Countries in Africa did not try to impose their standards on other countries neither did they compel other countries to adopt their peculiar customs. They choose to live according to what most of them think conforms to their ideals, morals and cultural beliefs as regulated by their laws.
Hence, it would be too colonial to say that laws in Africa are wrong. Just because they don't give in to what minorities are demanding in other countries does not justify ostracizing their leaders.
For instance, a new law was just signed in Nigeria has made it illegal for gay people to even hold a meeting. The Same Sex Marriage Prohibition Act also criminalizes homosexual clubs, associations and organizations, with penalties of up to 14 years in jail.
The act has drawn international condemnation from countries such as the United States and Britain. Why? They don't have business telling Nigerians what they should or should not legislate. Has the United States ratified the International Convention on the Rights of a Child just because other developing countries like Nigeria asked them to?
It was reported that some Nigerian gays already have fled the country because of intolerance of their sexual persuasion, and more are considering leaving, if the new law is enforced. However, the number is so negligible that the country will hardly feel any sense of loss in any form (i.e. economics, arts, etc.) at all.
Nigeria's law may not be considered as draconian as a Ugandan bill passed by parliament last month which would punish "aggravated" homosexual acts with life in prison, but it reflects a highly religious and conservative society that considers homosexuality a deviation. Nigeria is one of 38 African countries — about 70 percent of the continent — that have laws persecuting gay people, according to Amnesty International.
The Associated Press last 13 January 2014 obtained a copy of the Same Sex Marriage Prohibition Act, which was signed by President Goodluck Jonathan and dated 7 January 2014.
It was unclear why the law's passage has been shrouded in secrecy, which is really irrelevant in this case. The copy obtained from the House of Representatives in Abuja, the Nigerian capital, showed it was signed by lawmakers and senators unanimously on 17 December 2013. They may have not announced it, but it is really their decision.
Some have suggested the new law in Nigeria and the proposed one in Uganda are a backlash to Western pressure to decriminalize homosexuality. Several African leaders have warned they will not be dictated to on a subject that is anathema to their culture and religion.
Yahya Jammeh, the president of Gambia, has said homosexuals should be decapitated.
In June, Senegal's president, Macky Sall, argued with Obama about the subject at a news conference. Sall told the AP afterward that other countries should refrain from imposing their values beyond their borders.
"We don't ask the Europeans to be polygamists," Sall said. "We like polygamy in our country, but we can't impose it in yours. Because the people won't understand it. They won't accept it."
Jonathan, Nigeria's president, has not publicly expressed his views on homosexuality. But his spokesman, Reuben Abati, told the AP on Monday night, "This is a law that is in line with the people's cultural and religious inclination. So it is a law that is a reflection of the beliefs and orientation of Nigerian people. ... Nigerians are pleased with it." Abati said he has heard of no Nigerian demonstrations against the law.
The few Nigerian gays and human rights activists who tried to give evidence last year during the debate in the House of Assembly were heckled and booed until one broke into tears and another could not be heard.
Nigerians are the least tolerant nation when it comes to gays, with 98 percent surveyed saying society should not accept homosexuality, according to a study of 39 nations around the world by the U.S. Pew Research Center.
Under Nigeria's new law, it is now a crime to have a meeting of gays, to operate or go to a gay club, society or organization, or make any public show of affection.
In a recent interview, Makanjuola, the executive director of the Initiative For Equality in Nigeria, had said: "If that bill passes, it will be illegal for us to even be holding this conversation."
The law now says, "A person who registers, operates or participates in gay clubs, societies or organizations, or directly or indirectly makes public show of same-sex amorous relationship in Nigeria commits an offense and is liable on conviction to a term of 10 years."
Anyone convicted of entering into a same-sex marriage contract or civil union faces up to 14 years imprisonment.
Some critics have suggested the anti-gay law was designed to distract attention from Nigeria's many troubles, and to win Jonathan favor with powerful churches that influence voters. His party has fractured ahead of 2015 elections over his expected plan to run for re-election, but crtics are quick to rely, "so what?"
Nigeria is enduring an Islamic uprising in the northeast that has killed thousands of people, deadly ethnic-religious clashes in the center of the country, and renewed militancy in the oil-rich south, where activists are demanding a bigger share of oil wealth, which is now being squandered by widespread corruption.
Makanjuola said those who will suffer most under the new law are poor gay Nigerians. Many rich ones have left the country, or say they will fly elsewhere to have sex, she said.
