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Nigerian man to speak tonight on being gay in his native land
29 Jun 2007- Nigeria- The notice on the Anglican Church of Nigeria's
Web site warns of a man named Davis Mac-Iyalla: Anyone relating to him
does so at his or her own risk.
Mac-Iyalla, a 35-year-old openly gay Nigerian, will be in Tucson tonight
as part of a 20-city tour titled "Journey of Truth" to talk about what
it's like to be gay in a country that's considering criminalizing
homosexuality.
That proposed Nigerian law, which would make homosexuality a crime
punishable by prison, has been condemned by the U.S. State Department,
the European Union and the United Nations, though it has been supported
by religious bodies in Nigeria.
Mac-Iyalla says that contrary to what the Anglican Church of Nigeria
claims, he's a devout believer and a faithful member of the church. He
is currently living in exile in Togo because of the death threats he
received in Nigeria since publicly declaring his homosexuality in 2005.
His supporters say he has served as an inspiration to faithful gay
Africans.
"The Nigerian church has a smear campaign against me. As I made progress
in uniting the gay and lesbians in Nigeria the campaign progressed,"
Mac-Iyalla said in an interview this week. "Everything they say about me
is false."
Tonight's talk will be at St. Philip's in the Hills Episcopal Church. On
Thursday night he was scheduled to speak in Phoenix. His Arizona talks
are sponsored by the Episcopal Diocese of Arizona. The Episcopal Church
is the U.S. branch of the 77 million-member worldwide Anglican
Communion. The Anglican Church of Nigeria is also a member of the
communion.
The
Nigerian church's Web site says: "Though some misguided churches,
especially in the Americas and lately in the UK have deviated from the
biblical teaching that homosexuality is highly displeasing to the
creator God, the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) together with
many faithful Anglicans worldwide continue to see the practice as an
aberration that God can and has been delivering willing people from."
In
his talks, Mac-Iyalla has referred to homophobia that Western colonizers
brought to Africa, adding that there are pre-colonial-era Nigerian words
for gay people. The speaking tour, which began June 16, also includes
stops in Chicago, San Francisco, New York, Cleveland and Dallas.
Mac-Iyalla is the founder and director of Changing Attitude Nigeria, a
network of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and heterosexual members
of the conservative Anglican Church of Nigeria. Changing Attitude
Nigeria is the fourth Changing Attitude network, joining others in
England, Scotland and New Zealand.
Since founding the group Mac-Iyalla says he has been disowned by his
church, as well as arrested and beaten, and received death threats.
A
former school principal, Mac-Iyalla says he was fired for being gay. And
though he says he was also actively involved in the Anglican Church of
Nigeria, church leaders now contend he never worshipped with them.
Still, Mac-Iyalla wants to return home someday. And he is certain that
the Anglican Communion will not divide over the issue of homosexuality,
though rumors of a split over a stance on homosexuality continue to
plague the religious body.
"Most of the African bishops are only trying to bully," he said. "I am
speaking out so that gays and lesbians can be safe to live and to
worship in our country without fear."
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