ENIOLA AKINKUOTU examines the implications of
the United States’ Supreme Court judgment on the
foreign policy outlook of President Barack Obama
In less than three weeks, President Muhammadu
Buhari will visit his counterpart in the United
States, Barack Obama, for the first time to discuss
political and economic issues as well as the fight
Coming barely a month after the US Supreme
Court legalised same-sex marriage across the
country’s 50 states, coupled with Obama’s open
support for gay rights, observers reason that the
US President might attempt to encourage Nigeria
to follow suit.
The US apex court had last month ruled that the
US constitution provides same-sex couples the
right to marry, handing a historic triumph to the
American gay rights movement. With the landmark
ruling, gay marriage became legal in all the 50
states of the US as opposed to the 37 states that
permitted gay marriage earlier.
Appearing in the White House, Obama hailed the
ruling as a milestone in American justice that
arrived “like a thunderbolt.”
Obama, who is the first sitting US President to
support gay marriage, said, “This ruling is a
victory for America. This decision affirms what
millions of Americans already believe in their
hearts. When all Americans are treated as equal,
we are all more free.” As night fell, the White
House was lit in rainbow colours – a symbol of
gay pride – to mark the court’s decision.
Obama, who is of Kenyan descent, had during a
memorial service of the late South African leader,
Nelson Mandela, in 2013, drummed support for the
gay community and people around the world who
still struggle for equality.
In his eulogy for South Africa’s first post-apartheid
President, Obama said, “Around the world today,
men and women are still imprisoned for their
political beliefs and are still persecuted for what
they look like and how they worship and who they
love.”
The US President is of the opinion that having
suffered marginalisation, racism and discrimination,
Africa should be at the forefront of the gay rights
campaign.
Obama’s philosophy is, however, in sharp contrast
with what applies in Nigeria, Africa’s most
populous nation.
While Buhari has remained silent about gay rights
despite being a devout Muslim, his predecessor,
Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, received nationwide praise
for signing into law, the anti-gay bill which was
unanimously passed by the National Assembly.
According to the Same-Sex Marriage Prohibition
Act of 2014, which has since been condemned by
the US, the United Kingdom and other western
powers, people in Nigeria, who engage in gay
relationships, are liable to 14 years in prison while
those belonging to gay associations risk 10 years
in prison. It also criminalises failure to report
homosexual activity to the police.
Even before Jonathan signed the bill into law,
Obama had threatened to cut off foreign aid to
Nigeria. Obama had in 2013 issued a memo
ordering American diplomats abroad to advance
the rights of lesbians, gays, transgender and
bisexual persons. The US government also
announced that the fight against gay and lesbian
discrimination would be a central point of its
foreign policy and that “erring” nations like Nigeria
could be denied aid.
But the then Senate President, David Mark,
responded by saying, “No country has the right to
interfere in the way we make our own laws
because we don’t interfere in the way others make
their own laws.”
The then Minister for Information, Labaran Maku,
also said that Nigerians reserve the right to make
their own laws without apologies to other
countries. He said, “Between Europe, America and
Africa there is a huge culture gap. Some of the
things that are considered fundamental rights
abroad can be very offensive to African culture and
tradition and to the way we live here.”
Nigeria at the time could call the bluff of the West
as oil prices were at an all-time high. This
translated to billions of dollars in revenue as the
nation soon became Africa’s largest economy after
the rebasing of the Gross Domestic Product of the
country.
However, with oil prices dwindling and Nigeria in
dire need of US help to fight insecurity, the US
seems to have the perfect bargaining power: Relax
the anti-gay law and we will give you the desired
assistance. Already, the world’s most powerful
country has pledged $5m to Nigeria to fight Boko
Haram but could demand ‘something’ in return.
Nigeria even seems more vulnerable now than
ever as shown in President Buhari’s frequent visits
outside Nigeria and the wish list he presented to
the G-7.
The Director, Media and Publicity of the PDP
Presidential Campaign Organisation, Chief Femi
Fani-Kayode, had in March alleged that Buhari, the
then presidential candidate of the All Progressives
Congress, would legalise same-sex marriage,
saying that was why he was receiving support
from some western countries as well as the
western media like the N ew York Times and The
Economist.
According to Fani-Kayode, who is not new to
controversy, Buhari was receiving such support
because he had promised to legalise same-sex
marriage.
Fani-Kayode said, “The proposition and offer was
that if he was prepared to support a legislation in
Nigeria to allow same sex marriage and if he was
prepared to repeal the anti-gay laws in Nigeria,
they (US) will, in return, endorse, support and fund
him, initially covertly and eventually publicly, at the
right time.
