*we’ve become endangered specie, young professional cries out from hiding
From Ifeoma Ejiofor
Troubles for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer(LGBTQ) community in Nigeria appear not subsiding any bit yet.
The tongue-in-cheek admittance of the embattled Federal Government of signing the “Samoa Agreement”, which many allege was used as a nasty bait by the West for a whopping One hundred and fifty billion dollar funding didn’t make matters better at all.
The mode of the revelation, admittance, denials and all the ‘yes’ and ‘no’ reasons adduced by government found not to be straight with her citizens did any good to the whole drama. And the situation is really very serious.
The hazy, inconsistent and undefined situation has literally thrown the LGBTQ community in Nigeria under the bus.
Because the unfortunate community, in addition to a debilitating social stigma all over the country, know, just like the rest citizens that the government was insincere because the endorsement of the Samoa Agreement wasn’t out of interest but perhaps due to the dangled Greek gift which virtually no African country could resist.
Else, why signing an agreement it initially rejected, especially knowing that the nation’s citizens were too conservative on issues of the heart, religion and culture/traditions. And all attempts at denial have not helped matters at all. It rather complicated it.
So sad that the community’s hunt by citizens and security operatives seemingly led by the police has left them with a constantly palpitating hearts every second, daily. They have for about a year now gone under, while those with the means and contacts left the country on self exile, for the meantime.
One such victim of the FG’s indecision to come open with a policy stand on the issue to protect LGBTQ members from daily ridicule by citizens was Mr Dosa, Ikenna Ezeanya, a fifty-three year old professional.
He was forced by the daily harrowing threats of arrest by security operatives, often in the dead of the night to change location multiple times.
According to him, he had been to Kano, Lagos, Portharcourt and Asaba from where he was forced to flee the country sometime in May this year.
This running around from one location to another, and even overseas to evade arrest and save his life, he told journalists in a telephone interview from his hidden location, has drained him both mentally and financially. More so that since having to look over his shoulders always has not allowed him settle down to do or concentrate on any meaningful job to earn a living and quality life.
Speaking in another media interview yesterday, Mr Dosa revealed that after the last media parley, the security agents stepped up hunt for the LGBTQ community in Nigeria, especially himself for daring to speak out.
Speaking on his challenges, Dosa noted with sadness that “..things have become so bad for the LGBTQ community that the security agencies, especially the police have been threatening us in their official statements.
“We are no criminals, he declared.
“Our only offence was our sexual lifestyle and inclination, which is not in anyway harmful to anyone. We are not troubling anybody in any way. We carry on with our lives normally like any other Nigerian citizen, and contribute our quota very decently to nation building.
He narrated how he escaped overseas in May 2024 when the heat from the police/citizens harassment became too unbearable. And on his return after some weeks away from limelight, hoping and believing that things would have cooled off. Incidentally the issue of Samoa agreement came up, almost with the religious community particularly calling for government to withdraw from it immediately.
Dosa was particularly piqued by the comments from the spokesman of the Force Headquarters, Mr Olumuyiwa Adejobi who back in January 2024 described the entire LGBT community as “criminals”, whose actions and conducts were punishable under the Nigerian law.
Dosa bemoaned Mr Adejobi’s reaction to a quoted 50-seconds video footage of an unverified boys and girls who had claimed to be LGBTQ members involved in what they stated was an online LGBTQ challenge.
He lamented that the police spokesman’s “tough talk” undeniably encouraged the so-called footage to go viral on the social media. Such that his very worried family members hardly sleep these months for fear of what could happen to him particularly.
Refusing to name his location for fear of being smoked out by police, Dosa cried out to the international community to come to their assistance and intervention, stating that his life has remained in severe danger. He lamented, “the moment my last interview was published, security agents intensified hunt for me…”
While alerting other LGBTQ members to save their lives and leave Nigeria, the young professional disclosed that he was working on his departure.