Akinyemi: How US, UK tried to force same-sex marriage on Nigeria

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.