“Instead of rejecting these offers and spurning this
proposition, to our utter shock, Buhari apparently
refused to rule it out and has put the matter under
consideration. Instead of him to say no, he
assured them that he would consider these two
things.
“We believe that this is a matter that ought to be
brought to the attention of the Nigerian people as a
matter of urgency. The APC are so desperate in
ensuring that Buhari becomes the President of this
country that they are actually prepared to consider
the scrapping of all anti-gay or anti-homosexual
legislation and at the same time, endorsing and
supporting a fresh legislation that would allow
same sex-marriage in our country.
“We are using this occasion to challenge Buhari to
come clean and to tell the Nigerian people whether
this is true and whether, in the unlikely event of his
being elected President, he is seriously
considering scrapping the anti-homosexual laws in
our country and pushing through a new legislation
which would allow same-sex marriage.”
Speaking with our correspondent during a
telephone interview, a senior lecturer of the
Department of History and Strategic Studies,
University of Lagos, Dr. David Aworawo, said it
was very possible that Obama would want to
convince Buhari to ease the law on homosexuality.
Aworawo, however, urged Buhari not to give in to
such pressure because it is at variance with the
Nigerian culture and tradition.
He said, “They will try to make Nigeria approve
same sex-marriage but Buhari must not give in.
Whatever America has to offer Nigeria should not
be predicated on throwing away a vital part of our
culture because of small bread and butter. We
expect that Buhari and all those who will go with
him will stand their ground because it is also in
the interest of the US that a growing terrorist group
like Boko Haram is dealt with. So, I am sure that
they will look beyond Nigeria’s stance on same-
sex marriage.”
Aworawo said foreign policy was not ironclad and
countries like the US usually made concessions for
special cases. He said the fight against terrorism
was a global one and it would not be in the
interest of the US to use same-sex marriage as a
bargaining chip.
He said, “We know that these values that the US
tries to spread around the world are not
consistently maintained in their interactions.
National interest also comes to play. For instance,
Egypt is one of the most repressive countries in
the world today but Egypt still gets extensive
assistance from the US because of the interest of
the US in the stability of Egypt and by extension,
the stability of the Middle East.
“Yet, one of the core values of the US is the
protection of human rights and the defence of
freedom. So, I will be surprised and disappointed if
the Nigerian delegation led by Buhari fails to stand
its ground on what is core to our values.
“The US may use homosexuality as a condition for
some of the countries that they want to give aid to
but if we stand our ground, the US will reflect and
choose between our non-acceptance of same-sex
marriage and the escalation of Boko Haram which
may also affect their own national security. I am
sure that if we stand our ground, we will still get
everything that we, otherwise, would have got.”
A former Minister of State for the Interior, Chief
Demola Seriki, said it would not be wise of the US
to demand same-sex marriage at a time Nigeria
was fighting terrorism.
He said such a demand could lead to a diplomatic
row. He, therefore, urged the US to respect the
sovereignty of Nigeria.
Seriki said, “You cannot import democracy, neither
can you export it. All politics is local; policies stem
from democratic ethos. There are some countries
that have monarchs like Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and
they have no prime minister. America cannot force
such countries to adopt democracy.
“I don’t see Nigeria allowing homosexuality to
reign supreme. If you consider the most religious
people in the world, Nigeria will be among the top
three.
“This is a country where there are churches and
mosques everywhere. Nigerians are not into
homosexuality unlike America, which has been into
it since the 1960s. Even in America, homosexuality
has not generally been accepted.
“Buhari and Obama’s meeting should have nothing
to do with same-sex marriage because that can
cause a diplomatic row between the two countries.
The meeting is a state visit and it is very
important. It is the type of visit that was not
extended to Jonathan in his five years in office.”
A Professor of History and Strategic Studies,
Charles Dokubo, who is also a Research Fellow of
the Nigeria Institute of International Affairs, told our
correspondent on the telephone that if Buhari
rejects US aid on account of same-sex marriage,
Nigerians will defend him.
He said same-sex marriage should not be a topic
of discussion given the many problems Nigeria is
facing.
Dokubo said, “The US can’t arm-twist Nigeria
because Nigerian culture is different. Here,
homosexuality is not part of us. So, we do not
need to approve same-sex marriage. Even if some
people are doing it, they are not doing it publicly.
Homosexuality is not our problem. We have more
fundamental issues.
“I doubt if Buhari will dance to their tune. If the US
insists on Nigeria approving same-sex marriage
on the condition of aid, Nigerians will reject
the
aid. As a sovereign nation, we have the right to
make laws that suit our country and homosexuality
does not threaten our stability. The real threat is
Boko Haram and this is what Nigerians are
concerned about.”
As the Giant of Africa meets with the world’s most
powerful country on July 21, it remains unclear the
agreements and compromises that may be
reached.
PUNCH
