Ethan Regal tells his personal story of living in Nigeria as a gay man:


When I was a young boy in Lagos, Nigeria, I had a mysterious, unexplainable tingling sensation whenever I saw an attractive guy. The stories I heard regarding romance involved a boy and girl. So I thought to myself: maybe I’m a girl deep down. That seemed like the only explanation for my attraction. 

I kept thinking that may be God made a mistake. Perhaps I was meant to be a girl. I never had issues with my body. I wasn’t interested in getting rid of my penis or growing breasts. I just thought that in order to be with a boy I have to be a girl.

Gay people in Nigeria were invisible - constantly hiding. We never had TV series or movies with gay characters so I was confused. All I knew was that people discussed homosexuality with so much disgust. 

At the age of nine or ten, depression kicked in as I realised my family would hate me if they learnt the truth. Even in school, I was bullied by classmates. My friends made fun of my femininity. I tried to blend in by playing sports but I was terrible. I had only one friend and he was feminine as well - but not gay. The two of us were frequently bullied, physically and emotionally. Most nights we contemplated suicide. We even talked about poisoning the guys who attacked us. It sounds crazy but picture yourself in a boarding house stuck in there day and night for months with boys relentlessly attacking you.

Here in Nigeria I haven’t met a single gay guy, at least not one that I know of. I have tried chatting to some men through Grindr but I fear someone might track me and arrest or kill me. 

Although I’ve been chatting online with a guy for a year we’ve never met. He advised me that the best way to survive is to live a sexless life. There’s no one to trust and if you get HIV securing proper treatment is very rare. Yes, it’s that bad.

I have spent most of my life living in fear. I have very little freedom in Nigeria.

Life is dangerous. I saw a video at an online news site where two suspected gay men were being beaten to death with planks of wood; their blood splattered on the ground. I saw the crowd watching. Kids were among the onlookers. No one did anything to stop their murder. 

Another video I watched this year shows a mob surrounding two naked men in a derelict building; forcing them to have sex as a way of degrading them. One naked man tugs the penis of the other on the orders of the vigilantes. The eyes of the naked men flicker through the crowd with fear. A member of the crowd punches the man whose penis is being tugged and shouts at him to become erect and penetrate the other man. Once erect, he enters him. One of onlookers asks, “Has it entered?” Everyone in the crowd is recording this moment on their phones. This is Port Harcourt, Nigeria, in 2014. The vigilantes are, apparently, 'normal' people, yet they are deliberately terrorising and humiliating two men suspected of homosexuality.

My mother told me about a gay man who flirted with a male hairdresser at a salon. The hairdresser wasn’t gay and immediately took offence. He yelled and alerted a crowd of people who gathered around the gay man, hurling insults and assaulting him.  

There was a time when newspapers published the names, addresses and photographs of some of the House of Rainbow Metropolitan Community Church members. It’s an LGBT-friendly church and several members were threatened and beaten. 

I know about gay men being raped and the gang rape of a lesbian - all by straight men. This isn’t about sex or sexual orientation. It’s all about power, violence and malicious homophobic abuse.  

Early this year, suspected gays in the northern part of Nigeria were reportedly caught and stoned to death. The consensus is that homosexuals deserve it, and that the country needs to be cleansed.

 Also, I’ve heard about guys who flirt with gay men just to lure them into a death-trap. They deceive the gay guy and invite him to a certain place where other homophobes are waiting to attack. I think this was how a guy I used to chat with on Grindr died. His corpse was found in pool of blood in a hotel room that was booked by some guy and his friend.

When the anti-gay Bill was passed by President Goodluck Jonathan earlier this year, he had a lot of supporters. Most Nigerians claimed it was the only way to avoid the country becoming the modern Sodom and Gomorrah. They forgot that in Genesis 19, when the men from Sodom besieged Lot’s house, they wanted to gang rape the angels which had come in the form of men. Lot offered them his daughters instead but they refused. It wasn’t about homosexuality. 

