Bisi Alimi Expresses Hope For Nigeria After Drop In Support For Antigay Law

Bisi Alimi Expresses Hope For Nigeria After Drop In Support For Antigay Law

Gay rights activist Bisi Alimi has expressed optimism, after a poll found that support for Nigeria’s anti-gay law is slowly declining.

The poll, taken earlier last week, found that 87 percent of Nigerians support a law criminalizing same-sex relationships went down from 96 percent from a few years ago.

In an interview with GLAAD reporter Claire Pires, Alimi – the founder of the Bisi Alimi Foundation, and the first man to come out on Nigerian television – explains the traditional anti-gay attitude in Nigeria and his hopeful findings through social polling for the national LGBT tolerance rate.

Alimi said: “When the result came out… it dropped from 96 percent to 87 percent. That’s a huge drop! We can’t believe that in Nigeria we get this out.

“If Nigeria, at a population of 170 million people, the most populous black nation in the world, the biggest economy on the continent of Africa, one of the African’s biggest superpowers… if a country like that can be more accepting of social issues… you can imagine what impact that will have on the continent.”

In 2010, 96 percent of Nigerians were in favour of the Same-Sex Marriage Prohibition Act, which forces anyone outwardly involved in the LGBT community to be imprisoned, some for 14 years. President Goodluck Jonathan signed the law quietly in early 2014.

With the help of NOIPolls, by 2015, the group had found the support rate had dropped to 87 percent.

Alimi hopes that, by 2020, it will have decreased further to 60 percent.

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25 Comments

  1. trystham
    July 07, 04:14 Reply

    It did??? It has??? Are u sure they didn’t ask dose ppl applying for visas

    • Ace
      July 07, 04:19 Reply

      Lol… Legit question.

    • Mitch
      July 07, 06:05 Reply

      Exactly, Trystham! This doesn’t just tally with the reality most of us face daily

    • Tiercel de Claron
      July 07, 13:20 Reply

      It has,actually.The drop would have been bigger than this had there been a more positive,concerted effort to change people’s attitudes about gays.At least,have a large majority indifferent if not supportive,by positively engaging them.

  2. Dennis Macaulay
    July 07, 04:39 Reply

    I read this poll and I was cautiously optimistic, I mean I want to know how they did the sampling? Was it an accurate representation of Nigerians? Because the ones I work with, the ones I share a compound with, the ones I share a gym with etc all support the law in very colorful language!

    I dont blame ace for asking if they sampled visa applicants lol

  3. Mitch
    July 07, 06:09 Reply

    Is this a poll of Nigerians living in Europe and America or Nigerians seeking Visas or grassroot Nigerians? I really would like to know

  4. Max
    July 07, 06:24 Reply

    The polls seem to be the opposite in my own circle.. Its just about 99.9%.. The remaining 0.1% is me.

  5. keredim
    July 07, 06:26 Reply

    I thank God, I am not the only one having doubts about the poll.

    I would like to know exactly the wording of the question(s). The one I saw on Twitter was very ambiguous.

  6. Sinnex
    July 07, 07:42 Reply

    This Bisi Alimi guy na correct ‘Baba Dudu’ sha.

  7. Tobi
    July 07, 07:58 Reply

    lol at the comments here

  8. Eros
    July 07, 08:28 Reply

    Well I’m gradually being accepted among my small circle of friends so I cant really complain. Some of them are even looking for a boyfriend for me.

    This is what I was thinking until America legalized gay marriage and I saw the comments on LIB, Nairaland and Bellanaija.

  9. Francis
    July 07, 09:14 Reply

    Hmmm, will those that responded favorably ij the poll stand up for their beliefs when the argument with Christian warlords start? Until then I dey take this poll with pinch of salt.

  10. Khaleesi
    July 07, 09:19 Reply

    Well… if you live in this country and in the last few weeks you havent felt and smelt the intense homophobia in the air,then i wonder under which thick slab of granite you’ve beem hiding. I dont attach much weight to these polls, the questions may have been crafted in a certain way abs certain kinds of people may have been interviewed which gave an appearance of reduction in homophobia,but from what i can see all around me, the morbid hatred of gays that permeates all strata of Nigerian society is here to stay and will be around for a long long long time….

  11. Francis
    July 07, 10:02 Reply

    Na so one of my colleagues corner me yesterday and was like Doctor….. what is this I hear about you not wanting to get married? They will soon start calling you gay oh.

    I turned to her and said ‘I send person message. They can say whatever they want’

    Make you do go America then, she says. Minutes later, she drops ‘abi make I help you find wife?’

    I just giggled and walked away sharply

  12. Diablo
    July 07, 13:30 Reply

    I see that horrible law ricocheting, seeing as its now synonymous with the previous political regime, and Nigerians have expressed their distaste for all things associated with Jonathan’s tenure, plus it could be used as propaganda against the previous party by the reigning party…so lets see how it goes.

    • keredim
      July 07, 14:36 Reply

      I pray you are right, but you might find that this is one thing BOTH political parties agree on

  13. Gad
    July 07, 15:21 Reply

    Once upon a time in America,if you raise a stronger army you invade your neighbours and make them slaves and it was the norm but today its a crime.change is already here.

  14. Lanre S
    July 07, 16:53 Reply

    Of course I sincerely believe Nigerian attitudes will change over time. However the statistical drop here is too fast. Seems like propaganda. Just as the recent rebasing that made Nigeria the biggest economy, or the survey that says unemployment rate is only 6%.

    • Francis
      July 07, 16:56 Reply

      @LanreS unemployment rate 6% ke?! One doesn’t even need to see the so called report to know it’s a blatant lie.

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