Written by
Tomi Oladipo for BBC News
About 50 people, mostly men, crowd
around the front porch of a social club in Nigeria's biggest city, Lagos,
cheering on a shy-looking young man, who proceeds to sing a
ballad.
Backstage, another man puts on his wig and takes a quick
glance at his pocket mirror, before adjusting his tight-fitting red
dress.
Five other men also dressed in drag outfits appear,
checking on each other's make-up as they wait for their turn to perform for the
crowd.
"A friend invited me here a few months ago," one chatty
spectator says excitedly. "I love this place because it makes me feel at
home".
|
Rashidi Williams is one of Nigeria's few openly gay human
rights activists |
This gathering of members of the gay and lesbian
community in Lagos is held regularly, albeit discreetly, but it could soon be
illegal.
The vast majority of gay Nigerians may not
be interested in this kind of event but they still have to hide their sexuality
in this conservative society.
Whilst already illegal, homosexuality is
widely frowned upon across Nigeria and has been the subject of several bills in
the National Assembly.
The Same-Sex Marriage (Prohibition) Bill
specifically outlaws same-sex unions.
It also bans gatherings of homosexuals
or any other support for gay clubs, organisations, unions or amorous
expressions, whether in secret or in public.
'Repulsive' The bill has been passed by
Nigeria's Senate - the highest chamber - and is now being reviewed by the lower
chamber, the House of Representatives.
If approved, it will be sent
to the president to sign it into law, after which same-sex couples could face up
to 14 years in prison.
But Nigerian homosexuals complain that the stigma
they face is already enough punishment for their way of life.
Kunle (not
his real name), a gay man living in Lagos, is outraged by the proposed law: "How
does a government think that sending someone to prison would change his or her
sexual orientation?
"How logical is that?"One of
Nigeria's few openly gay human rights activists, Rashidi Williams, notes that
the bill seeks to ban something which is already illegal and which no-one is
publicly advocating.
"All we are asking for is to repeal the repressive laws
in this country," he says.
The bill has been condemned abroad - most recently
by Australian lawmakers - making its proponents see this piece of legislation as
a way of protecting Nigerian society from foreign influences.
"Ours is to
weigh the aggregate of opinion - what the majority of Nigerians want," says
Abike Dabiri, a member of the House of Representatives.
"If majority of
Nigerians want same-sex marriage, then why not?"
She adds: "You have a
right to your sexual preference but by trying to turn it into marriage do you
realise you could be infringing on the human rights of the other person who
finds it repulsive?"
In hidingThis view
is echoed on the streets of this country, where religious influences,
particularly from Christianity and Islam, are heavy.
"How do you even become gay, not to mention wanting to
get married to another man?" asks Okechukwu Ikenna, a 33-year-old software
engineer, visibly irritated by the topic.
Friends and family members of gay people
could get implicated if they do not report cases of same-sex unions because they
could be seen as being in support of them.
Critics of the bill also worry
that health workers who provide HIV counselling and treatment to homosexuals
could be committing an offence as well.
However, some of these doctors
say they hardly ever know the sexual orientation of those they attend to because
it is not a requirement for treatment and counselling, and even if the patients
were to reveal that they were homosexuals, it would not affect the quality of
healthcare offered.
Some lawmakers have condemned violence against
homosexuals but this has done little to prevent the growing anxiety among those
the bill would target as its likely adoption, in whatever form,
approaches.
Mr Williams says some gay Nigerians may seek asylum in
countries where homosexual people are accepted, while others will have to go
underground.
At the gay club, despite the jovial atmosphere, there is
heightened caution, and no-one is allowed to take any photos.
The thought
of being identified as being gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender in a country
where the public still turns to mob justice haunts some here.
And that is
a huge concern for Richard (not his real name): "If you don't become discreet
and try to hide yourself, even the man on the street will want to also act on
the bill because it has been passed.
"If you're walking on the street and he
stones you, he knows the law would stand for him because the law is against
you."