Sex, citizenship and the state in Nigeria: Islam, Christianity and emergent struggles over intimacy

Abstract

In this article, the author uses the belligerence toward alternative sexualities in Nigeria as a point of departure for a critical appraisal of the terms of inclusion and exclusion in the country's body politic. This belligerence has thrown up a rare alliance of the state, religious leaders and the print media. Attributing this alliance to the postcolonial crisis over the functions of masculinisation and power, the author suggests that anti-gay resentment is a straw man for a ruling elite facing growing socio-economic pressure. This shunting-off of sexual ‘others’ from the terrain of public action has profound implications for the way modern Nigerian citizenship is understood.

[Le sexe, la citoyenneté et l’État au Nigeria : l'Islam, la Chrétienté et les luttes émergentes autour de l'intimité.] Dans cet article, j'utilise la belligérance vers des sexualités alternatives au Nigeria comme un point de départ pour une évaluation critique des termes de l'inclusion ou de l'exclusion de l'organe politique du pays. Cette belligérance a mené à une alliance rare de l’État, des leaders religieux et de la presse papier. Attribuant cette alliance à la crise post-coloniale affectant les fonctions de la masculinisation et du pouvoir, je suggère que le ressentiment anti-gay est un épouvantail pour une élite au pouvoir qui doit faire face à une pression socio-économique croissante. Cet écartements des ‘autres' du terrain de l'action publique a des implications profondes sur la manière dont la citoyenneté moderne nigériane est comprise.

Keywords:

• Nigeria
• sexuality
• citizenship
• state
• Islam
• Christianity

Mots-clés:

• Nigeria
• sexualité
• citoyenneté
• État
• Islam
• Chrétienté

Acknowledgements

I wish to thank Reverend Jide Macaulay Rowland for his generosity with his time, and Janet Bujra, Ashley Currier and Wendy Willems for their comments and criticisms. I dedicate this article to the memory of David Kato (1964–2011).

Note on contributor

Ebenezer Obadare is Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Kansas, Lawrence, USA. Author of numerous essays and book chapters on civil society and the state, religion and politics, and civic service and citizenship in Africa, his two most recent books are The Handbook of Civil Society in Africa (Springer, 2013) and Civic Agency in Africa: Arts of Resistance in the 21st Century (James Currey, 2014), co-edited with Wendy Willems.

Notes

1. ‘Homosexuality’ is used to refer to both gay and lesbian sexual practices; sometimes, I refer to homosexuality and lesbianism whenever I think it is necessary to emphasise. I am not unaware of the debate in the literature on the instability of homosexual/gay identity or identities. For an excellent summary, see Stychin (2005).

2. Two caveats are imperative here in order not to reify the exclusive association of anal sex with men who have sex with men. First, it should be recognised that not all men who sexually desire other men practise anal sex. Second, heterosexuals and women who sexually desire other women may engage in anal sex. In fact, some women sex workers in different African countries have reported a rise in men's request for anal sex.

3. Gaudio (1998), drawing on the work of the sociologist David Greenberg, refers to two models of homosexual relationship: ‘transgenerational’ and ‘egalitarian’. The first entails ‘an unequal distribution of power between sexual partners by virtue of age and, usually, wealth, while “egalitarian” relationships occur between partners who see themselves as social and economic equals’ (122).

4. See “Same Sex Marriage”. The Sun (Lagos), January 22, 2006.

5. Ibid.

6. Paul Omo Obadan (2008)

7. Most visible among them are: Alliance Rights, Changing Attitude of Nigeria, the International Center for Reproductive Health and Sexual Rights, Lifeline Christian Center, Life Link, Alternative Lifestyles Foundation of Nigeria, Center for Health Rights and Development, Africa Regional Sexuality Research Center, Queer Alliance-Nigeria and The Independent Project for Human Rights.

8. See “Nigeria Gay Activists Speak Out.” BBC News. Accessed April 23, 2011. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/7937700.stm

9. See Jideonwo (2011).

10. See sections 214 and 217 of the Nigerian criminal code (Federation of Nigeria 1990).