The Senate during the week
passed the anti Same-Sex Marriage Bill prohibiting all marriages between man
and man and between woman and woman.
The Bill sponsored by Senator
Magnus Abe, PDP, Rivers, prescribes 14 years jail term for anybody convicted of
contracting marriage between same sex.
It also prescribed 10 years for
anybody convicted of aiding and abetting the contraction of same sex marriage
in Nigeria and also nullifies certificate of same sex marriage contracted
outside the shores of Nigeria.
The act also kicked against the
operation of gay clubs in Nigeria with a punishment of 10 years jail term
without option of fine for anybody guilty of operating gay clubs within the
country.
In 2008, Saturday Vanguard
reported a story about a gay Reverend Rowland who was running a church secretly
in Nigeria. The Church called House of Rainbow was situated at No 36/38 Yakoyo
street, Ojodu Berger, Lagos. Reverend Roland some time ago reportedly appeared
on Cable Network News, CNN, where he proudly talked about his church of gays.
The initial reaction about his
exposure was that such a church could not exist within Nigeria as such things
are common outside the country.
But an uproar in the Anglican
communion in Europe on gay bishops brought up the case of Reverend Rowland, a
Nigerian, and was residing in Lagos. He was also operating his gay church in
Lagos.
In his plot 145 flat 1, Jakande
Estate, Isolo, Lagos, where Rev. Rowland Olajide Macaulay, the gay pastor
lived, the apartment was locked. It was learnt that the Reverend had left his
house on Saturday, September 13, immediately after a national newspaper carried
the story of his homosexual church.
According to the neighbours,
the Sunday service was unable to hold both at the Jakande Estate branch and the
Ojodu headquarters of House of Rainbow Ministries after that publication.
Right now, Rev. Rowland has
relocated abroad where he is presently running his gay church,”House Of Rainbow
Fellowship”.
According to him, “ My Church
is a voice of the younger generation of citizens, activists, and diaspora, and
our collective belief in a more progressive Nigeria. They are afraid of our
growing influence as we gather allies not just from the West, a people that are
not afraid but powerful and resilient.
“Right now, they are spreading
their tentacles to every village, town and city around the world”. The Church
is also calling on faithful and dedicated local leaders who believe in
homosexuality and lesbianism. Ten House Of Rainbow Fellowship local leaders are
in Ghana, Nigeria, UK, Burundi, and Lesotho.
According to the gay
pastor, “any negative effect on the anti-gay bill will have detrimental
effect on the work and mission of House Of Rainbow in Nigeria. The lives of
LGBTI people and their friends, families and allies will be further frustrated
with fear and prejudice. We need to pray and stand up against injustice”.
Nigeria is kicking against the
practice of same sex marriage where homosexuality is punishable by up to 14
years in prison, so it might be a terrible time for both gay and religious
leaders who are in support of this practice.
Meanwhile, Rev Rowland Jide
Macaulay, the gay minister who founded the church, is leading a comeback even
though he remains in self-imposed exile in London.
”Religion is a backbone to life
in Nigeria, so we all want to go to church,” he said. “But we don’t want to lie
to God about who we are.”
Macaulay first set up House of
Rainbow in 2006, where he openly held Sunday services in a Lagos hotel hall
decorated in rainbow colours. A public backlash culminated in members being
beaten as they left the church. Macaulay fled to the UK after receiving death
threats.
This year, he has recruited a
small team that includes his local leaders in Lagos in his voluntary role.
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| Rev. Ronald |
The project could even spread
beyond the borders of Africa’s most populous country. Macaulay has recently
recruited a local leader in Accra, the capital of nearby Ghana. He is considering
applications from Rwanda and Zimbabwe.
Pentecostal pastors often see
gay desire as the work of demons. “You might start casually but, once you get
into it, you will be possessed by the spirit,” said Emmanuel Owoyemi, a pastor
in Lagos.
Meanwhile, in the 12 sharia
states in the North, gay sex carries the death penalty, although no executions
have yet taken place.
A national anti-gay marriage
bill, which pushes for jail sentences for anyone who even assists gay marriage,
has been before Nigeria’s parliament since 2009 and was passed recently
prohibiting the practice. Macaulay, however, is not taking any chances this
time.
Prayer sessions are being held
in secret locations. No unknown newcomers are being admitted. He continues to
preach via YouTube from London – he thinks it would be unwise to return home.
“We have learnt our lesson,” he said. “It is a hostile situation.”
Being gay is regarded as an
offence across much of Africa.......
Apart from being on the wrong
side of the law, many homosexual Nigerians say exclusion from church is one of
the hardest parts of being gay. ”We are brought up to believe that you should
belong to a religion. We feel that, if we don’t go to church, God will not
answer our prayers,” says a young gay man in Abuja, .
