A community of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and Intersexed (LGBTQI) Persons in Abuja has urged the National Assembly to Withdraw the crossdresser bill.
Recall that the House of Representatives had on 5 April, 2022 introduced bill titled: “A bill for an act to amend Same Sex Marriage (Prohibition) Act 2023 to prohibit crossdressing and other related matters”, sponsored by Muda Lawal Ulnar which is an amendment to the principal act, seeking to punish offenders with a 6month jail term.
Speaking with newsmen during a peaceful protest on Sunday, a transgender man from the LGBTQI community, Agim Geejay lamented the blackmail and extortion that the LGBTQI community faces, saying that government should rather tackle the issues that face all Nigerians, rather than criminalise LGBTI persons..
“Instead of tackling issues that affect us as humans and as Nigerians, they are rather interested in criminalising us.
“We are here to say no to the SSMPA, we are here to say no to the Crossdresser bill, we’re here to appeal that the SSMPA be repealed because well, we are all human beings and there is nothing wrong with showing love to a fellow human being as long as we are happy and we love who we love. So we are here to say enough is enough to the insecurities in the country.
“The government should rather focus on education, Insecurity, good roads, accountability, instead of looking for ways to criminalise and make people targets because just as the SSMPA became a law, the masses saw that they could just walk up to LGBT persons to mob, blackmail or extort them.”
On the participation of LGBTQI persons in politics and voting, Geejay said, “I don’t know if there are LGBTQI+ candidates yet, but I would say that if you are Queer and you are there and you’re yet to get your PVC, I’ll advise you go get your PVC, so you vote for someone of your choice and not transphobic or homophobic persons or biphobic persons. The government has seen that humans are too focused on the elections and they are trying to get away to divert our attention from the elections by introducing the crossdresser bill. So I will say be alert, be smart. Get your PVC so we can vote.”
A transgender woman and LGBT Rights Activist, Chizoba Okosa who narrated her story, said that she lost her job upon being hardworking because she was seen as an abomination.
She said that SSMPA passed into law in 2014 caused many LGBTQI persons to go into hiding. “Most of us had to run away from the country and most persons were killed and the killings were not documented because there is this feeling that we don’t exist, we are not human beings and it is so sad that the president sees us as people that are not humans.”
“We are tired of everyday oppression. Once upon a time, I couldn’t walk in the streets without people saying lots of things about me. I lost my job because of who I am – being a transgender person. I am a very hardworking person but I lost my job because they saw me as an abomination, I am not an abomination.”
She said that the SSMPA and its amendment “the crossdresser bill”, are infringements on fundamental human rights which have made many LGBTQI persons hide in oppression.
Okosa said, “A lot has been happening in this country: men raping their daughters, ritual killings and so many disgusting things are happening. The latest that happened is the video of a woman having sex with a dog, yet people see my community as an abomination.
“We know that there are so many of our parents, brothers and sisters that are hiding because of laws put in place to oppress them, so we are tired.”
On other strategies the community hopes to adopt in having its voice heard, another LGBTQI person and Rights Activist, Bethel Onyedikachi said, “we have been pushing a lot. We will also continue to push it on social media. We will also continue to push by lobbying the state legislators, lobbying into the Government House, lobbying into the Human Rights Commission for them to also understand that we are humans irrespective of sexuality; our rights matter a lot.”
