SOME people have been making a huge fuss about the Samoa Agreement signed recently. They tag it an agreement for the legalisation of gay marriage. They know that it is not true, but that is the extent to which some people with right wing mentality will go to push their oppressive agendas. This also acts as a diversion to the key current struggle over the minimum wage.
This campaign is dominated by some people exuding religious bigotry. We should play no role in it. We need to unite all working peoples in a vibrant campaign for a decent living wage and not allow such campaigns to divert us.
The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has stated clearly that no part of the Samoa Agreement “requires Nigeria to accept or in any way recognise LGBTQ or gay rights”. The Agreement does not mention gay rights, homosexuality or any related words.
The Samoa Agreement does mention and support gender equality. Gender equality means that girls and boys should be treated the same and that men and women, for example, should be paid the same when they do the same work.
The issue of sexual orientation is a completely different issue. Generally, people attacking the Samoa Agreement know this, but they are also against women’s liberation, so they are happy to equate “gender equality” and “homosexuality”. They are lying about the Samoa Agreement as part of their campaign to oppress women and girls.
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Those who are campaigning and making a lot of noise about the Samoa Agreement also claim that it is against African culture and tradition, as if there was only one. There are around 250 ethnic groups in Nigeria each with its own rich and diverse culture and history.
We should celebrate this diversity, but also agree that some parts of this tradition are no longer acceptable, female circumcision, to cite but one example. All cultures are dynamic and accept such changes over time.
Describing one aspect of this rich cultural tapestry, one northern Nigerian man said: “I can speak to the events of the 1900s and especially women marrying women in some parts of Nigeria, especially in the South Eastern Nigeria where I was born, schooled and worked during my career as a trade unionist.
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“Rich Igbo women who had no children of their own often married younger girls and also choose men of their choices to impregnate them and inherit offsprings.”
All socialists should support real gender equality. For this reason, we should be very careful not to support campaigns against the Samoa Agreement.
This campaign is dominated by some people exuding religious bigotry. We should play no role in it. We need to unite all working peoples in a vibrant campaign for a decent living wage and not allow such campaigns to divert us.
Comrade Alex Batubo, a member of Socialist Labour, writes from Abuja. WhatsApp: 09166933998