Among those supporting the new homophobic legislation were the Christian Association of Nigeria, Ndigbo Cultural Society of Nigeria, Adada Media Forum and Jama’atu Nasril Islam. Prominent individual backers included the national publicity secretary of Arewa Consultative Forum, Anthony Sani; Senator Rowland Owie; and Director of Social Communications at the Catholic Archdiocese of Lagos, Monsignor Gabriel Osu. 

Elder statesman and veteran politician, Alhaji Tanko Yakasai, said: “President Jonathan should be commended for taking a bold step to sign the Bill into law. Same-sex marriage is not only alien to Nigeria but to the entire African continent.”

The Ndigbo Cultural Society of Nigeria president, Chief Udo Udeogaranya, said the new homophobic law would preserve and sustain African culture. But he wants the government to go further: 

“We urge members of the National Assembly and the President to consider filtering and censoring programmes being disseminated into the country from the Western media, as another major step in protecting our young ones from immoral and uncultured views.”

There’s poverty, poor education and a high unemployment rate in Nigeria but the government chooses to focus on homosexuality. 

This is a country where people die from Boko Haram bomb explosions, car accidents due to bad roads, a high crime rate and poor healthcare, yet the majority of people support the government's claim that homosexuality is the main issue in Nigeria. You can only argue against this anonymously and online. Anyone who does so is bombarded with abuse and accused of being gay.

I’m sick of hearing this homophobia - and hiding. I’m speaking out because keeping quiet hasn’t done us any good. I’m speaking out because I had a taste of freedom for the first time when I was studying in England and I want to taste it again. I want it to linger this time. I want to share that freedom with other gays in Nigeria. I want everyone to be proud of who they are. The majority of Nigerians need to be properly educated. Their fear is a product of misunderstanding. 

I have argued with some homophobic Nigerians and from what I noticed they hate gays because they were told to hate us by their religion. They also think: “Gay people are not like us, therefore they are bad.” 

They have zero clue what it’s like to be gay, which from my perspective gives them a better reason not to judge. Besides isn’t it a sin to judge? Isn’t it a sin to kill? Jesus stopped those men from stoning the adulteress in the Bible but these Nigerians, these Africans persecuting homosexuals in the name of God, have forgotten the actual the word of God. 

I know I’m not safe; none of us are. If we aren’t being persecuted we’re living in another hell, pretending each day that we’re just like everyone else. Lying to ourselves and depriving ourselves of a brighter future. Do we want to spend our lives sexless? If we get into a relationship do we want it to be hidden forever? Most of us want to have kids? How do we get there? That’s why I’m speaking up.

•    Ethan Regal lives in Nigeria. His name is a pseudonym to protect him from violent reprisals.





http://us5.campaign-archive2.com/?u=4379a080f75712b27b8aa2fbd&id=c22ddc8947

ethan regel should go to another country where deviants like him are overnight celebrities. this gay issue is becoming unbearing lately......out of the 1 million & 1 problems in nigeria, being hömoerotic is getting too much attention.

ethan should shut it.....

God oooo, this story is long shaaa. And as for that dude, he shud park well

Ethan must've forgotten to mention our senate president David Mark as one of the vocal proponents of 'kill the gays' law.

To think people are even rooting for that fossil to become president in the future...yuck!

Coogar, u should shut it.the country belongs to all of us

beryl04:
Ethan must've forgotten to mention our senate president David Mark as one of the vocal proponents of 'kill the gays' law.

To think people are even rooting for that fossil to become president in the future...yuck!

Coogar, u should shut it.the country belongs to all of us

the country belongs to only straight folks - the homos belong elsewhere.......hell perhaps!

Gays and their cohorts will be persecuted according to our traditional law. We gather loads of tyres together and 4 litres of petrol and the rest is history. As they burn on earth, so they will rot in hell. Useless people. My dog is better than you. He does not chase male dogs.

^And someone will ask why I hate religion and every living being affiliated with any religion. Terrorism redefined.


