knowledge of any person against the order of nature, or carnal knowledge of an animal, or permits a male person to have carnal knowledge of him or her against the order of nature is guilty of felony and is liable to imprisonment for 14 years. The law further provides that anyone who administers, witnesses, or assists the solemnization of a same-sex marriage or civil union, or supports the registration and operation of a gay club or organization is guilty of an offence and is liable to imprisonment for 10 years upon conviction. The Same Sex Prohibition Act of 2013 explicitly provides that a marriage certificate cannot be issued to individuals of the same sex.
In December, 2023, the Holy See of the Papacy in Rome through its publication, the Fiducia Supplicans, indicated that same-sex couples may receive blessing by the clergy. In response, the Christian community in Nigeria unequivocally condemned same-sex marriage and clerics have since insisted that they would not bless same-sex couples. The Catholic Church in particular issued a statement that “there is no possibility in the Church of blessing same-sex unions and activities. That would go against God’s law, the teachings of the Church, the laws of our nation and the cultural sensibilities of our people”. The argument here is that marriage is divinely ordained as an institution reserved for one man and one woman and as such it is unjust for a man to marry his fellow man or for a woman to marry a fellow woman, for which reason marriage in Christendom is referred to as Holy Matrimony or Sacrament. Research reports had also shown that majority of Christians as well as Muslims in Nigeria are opposed to same-sex marriage.
From recorded human history, same-sex unions have existed even as far back as medieval times. In the year 390, the Christian emperors Valentinian II, Theodoisus and Arcadius declared homosexual sex to be illegal and those who were guilty of it were condemned to be burned alive in front of the public. It is recorded that a certain Anne Lister, often referred to as “the first modern lesbian”, married one Ann Walker at Holy Trinity Church, Goodramgate, York in 1834. It is also recorded that Emperor Nero of old Roman Empire married at least two males on different occasions with himself being the bride on one of the unions. Even at that time, the term used to describe such unions were regarded as corrupt, such that “cubit infamen”, to go to bed with a man was a tacit disapproval of homosexual behaviour. This supports the ancient Roman idea that “conubium” could only exist between a “civis Romanus” and a “civis Romana”, that is between a male Roman citizen and a female Roman citizen. In modern times, a remarkable achievement in LGBT history occurred when Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands signed a law making the country the first to legalize same-sex marriage.
Those opposed to same-sex marriage argue that the practice is alien to African culture and should therefore be regarded as a taboo and be banned. This may not be entirely true. Coming back home, there exists in some traditional Igbo societies something in the semblance of same-sex marriage referred to as “woman husband” or “woman wife”. Leo Igwe, a columnist on Tribune Newspaper, writes, “In a situation where a woman has no son or no child, if the husband dies, it is culturally allowed for her to marry a wife. And in this case, she becomes the husband after paying the required dowry and fulfilling other traditional marriage rites”. What this means is that the man who impregnates the woman is immaterial; his duty is simply to supply the sperm. He has no claim to the child at all. But the problem here is that the children born by the wife bear the family name of the woman-husband, and not that of the man responsible for the pregnancy, and in most cases such children suffer discrimination and some form of hidden and silent stigmatization.
Again, the argument by same-sex agitators that denying them the right to same-sex marriage or relationship amounts to injustice and infringement on their fundamental human rights would appear plausible; but that is just as far as it goes. The fact remains that no matter how free you claim to be, you cannot use your freedom to do whatever you like. Contrary to popular opinion, freedom is not actually free. The point here is that homosexuals do have the freedom to marry so long as they do so with someone of the opposite sex. This may appear to negate the sexual desires of homosexuals towards their counterparts of the same sex. But it has been pointed out that homosexuals are not the only ones restricted by custom or by law under this kind of civil privileges. For instance, visually impaired persons do have the right to buy cars but they may be disqualified from obtaining a driver’s licence or joining the armed forces. So, the argument about injustice on that account carries a huge question mark.
There is also a deeper spiritual angle to the matter. If God says He is averse to certain aspects of human behaviour, and that men should not sleep with men, was He joking? Of course not. It is true that God is slow to anger, but God’s patience should not be taken for granted.
Back in the campus, I recall a careless argument with my roommate. He had put it to me that I would go to hell if I did not repent of my sins. Out of sheer bravado, I told him that both of us were already in hell and that in fact hell does not exist. He looked at me pitifully and told me that whether I believe in hell or not, fire will still burn me when I eventually get there if it turns out that it actually exists! In other words, if a couple in a same-sex relationship drops dead and find themselves directly before their creator, what explanation would they put forward? Would they tell the creator that He infringed upon their fundamental human rights? From all indications, it is clear that it would take quite some time for traditional African societies to come to terms with the idea of LGBT rights and same-sex marriage even if it is decriminalized by government.
*Anthony-Spinks is Functioning Director-General, Delta State Public Procurement Commission, Asaba.
