It is a thing of wonder to watch Nigerians wax end time biblical when matters of sexuality arise. They are quick to pen down thousand tweet threads, multi-page posts on Facebook meticulously detailing every graphic fantasy they have about beheading and dismembering ‘homosexuals’. It is even more fascinating when you see Nigerian intellectuals and thought leaders do it, or when they wait for someone else to do it and then retweet or like, hoping that since they didn’t say it themselves, they have somehow masked their level of disgust for people whose only difference from them is sexual orientation. They are however making one incredibly stupid mistake; they are saying these things on the Internet. And if everything we know about the internet and going viral is true, everyone eventual learns one thing: the Internet never forgets.

Case in point: Ben Tracy, former ‘body man’ of the Governor of American state Illinois, Bruce Rauner.

A ‘Body Man’ is a right-hand aide to the governor, a man who spends all his time with the governor, ensuring his itinerary is followed and errands are made. When you work as a body man for an influential American politician you end up meeting millions of influential Americans and forming bonds with them, bonds you can use for the rest of your life. But Tracy was fired just one day after he resumed. Before Rauner could fully appreciate how big and vast the internet has become, Tracy spent all his time insulting sexual minorities and people from other races, promising to violent rape some people as a means of dental care and called Indian women a bad word. Safe to say, Tracy might never work in government again.

This is why it is quite interesting to see all these people who intend to move abroad and start a new life in progressive countries, think that their social media hatred and discrimination will go unnoticed. Who is to say it is going unnoticed now, as you apply for jobs where you have no idea the manager is gay.

The internet really never forgets, so perhaps it is time you started educating yourself and keeping your mouth shut.

Editor