US trip: Buhari rejects gay marriage – Presidency

CHRIS EMETOH

The presidency has admitted that the issue of gay marriage came up during President Muhammadu Buhari’s four-day official visit to the United States.

It said the president, however, rejected the idea point blank.

The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, disclosed this on his Twitter handle yesterday.

Adesina said the issue of gay marriage was raised in one of the meetings the president attended in Washington DC on Tuesday.

He, however, refused to disclose which of the meetings attended by the president the issue was raised.

The presidential spokesman said when the issue came up, Buhari made it clear that sodomy is against the law of Nigeria and abhorrent to her culture.

“The issue of gay marriage came up here yesterday (Tuesday). President Muhammadu Buhari was point blank. Sodomy is against the law in Nigeria, and abhorrent to our culture,” Adesina posted on his Twitter handle.

Among the meetings attended by Buhari on Tuesday were the ones he had with the US Secretary of State, John Kerry, and the Nigerians resident in the US.

The fear among stakeholders ahead of Buhari’s US trip was that he could succumb to the US authorities’ pressure on gay rights.

Former President Goodluck Jonathan had, on January 13, 2014, signed the anti-gay marriage into law.

The law prohibits gay marriage and same-sex relationships and prescribes 14 years prison terms for offenders.

Jonathan had defied western governments’ ‎pressure urging Nigeria to respect gay and lesbian rights.

The law, which also proscribes membership of gay rights groups, was passed by the National Assembly in May 2013, but Jonathan had delayed signing it.

Two similar bills have been proposed since 2006 but failed to make it through parliament.

“Persons who enter into a same-sex marriage contract or civil union commit an offence and are each liable on conviction to a term of 14 years in prison.

“Any person who registers, operates or participates in gay clubs, societies and organisations or directly or indirectly makes public show of same-sex amorous relationship in Nigeria commits an offence and shall each be liable on conviction to a term of 10 years in prison,” the law states.

It would be recalled that some United States government officials had described Nigeria’s anti-same sex law as too harsh, noting that there is urgent need for President Muhammadu Buhari to ask the National Assembly to review and repeal the law.

The officials said that the law as passed by the National Assembly was responsible for Nigeria’s seemingly unimpressive relationship with America and the United Kingdom in recent times, adding that repealing the law will boost Nigeria’s chances in the international community led by USA.

But while reacting to the statement, some Nigerian lawmakers in the House of Representatives dismissed it as ‘uttered rubbish’, noting that Nigeria has nothing to lose by standing on the side of morality.

Describing the threat as ‘empty’, the member representing Arochukwu/Ohafia Federal Constituency in Abia State, Hon. Nkole Uko Ndukwe, said that Nigeria is a highly religious country and follows what the Holy Bible and the Holy Quran says.

“For America, that’s their own thinking of liberty, it has nothing to do with us and they cannot impose their laws on us. Although no such thing has been officially communicated to us, so until it is officially communicated to us I am not concerned about,” he stated.

Ndukwe stressed that Nigeria has the potential to rule the world and is richly blessed with both human and natural resources; hence, there is no reason for America to make any pronouncement on Nigeria.

“America has nothing to offer Nigeria, so why do we go cap in hand begging them?” He asked.

Hon. Yusuf Buba Yakubu, representing Gombi/Hong Federal Constituency in Adamawa State, slammed the United States of America for its position, saying that same sex marriage of relationship is an evil thing.

“If I am president I won’t bother to depend solely on any foreign power, but to try to do things on our own. We should use our abundant resources to improve our country. Nigeria has lots of resources that should encourage us rather than scare us. Nigeria has not even utilized one percent of our resources, so we should look inward.”