Obama, Buhari ‘didn’t discuss gay marriage’

Nigerians who had expressed concerns that gay rights would feature prominently in the discussions between President Muhammadu Buhari and his United States counterpart can now put their minds to rest.

According to Femi Adesina, special adviser to the president on media and publicity, both leaders only dealt with issues bordering on bilateral relations.

“There was nothing on gay marriage. It was purely on bilateral issues,” he wrote on Facebook.

Ahead of the visit, Nigerians had urged Buhari to reject the idea if it were presented during his conversation with President Barack Obama.

To drive home this point, Project for Human Development (PHD), a civil society organisation, held a rally around the period Buhari was departing the shores of the country on Sunday.

“The US is now the major exporter of gay rights in the world. It has recently pressurised Uganda for a reverse of its anti-gay law,” Jerry Okwuosa, director-general of PHD, said at the rally.

“Under the influence of the US, Mozambique has recently decriminalised its anti-gay law. At the moment, US is putting pressure on Kenya to legalise gay Marriage.”

“Fear is being entertained that Obama might trade off US assistance to President Buhari’s government with shooting down Goodluck Jonathan’s anti-gay law.  We are however, urging President Buhari to reject such a trade-off.”

Buhari and Obama met on Monday and Buhari is expected to return to the country on Thursday.

During a live web-chat session with journalists on July 13, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, US assistant secretary of state for African affairs, had said America would continue to pressurise Nigeria until it legalises same sex marriage.