Bolaji Akinyemi, former minister of foreign affairs, says
the United States and United Kingdom lobbied him to push for the legalisation
of same-sex marriage in Nigeria.
Speaking on Thursday during an interview with Arise
Television, Akinyemi said he informed the foreign countries that such nuptial
structure is unacceptable in Nigeria.
The former minister said he further advised the US and UK
against pushing for the policy during the administration of the former
president.
“I am not in favour of man and man marriage or woman and
woman marriage and yet the supreme court had declared that under the
constitution,” he said.
“I don’t buy into
that and I think the supreme court made the wrong decision in picking on roe
versus wade. If they had picked on this man and man marriage or woman and woman
marriage, I suspect that the democrats might not have scored the victory they
scored.
“Part of why I feel strongly about this man and man marriage
or woman and woman marriage is the fact that the Americans even tried to force
it down our throat in Nigeria.
“I know how I was lobbied by the United States and Britain
when President Goodluck Jonathan was in power, Abati could recall that the
secretary general of the commonwealth came visiting, when we had that
legislation before our national assembly and he consulted me about how he
should handle the situation in his meeting with President Jonathan and I
advised him that that was a no-go area for us.
“We don’t like being told the definition of marriage in
Nigeria and that it will only heat up the system.”
In Nigeria, the same-sex marriage prohibition act was passed
by the senate in 2011, while the house of representative approved it in July
2013, the bill was signed into law on January 7, 2014.
In Africa, South-Africa is the only country that has
legalised same-sex marriage across the continent.
As of 2022, marriage between same-sex couples is legally
conducted and recognised in 33 countries including Mexico which recently
adopted the law.
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