#ProudNigerianLesbian.

lol. religion teaches tolerance and UNCONDITIONAL love..

its amazing that people think its alright to break the commandments for any reasons at all. people are fighting "war against homos" for God now? Did God not fight for himself in sodom and gomorah? Gen 19:14

14 So Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who were pledged to marry[a]his daughters. He said, “Hurry and get out of this place, because "THE LORD" is about to destroy the city!”

there is no big or small sin
liars , furnicators, thieves, backbiters adulterers and murderers are the ones formin holier than thou abi?... Na d same hell for all.

my #2cents
by d way i do not in anyway encourage homosexuality

beryl04:

Not tonight satan!

so i am satan?
what about you - what should we call a man that loves sticking it into another man's bütt? you don't even know your actions are repulsive? if you want to make excuses for your sickness, relocate to a country where sick & perverted gooks like yourself are celebrated.

coogar:

so i am satan?
what about you - what should we call a man that loves sticking it into another man's bütt? you don't even know your actions are repulsive? if you want to make excuses for your sickness, relocate to a country where sick & perverted gooks like yourself are celebrated.

are u better than the gay folks? I for one,am totally against d anti-gay law. Its bullsheet! Why didn't they make laws to punish thieving politicians,afterall their actions have caused the death of soo many nigerians in a way or another. They are looking for gay people to kill,its just plain stoopeed. Why not leave d gay people to live their lives,in d end,they will die and go and answer to God,if they believe in God.

pweetixandy:
are u better than the gay folks?

100% better than any of them. where's the moral code of today's nigerians. you mean you can actually come out in public & hold the brief for faggöts?

I for one,am totally against d anti-gay law. Its bullsheet! Why didn't they make laws to punish thieving politicians,afterall their actions have caused the death of soo many nigerians in a way or another. They are looking for gay people to kill,its just plain stoopeed. Why not leave d gay people to live their lives,in d end,they will die and go and answer to God,if they believe in God.

there are already laws for thieving politicians - a nigerian law sent tafa balogun to prison for stealing. the nigerian law has sent plenty before him to prison for embezzlement. so what are you talking about? were you born last night?

@OP.....

coogar:


100% better than any of them. where's the moral code of today's nigerians. you mean you can actually come out in public & hold the brief for faggöts!



there are already laws for thieving politicians - a nigerian law sent tafa balogun to prison for stealing. the nigerian law has sent plenty before him to prison for embezzlement. so what are you talking about? were you born last night?

my brother..u are not worth my time at all..where is tafa balogun today..tell me the ex politicians who are in prison for embezzlement now,tafa stepped on toes. Alamesgiha or whateva hez called,former gov of bayelsa,where is he? Cecilia ibru,where is she? Jesus christ dined with zacchues or what's d name of d short man who climed d sicamore tree to see Jesus,he was a tax collector who cheated d people,a sinner.have u ever sat down to preach to a gay man before?,ur here calling names and cursing, like d poster above me said,let God fight his battle,let God be d one to punish them. Infact,lemme unfollow this thread and dnt mention me again. U need to stop thinking u are better,u could die this night and I dnt think u need anyone to tell u where u wld spend ur eternity,do u?

Nigeria's a jungle.

It's sad knowing we still in the medieval or feudal epoch while the world has evolved, moved on and left us behind to this stagnation.

I just think we need to explore and open our minds and let everyone be who he/she feels inside as long they don't corrupt others.

Sadly, I don't see any justification for the wrong treatment of people with different sexxual orientation.

The OP needs to hide and move under the radar since it's illegal to be homosexual in Nigeria or better still, move to a more tolerating and liberal country like the states or Sweden. This is the only solution I could think of.

pweetixandy:
my brother..u are not worth my time at all..where is tafa balogun today.. tell me the ex politicians who are in prison for embezzlement now, tafa stepped on toes.

buhari locked up politicians in 1984 for embezzlement. go & read up on the history of nigeria instead of spewing bollocks on a public forum just to sound like you are civilised!

tafa served his prison term & he's now out. was he meant to die in prison for stealing? financial crime isn't a violent crime so he would always get a short sentence.

Alamesgiha or whateva hez called,former gov of bayelsa,where is he? Cecilia ibru,where is she?

don't embarrass yourself in public.
you can't jail people on hearsays - is there an empirical evidence that can convict the names you mentioned above or you want the court to jail them based on your gut-feeling? there is a procedure to follow - you don't just throw people in prison.

