Teaching about homosexualities to Nigerian university students: a report from the field

Abstract

Nigeria’s diverse cultures, religions and political parties appear to be unified by a strong taboo against homosexuality and gay rights. This has affected academic research, HIV/AIDS programmes, and sexuality education, all which commonly show evidence of heterosexism, self-censorship and even explicit condemnations of homosexuality. Yet a dissident discourse in Nigeria, as well as research from elsewhere in the region, suggests that this appearance of unity may belie greater openness to the issues than assumed. Indeed, research shows that (1) many African societies are traditionally more accommodating toward non-normative sexualities than contemporary nationalist or cultural claims would allow, and (2) secretive ‘bisexuality’ is more common in practice (and tacitly acknowledged) than previously understood. Is it possible then that the presumption of homophobia and the fear of backlash that has clearly contributed to heterosexism and self-censorship in scholarship around homosexualities in Nigeria are exaggerated? Is it possible that Nigerians may be more open to consideration of scientific evidence and international best practices around sexual diversity, rights, and health than is commonly assumed in the literature? A trial intervention at a small state university in a predominantly rural area of Nigeria tested these questions by introducing wide-ranging, frank and non-judgemental (science-based) discussions of same-sex sexuality in several classes. Analysis of the students’ feedback finds that stigmatising attitudes toward homosexuality were indeed present among the students. However, there was also a high degree of curiosity, awareness of the existence of secretive homosexualities in Nigeria, desire for education, and confidence that traditional cultures and Nigerian democracy could accommodate individual freedom and sexual rights. The conclusion is that well-prepared researchers and educators could be less anxious and self-censoring around the topic of homosexuality than prevails at present. Careful attention would need to be paid to local sensibilities, but sexuality and HIV education programmes could probably be brought closer into line with world guidelines on best practices and comprehensive approaches to human sexuality education and sexual health.

Keywords:

• queer theory
• development studies
• sexualities education
• difference and diversity
• participatory methods
• higher education
• inclusive education

Notes

See Asuni, Schoenberg, and Swift (1975/1994), Aken’ova (2002), and Allman et al. (2007). Terminology and theorisation of the plural and historical nature of same-sex practices and identities employed here follow usage on the activist websites cited in Note 2, as well as Murray (2000), Epprecht (2008) and GALZ (2008).

See Minchakpu (2009), Brown (2009), and Gaudio (2009). It should be noted that Nigeria is not necessarily the worst in the above but adheres to a trend observed elsewhere in Africa since the 1990s – in Zimbabwe and Uganda most notoriously. See reports filed by the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (information by country), http://www.iglhrc.org/site/iglhrc/section.php?id=5&Area=Africa&DocType=&Issues=&Country (accessed July 8, 2008) and Behind the Mask, http://www.mask.org.za/index.php (Africa by country). Some theories to explain this upsurge in homophobic politics include jostling for moral authority between Christianity and Islam, scapegoating an easily stereotyped minority to detract attention from the manifest broader failings of governance or economic structural adjustment policies, opportunism and incitement by ‘conservative’ American missionaries in Africa, and rivalry for continental leadership between Nigeria and South Africa. The latter, alone on the continent, has a constitution that explicitly protects sexual minorities and that has been widely praised in the West (where Nigeria has been harshly criticised). See Anele (2006), Dunton and Palmberg (1996), Aarmo (1999), Hoad (2007) and Kaoma (2009).

Christian Purefoy (CNN), ‘Gay Christians in Nigeria’, http://edition.cnn.com/video/#/video/world/2008/07/17/purefoy.nigeria.gay.church.cnn (accessed July 29, 2008). To be sure, this underplays the extent of discreet ministry to an estimated 3000 closeted Nigerians since 2006. A planned national outreach campaign in alliance with MCC churches worldwide is likely to result in significant expansion of these numbers (Rev. Rowland Jide Macauley, personal communication). See Note 7 on the population estimate.

For example, promising to ‘eliminate all stereotypes in textbooks, syllabuses and the Media’ that contribute to discrimination against women, including through the ‘elimination of harmful cultural and traditional practices’ (http://www.africa-union.org/root/au/Documents/Treaties/Text/Protocol%20on%20the%20Rights%20of%20Women.pdf, accessed July 7, 2008). The Youth Charter, signed in 2007 although not yet ratified, promises to ‘Institute comprehensive programmes to prevent the transmission of sexually transmitted infections and HIV/AIDS by providing education, information, communication and awareness creation as well as making protective measures and reproductive health services available’ (http://www.africa-union.org/root/au/Documents/Treaties/Text/African_Youth_Charter.pdf). The leading non-governmental organisation working towards these objectives in Nigeria is the International Centre for Reproductive Health and Sexual Rights (INCRESE; http://www.increse.org).

See http://www.africasexuality.org/ (accessed March 11, 2008).

See Kendall (1998) and Morgan and Wieringa (2005) among several studies from around the continent that make this point.

Figures published by UNAIDS and the WHO appear to be ‘lowballed’ compared to estimates given by Nigerian health officials at the third Africa conference on sexual rights. Going by the CIA world factbook estimates of 2009 (http://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ni.html, accessed April 7, 2009), the numbers of Nigerians with HIV/AIDS could easily be over seven million.

We are: Epprecht (a Canadian historian who has done research on homosexualities in Africa – Epprecht 2004, 2008, principally) and Egya (a Nigerian scholar, poet and faculty member then at the university under study). Egya has written about the debates around sexual diversity in a discussion of the work of a mutual friend, a Nigerian lesbian (see Egya 2007). Epprecht was in Nigeria for the aforementioned conference on sexual rights and health where he presented a summary of his research.

Pertinent research on anti-homophobia and anti-colonial pedagogy includes Mager and Sulek (1997), Calixthe (2005), Vidal-Ortiz (2006), and van Dijk and van Driel (2007), also developed in Epprecht’s reflections on pro-feminist approaches to teaching in Zimbabwe (Epprecht 2007).

The relevant guidelines on research ethics can be found at http://www.nhrec.net/nhrec/html and http://www.pre.ethics.gc.ca/english/index.cfm. From the former, the initiative clearly falls under the category of ‘exempt’ from the need to obtain prior approval from the National Heath Research Ethics Committee, Nigeria. Despite this, and despite openness to the issue expressed at the Abuja conference, the broader context of political homophobia in the country advised us (for now) not to name the university.

Innumerable instances of this ‘explanation’ can be found in popular discourse. An important early example is found in the work of pan-Africanist intellectual Cheikh Anta Diop (1960).

Many also put their names on it, which in itself indicates low fear of retribution. Those names were immediately whited out to conceal identities and raw data were stored in accordance with the Tri-Council ethical guidelines noted above. The code to identify papers is: either F or M (female, male), plus either X or M (Christian and Muslim) where known, and NI (no information), followed by a number.

See, for example, Tessman (1921/1998) and Niehaus (2002) for evidence of this apparently widespread belief, also affirmed in the Nigerian context by personal communication with Rev. Macauley (14 July 2008), and asserted in Ikpe (2009).