The Sexuality Blog: Don’t forget what GEJ did when he needed a Hail Mary

Welcome to 2017 and in a few months, the second year of President Buhari’s tenure as president will be gone. Save for a handful of projects and state governors who have impressed. The majority of the promises on which Buhari sailed to power have remained that, promises. The economy in the throes of Nigeria’s biggest depression, none of the political and socio-economic reform we wanted has happened. Instead Buhari has slowly militarized many arms of the para-military arms of law enforcement, made a show of arresting people on grounds of corruption but convicted no one and travelled the world on taxpayer’s naira.

Four years ago, former president Goodluck Jonathan was in a similar predicament. Accusations of widespread corruption and the assertion that he had no idea how to truly assert himself as a president had trailed his unanimous win after the presidency literally fell in his lap. Jonathan and the national senate needed something interesting and somewhat controversial to rally Nigeria’s influencers (mostly religious and social leaders) behind and they came up with the one thing that always succeeds when everything else fails; Protecting our African Culture.

We were told that our fragile but prestigious African culture was under threat by the evil West who had already destroyed their own ‘American culture’ by granting basic human rights to sexual minorities. They told us that the Evil West had done it’s very worst by granting marriage equality rights to LGBT couples seeking to wed. The ‘Gay Agenda’ finally implemented there, they were bringing it here. Our senators, pockets filled with bogus senate allowances and salaries and completely inured from the reality of the average Nigerian by this wealth decided this was a judicious use of our time.

It wasn’t hard to get our religious leaders behind this cause, and by the end of the year hate speech was heard in many mosques and churches and the debate shifted from the incompetence of the government to the bravery of government to defy the United States and European Union and risk losing all the money in Aid that they give, live saving money that often provides the healthcare and education our senate is too busy to even consider advocating for. Goodluck Jonathan’s government was suddenly brave.

The law denying LGBT people basic human rights was passed. Jonathan became a hero of sorts, the law became his legacy. It is a legacy he has slowly distanced himself from once he was out of power, via social media and in talks he is paid to give around the world. Even his most vehement aide Reuben Abati in December 2016 gave a talk at a TIERS Nigeria conference about advocating for the protection of sexual minorities. That kind of U-turn is enough to make your head spin. But once you don’t have direct access to oil money, that ‘Evil West’ money starts to look mighty good.

Thus far President Buhari has been too busy chasing corrupt officials to really need a hail Mary. But he will soon, Nigerians are entirely fed up. Who will he put on the chopping block to prop up his image. LGBT people? Women? The future of Children?

We can only wait and see.

Leave a reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

cool good eh love2 cute confused notgood numb disgusting fail