Jesus christ dined with zacchues or what's d name of d short man who climed d sicamore tree to see Jesus,he was a tax collector who cheated d people,a sinner.have u ever sat down to preach to a gay man before?,ur here calling names and cursing, like d poster above me said,let God fight his battle,let God be d one to punish them.

we should stop using the courts then. let's sack all our judges & lawyers and let everyone do what they want - God should fight armed robbers, ritualists, pedophïles, kidnappers, assassins, drug lords, etc from his throne from heaven.

you talk like you've never seen the walls of a school!

Infact,lemme unfollow this thread and dnt You mention me again. U need to stop thinking u are better,u could die this night and I dnt think u need anyone to tell u where u wld spend ur eternity,do u?

it shall not be well with you for even writing the bolded sentence. what is wrong with you priggish & disoriented skanks? did i mention you in the first place before you quoted my comment?

look at how she's talking like i initiated the first contact with her - who gives a fück whether you catch a stray on your way to bed tonight. if i die tonight, where or where i don't end up is none of your business. if you are gay, take your polluted soul out of our country.

GSKing:
^And someone will ask why I hate religion and every living being affiliated with any religion. Terrorism redefined.


#ProudNigerianLesbian.

SIMPLY PATHETIC.

Ok, to all those who keep referring to Leviticus... Thank you for doing so much to educate people regarding God's Law.
When someone tries to defend the homosexual lifestyle, for example, I simply remind them that Leviticus 18:22 clearly states it to be an abomination. ... End of debate.

I do need some advice from you, however, regarding some other elements of God's Law and how to follow them.

1. When I burn a bull on the altar as a sacrifice, I know it creates a
pleasing odour for the Lord - Lev.1:9. The problem is my neighbours. They claim the odour is not pleasing to them. Should I smite them?

2. I would like to sell my daughter into slavery, as sanctioned in Exodus
21:7. In this day and age, what do you think would be a fair price for her?

3. I know that I am allowed no contact with a woman while she is in her
period of menstrual uncleanliness - Lev.15: 19-24. The problem is how do I tell? I have tried asking, but most women take offence.

4. Lev. 25:44 states that I may indeed possess slaves, both male and
female, provided they are purchased from neighbouring nations. A
friend of mine claims that this applies to Beninoise, but not
Ghananians. Can you clarify? Why can't I own Ghananians?

5. I have a neighbour who insists on working on the Sabbath. Exodus 35:2.
The passage clearly states he should be put to death. Am I morally obligated to kill him myself?

6. A friend of mine feels that even though eating shellfish is an
abomination - Lev. 11:10, it is a lesser abomination than homosexuality. I don't agree. Can you settle this? Are there 'degrees' of abomination?

7. Lev. 21:20 states that I may not approach the altar of God if I have a
defect in my sight. I have to admit that I wear reading glasses. Does my
vision have to be 20/20, or is there some wiggle room here?

8. Most of my male friends get their hair trimmed, including the hair
around their temples, even though this is expressly forbidden by Lev.19:27. How should they die?

9. I know from Lev. 11:6-8 that touching the skin of a dead pig makes me unclean, but may I still play football if I wear gloves?

10. My uncle has a farm. He violates Lev. 19:19 by planting two different crops in the same field, as does his wife by wearing garments made of two different kinds of thread (cotton/polyester blend). He also tends to curse and blaspheme a lot. Is it really necessary that we go to all the trouble of getting the whole town together to stone them? -
Lev.24:10-16. Couldn't we just burn them to death at a private family affair like we do with people who sleep with their in-laws? (Lev. 20:14)

I know you all have studied these things extensively and thus enjoy considerable expertise in such matters, so I am confident you all can help.

