The Politics of Same Sex Marriage in Nigeria

On December 1 2011, Nigeria's Senate passed a law banning same sex marriage. Britain, USA, Canada and some European countries seriously frowned at the passage of such a law, which they argued was discriminatory and infringed on the fundamental human rights of gays and lesbians. Domestic attitude to the passage of the law was hostile on different fronts: while most Nigerians and religious groups expressed disgust at the idea of same-sex marriage and hailed the move to ban such, others were angry that the Senate chose to focus on what they regarded as a triviality when in their opinions, there were more urgent issues of State to be attended to. Some Nigerians were riled by the condemnation of the law by some foreign countries, believing that such was not only disrespectful but also interference in the country's domestic affairs. The article reviews the debates and politics that have attended same sex marriage across the world and relates these to the Nigerian situation.