The court of the European Union recently ruled that laws such as Nigeria's could provide grounds for political asylum. This will most probably open the floodgates for more open migration to Europe, which does not bother African nations at all.
Hence, it would be too colonial to say that laws in Africa are wrong. Just because they don't give in to what minorities are demanding in other countries does not justify ostracizing their leaders.
For instance, a new law was just signed in Nigeria has made it illegal for gay people to even hold a meeting. The Same Sex Marriage Prohibition Act also criminalizes homosexual clubs, associations and organizations, with penalties of up to 14 years in jail.
The act has drawn international condemnation from countries such as the United States and Britain. Why? They don't have business telling Nigerians what they should or should not legislate. Has the United States ratified the International Convention on the Rights of a Child just because other developing countries like Nigeria asked them to?
It was reported that some Nigerian gays already have fled the country because of intolerance of their sexual persuasion, and more are considering leaving, if the new law is enforced. However, the number is so negligible that the country will hardly feel any sense of loss in any form (i.e. economics, arts, etc.) at all.
Nigeria's law may not be considered as draconian as a Ugandan bill passed by parliament last month which would punish "aggravated" homosexual acts with life in prison, but it reflects a highly religious and conservative society that considers homosexuality a deviation. Nigeria is one of 38 African countries — about 70 percent of the continent — that have laws persecuting gay people, according to Amnesty International.
The Associated Press last 13 January 2014 obtained a copy of the Same Sex Marriage Prohibition Act, which was signed by President Goodluck Jonathan and dated 7 January 2014.
It was unclear why the law's passage has been shrouded in secrecy, which is really irrelevant in this case. The copy obtained from the House of Representatives in Abuja, the Nigerian capital, showed it was signed by lawmakers and senators unanimously on 17 December 2013. They may have not announced it, but it is really their decision.
Some have suggested the new law in Nigeria and the proposed one in Uganda are a backlash to Western pressure to decriminalize homosexuality. Several African leaders have warned they will not be dictated to on a subject that is anathema to their culture and religion.
Yahya Jammeh, the president of Gambia, has said homosexuals should be decapitated.
In June, Senegal's president, Macky Sall, argued with Obama about the subject at a news conference. Sall told the AP afterward that other countries should refrain from imposing their values beyond their borders.
"We don't ask the Europeans to be polygamists," Sall said. "We like polygamy in our country, but we can't impose it in yours. Because the people won't understand it. They won't accept it."
Jonathan, Nigeria's president, has not publicly expressed his views on homosexuality. But his spokesman, Reuben Abati, told the AP on Monday night, "This is a law that is in line with the people's cultural and religious inclination. So it is a law that is a reflection of the beliefs and orientation of Nigerian people. ... Nigerians are pleased with it." Abati said he has heard of no Nigerian demonstrations against the law.
The few Nigerian gays and human rights activists who tried to give evidence last year during the debate in the House of Assembly were heckled and booed until one broke into tears and another could not be heard.
Nigerians are the least tolerant nation when it comes to gays, with 98 percent surveyed saying society should not accept homosexuality, according to a study of 39 nations around the world by the U.S. Pew Research Center.
Under Nigeria's new law, it is now a crime to have a meeting of gays, to operate or go to a gay club, society or organization, or make any public show of affection.
In a recent interview, Makanjuola, the executive director of the Initiative For Equality in Nigeria, had said: "If that bill passes, it will be illegal for us to even be holding this conversation."
The law now says, "A person who registers, operates or participates in gay clubs, societies or organizations, or directly or indirectly makes public show of same-sex amorous relationship in Nigeria commits an offense and is liable on conviction to a term of 10 years."
Anyone convicted of entering into a same-sex marriage contract or civil union faces up to 14 years imprisonment.
Some critics have suggested the anti-gay law was designed to distract attention from Nigeria's many troubles, and to win Jonathan favor with powerful churches that influence voters. His party has fractured ahead of 2015 elections over his expected plan to run for re-election, but crtics are quick to rely, "so what?"
Nigeria is enduring an Islamic uprising in the northeast that has killed thousands of people, deadly ethnic-religious clashes in the center of the country, and renewed militancy in the oil-rich south, where activists are demanding a bigger share of oil wealth, which is now being squandered by widespread corruption.
Makanjuola said those who will suffer most under the new law are poor gay Nigerians. Many rich ones have left the country, or say they will fly elsewhere to have sex, she said.
The court of the European Union recently ruled that laws such as Nigeria's could provide grounds for political asylum. This will most probably open the floodgates for more open migration to Europe, which does not bother African nations at all.