Thank you again for reminding us that God's word is eternal and unchanging

bennyrazz:
Gays and their cohorts will be persecuted according to our traditional law. We gather loads of tyres together and 4 litres of petrol and the rest is history. As they burn on earth, so they will rot in hell. Useless people. My dog is better than you. He does not chase male dogs.

abeg dont make the cultured fight against homosexuality and the propaganda that supports it look barbaric.
Homosexuals should be tried and jailed to send a clear message.
Jungle justice is a cancer in our society.

smileysmiles:
lol. religion teaches tolerance and UNCONDITIONAL love..

its amazing that people think its alright to break the commandments for any reasons at all. people are fighting "war against homos" for God now? Did God not fight for himself in sodom and gomorah? Gen 19:14

14 So Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who were pledged to marry[a]his daughters. He said, “Hurry and get out of this place, because "THE LORD" is about to destroy the city!”

there is no big or small sin
liars , furnicators, thieves, backbiters adulterers and murderers are the ones formin holier than thou abi?... Na d same hell for all.

my #2cents
by d way i do not in anyway encourage homosexuality

if not for the nasty propaganda attached to homosexuality, the current 'war against gays' would have been like a 'war' against mad people, there would have been measures to correct their deviance, but the west has picked up this madness and have attached rights to it, and we can't have that.

pweetixandy:
are u better than the gay folks? I for one,am totally against d anti-gay law. Its bullsheet! Why didn't they make laws to punish thieving politicians,afterall their actions have caused the death of soo many nigerians in a way or another. They are looking for gay people to kill,its just plain stoopeed. Why not leave d gay people to live their lives,in d end,they will die and go and answer to God,if they believe in God.

fallacious!
Just because laws havent been made to tackle griever offences doesnt in anyway exonerate homosexuality.
We have all those resident ills, why add homosexuality?

druid06:
Nigeria's a jungle.

It's sad knowing we still in the medieval or feudal epoch while the world has evolved, moved on and left us behind to this stagnation.

I just think we need to explore and open our minds and let everyone be who he/she feels inside as long they don't corrupt others.

Sadly, I don't see any justification for the wrong treatment of people with different sexxual orientation.

The OP needs to hide and move under the radar since it's illegal to be homosexual in Nigeria or better still, move to a more tolerating and liberal country like the states or Sweden. This is the only solution I could think of.

america and britian are also jungles for making consenting polygamy a crime!

You are a very lazy thinker, are paedophiliia, bestiallity, inccest... not sexual orientations? You hear them say that word, you think it is a fundamental right.

Homosexuality as an orientation is a deviation from normalcy and its sufferers should seek help and not indulge.

fr3do:



america and britian are also jungles for making consenting polygamy a crime!

You are a very lazy thinker, are paedophiliia, bestiallity, inccest... not sexual orientations? You hear them say that word, you think it is a fundamental right.

Homosexuality as an orientation is a deviation from normalcy and its sufferers should seek help and not indulge.

Look, let's not make this a pissing contest.

Pedophilia and bestiality is not a sexual orientation but sadly a sexual preference that is frowned upon throughout the world which in turn is never encouraged. and punishable by the full arms of the law.

Homosexuality is not a disease that someone needs to get cured of.

druid06:


Look, let's not make this a pissing contest.

Pedophilia and bestiality is not a sexual orientation but sadly a sexual preference that is frowned upon throughout the world which in turn is never encouraged. and punishable by the full arms of the law.

Homosexuality is not a disease that someone needs to get cured of.

it's a disease - the same spirit that leads full grown men to sleep with animals is the one that pushes them to sleep with fellow men.

why is homösexuality ok with you & incëst isn't? if 2 consenting adult siblings decide to have sex, why is it unlawful? with the logic you applied above, is incëst a sexuäl orientation or a sexuäl preference?


if incëst is an orientation like homosëxualism, why is incëst a crime?

coogar:


it's a disease - the same spirit that leads full grown men to sleep with animals is the one that pushes them to sleep with fellow men.

why is homösexuality ok with you & incëst isn't? if 2 consenting adult siblings decide to have sex, why is it unlawful? with the logic you applied above, is incëst a sexuäl orientation or a sexuäl preference?


if incëst is an orientation like homosëxualism, why is incëst a crime?

Incest isn't an orientation and neither is it a preference I think. It's just a term identifying with the coital relations between siblings.

From my limited understanding, It's frowned upon because of the health hazard that goes with it.

druid06:


Look, let's not make this a pissing contest.

