Today, homosexual activity is legally prohibited in thirty-six of Africa’s fifty-four countries. For Nigeria, its federal law criminalizes homosexuality and this makes a bad situation much worse for Nigeria’s beleaguered lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community. The interplay between same-sex marriage and human rights has generated considerable debate since the act, which stipulates 14 years imprisonment for offenders, was enacted in the country. It has drawn international condemnation from countries such as the United States and Britain. But the overwhelming majority of Nigerians who support the same sex marriage (prohibition) law are adamant. This study therefore, interrogates the anti-gay law within the socio-cultural context of the Nigerian society and seeks to situate its international antagonism within the realm of human rights advocacy or cultural imperialism. It establishes the congruent locations and divergent paths of local issues within global relations.

Mike Omilusi holds a Ph.D. in Political Science and teaches at Ekiti State University, Nigeria. He has wider exposure as a researcher, scholar, humanitarian volunteer, essayist, election observer and consultant with government, civil society groups and international organisations. He is the executive director, Initiative for Transformative Policy and Inclusive Development. He is a volunteer with the Society for Peace Studies and Practice, African Media Association, Malta. SPSP and West Africa Network for Peacebuilding, WANEP. Omilusi’s writings have appeared in over seventy peer-reviewed journals and notable books. He has to his credit eight authored books. His research interests are in the field of electoral democracy, political sociology, gender and conflict studies in sub-Saharan Africa.

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