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Draconian
anti-gay Nigerian bill: Did Outrage! Harm campaign with press release?
07 Mar 2007- The draconian Bill that effectively
outlaws homosexuality in Nigeria could be on the statute book this
month, a gay Nigerian activist said in London yesterday.
Bisi Alimi, the executive director of the Independent
Project who is in London attending an HIV/Aids conference, said: “The
Bill is very political – it is expected to pass.”
Mr. Alimi is one of the relatively few openly gay men in
the country and was “outed” three years ago in a university newspaper.
The Nigerian Parliament will go into recess later this
month as the country prepares for a general election in mid-April.
It was just a year ago that the proposals for the Bill
came to light following a press release from Human Rights Watch in New
York.
Almost immediately, parliamentarians in the European
Parliament condemned the Bill, calling for its withdrawal. A number of
individual countries also joined the protest.
Since March 2006, a host of articles have been posted on
the internet by both the gay and mainstream press.
But it was not until a press release was issued in London
by Outrage! that there were any rumblings of discontent and suggestions
that the release was a ‘wake-up call’ for the Nigerian government.
The press release in question was distributed only days
after the Wall Street Journal in America had highlighted the
Nigerian Bill, and three weeks after the Associated Press news
agency had distributed a article, published in a number of
highly-regarded newspapers such as the International Herald Tribune
and even on some African gay websites, explaining the Bill and it’s
ramifications through the eyes of Mr. Alimi and two friends.
About the same time, the Washington Post published
a similar article by Katharine Houreld and headlined “Anti-Gay
Legislation Considered In Nigeria”.
Despite these articles, there was no request from
activists in Nigeria to “play down” the Bill and let them handle a
low-key campaign from within the country.
It was the Outrage! press release that caused a furore,
with a number of gay and lesbian ‘list-servs’ carrying items of
condemnation – and defence – of the London group.
Outrage! immediately ceased their ‘Nigeria campaign’ with
an apology and a note that no one had informed the group that the
campaign should be stopped.
The big question is whether or not the Outrage! press
release did any ‘damage’, as has been claimed, with some even suggesting
that the Bill was ‘dormant’ until the press release was issued.
Mr. Alimi said that he felt the January press release
issued by Outrage! had not, in itself, done any harm to the campaign
against the Bill.
But he said that it was the aftermath, when the
London-based gay human right group was accused of acting alone without
the knowledge of Nigerian and American gay groups when the press release
was issued, that was widely reported – especially an emailed statement
from almost two dozen human rights groups on the African continent who
were meeting in Nairobi, Kenya..
The email said: “Over the past ten months, Human Rights
Defenders from the region and elsewhere have exercised a lot of formal
and informal pressure on Nigerian law-makers to make sure the bill did
not get passed into law. Until Outrage!'s action was issued, the bill
was dead. By calling on people to begin a campaign at this stage,
interest could be awakened in the bill. Outrage! is acting
irresponsibly and in direct contradiction to the advice of leaders of
the Nigerian LGBTI movement.”
Mr. Alimi told UK Gay News that, in his opinion,
it was the claim that “the bill was dead that did more to inflame the
situation”.
“The Outrage! article did not do any major harm,” he
insisted.
“I don’t speak for anyone but myself,” he said. “I do
things my way.”
“Some people are trying to be superstars,” Mr. Alimi
suggested.
However, another Nigerian activist who was not a
signatory to the ‘Nairobi Statement’ did admit by email that there could
have been better communication between London and Nigeria before the
Outrage! press release was issued.
Writing under conditions of anonymity, he said: “People
have been saying so many things about this Bill and the strategy used so
far, but my thinking is that, look, this is a very sensitive bill sent
to the Parliament by the government in power.
“So the lawmakers couldn’t have just ignored it, appeal
or no appeal, with or without Tatchell’s press release.
“Because it is a sensitive bill as I said, there is the
tendency for people to pass the buck either by laying the blame on one
party or the other or taking the praise depending on the outcome of the
process.
“Peter Tatchell acted in good faith and didn’t intend any
harm It made me sad to know he was portrayed [in such a] way, even
though there could have been gaps here and there in terms of
communication. Nothing tells me that this bill couldn’t have come up
even without Peter Tatchell’s release.”
HERO
Bisi Alimi admitted that Peter Tatchell has been one of
his heroes for a number years.
“It has always been my dream to meet him – and my dream
came true this week.”
He said that, after a lengthy meeting, he found Mr.
Tatchell to be a very humble person who was dedicated to helping others.
“Peter is feeling very guilty about [the accusations
being levelled], he said.
Mr. Alimi said that he had learned a lot as a result of
the meeting. “Peter has got a lot of knowledge on gay rights and he is
very willing to share his knowledge.”
■ Kizza Musinguzi, African affairs spokesperson for
OutRage! and a Ugandan gay rights activist, said of the allegations that
have been made about Mr. Tatchell and Outrage! in the past six weeks:
“These are untrue, sectarian allegations.
“They are made mostly by people who have never had any
contact with Peter Tatchell or OutRage! Since we have not run any
campaigns about their countries, how can they accuse us of treating them
badly? They have been fed lies about us by people who are jealous of
OutRage!’s effective campaigns.
“OutRage! acted in good faith, with the sole intention of
supporting our brothers and sisters in Africa. Most African groups
recognise this. Only a small minority signed the letter.
“We continue to work with all the Nigerian gay groups and
with two of the Ugandan gay groups. We enjoy their confidence and
support,” said Mr Musinguzi.
Peter Tatchell said that he had “worked in solidarity”
with African gay groups for 20 years.
“Until now, none have complained or criticised me. All
have appreciated the support I have given their campaigns,” he said.
“These wicked smears have been orchestrated by political
opponents who are trying to discredit me and OutRage!,” he suggested.
“A week before these activists denounced us, we halted
our Nigerian campaign. We have not campaigned on Uganda for five
months.
“This is a vendetta. It has nothing to do with advancing
gay rights. Certain groups seem more interested in fighting other
activists than in fighting homophobia. Their petty jealousies and
political sectarianism is undermining the campaign for gay equality in
Africa,” he concluded.
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