Pedophilia and bestiality is not a sexual orientation but sadly a sexual preference that is frowned upon throughout the world which in turn is never encouraged. and punishable by the full arms of the law.

Homosexuality is not a disease that someone needs to get cured of.

orientation, preference, inclination are all interchangeable!

Bestiality is allowed in monaco, it is a crime in the very liberal america.

Paedophiliia is frowned upon all round? What about the Arab world!

homosexuality is a mental disorder and it is frowned upon in Nigeria.

This leads me to philosophical questions; Can truth really be universal? If it can, does a particular people have a monopoly over it?

druid06:

Incest isn't an orientation and neither is it a preference I think. It's just a term identifying with the coital relations between siblings.
From my limited understanding, It's frowned upon because of the health hazard that goes with it.

not every sexüal congress leads to pregnancy. why is it wrong for a 25 year old male to have protected sėx with his 23 year old sister? by your logic, incëst should be legal because.....

•they are both adults
•they both consented
•it's their private life(excuses homos use)
•there's no force or violence involved.

if you can answer this question then my opinion about homos would change, if you cannot answer this question without st stu stut stutt stuttering, then zip it.

fr3do:


orientation, preference, inclination are all interchangeable!

Bestiality is allowed in monaco, it is a crime in the very liberal america.

Paedophiliia is frowned upon all round? What about the Arab world!

homosexuality is a mental disorder and it is frowned upon in Nigeria.

This leads me to a philosophical question; Can truth really be universal? If it is, does a particular people have a monopoly of it?

Oh man!

This is a good question if you exchange "truth" for "morality". I think the right answer to your question is that morality is relative and not universal. What might be considered an abomination to a certain group of people might be considered lawful and moral to others.

If you might have taken the time to read my first comment, I laid an advice to the OP to either hide his sexxual preference from being known or just simply move to an area where it's okay to be gay.

My own bone of contention with this whole gay saga in Nigeria is the amount of violence perpetrated to people suspected of being homosexuals. The sheer gravity of it is very appalling.

coogar:


every sexüal congress doesn't lead to pregnancy. why is it wrong for a 25 year old male to have protected sėx with his 23 year old sister? by your logic, incëst should be legal because.....

•they are both adults
•they both consented
•it's their private life(excuses homos use)
•there's no force or violence involved.

if you can answer this question then my opinion about homos would change, if you cannot answer this question without st stu stut stutt

stuttering, then zip it.

It's morally wrong there.

And like I've said earlier, the health implication if this two siblings where to have children would be dire for their posterity.

druid06:


Oh man!

This is a good question if you exchange "truth" for "morality". I think the right answer to your question is that morality is relative and not universal. What might be considered an abomination to a certain group of people might be considered lawful and moral to others.

If you might have taken the time to read my first comment, I laid an advice to the OP to either hide his sexxual preference from being known or just simply move to an area where it's okay to be gay.

My own bone of contention with this whole gay saga in Nigeria is the amount of violence perpetrated to people suspected of being homosexuals. The mere gravity of it is very appalling.

truths as used by me meant what is right or wrong which is also morality is derived from values, culture, history and research.
Our values and culture do not support it, scientifically man is incompactible with man, no research findings has suggested homosexuality is natural.

So should we divulge just because the west is endorsing it?

fr3do:


truths as used by me meant what is right or wrong which is also morality is derived from values, culture, history and research.
Our values and culture do not support it, scientifically man is incompactible with man, no research findings has suggested homosexuality is natural.

So should we divulge just because the west is endorsing it?

Don't get me wrong man!

All I'm saying is if it's consensual then we shouldn't put too much emphasis on it. If a man enjoys putting his wiener on another man's orifice while the other consent then it's none of our business. We shouldn't breathe over the small stuffs.

Nature has bestowed every single women with innate female characteristics and they are ALL supposed to like stereotypical female ways of life like being attracted to a man, submitting to him etc. The same goes for men. Nature bestowed them with manly qualities like finding women attractive and providing for women etc. Anything that goes against this established natural rules is a perversion and should be stopped/fought against. Let men be men and let women be women.