Beating gay people should be a crime too

On Saturday, September 16, 2017, Bisi Alimi held an event at the German Consulate.

It was titled 'Bisi Alimi in Conversation with Gbenga Aborowo', and it was a Q&A session.

Throughout the revealing session, Bisi Alimi spoke about his experience of being a public gay Nigerian man. The tales weren't pretty.

Of course, Bisi Alimi spoke about how his parents reacted when they found out that he was gay. One of the most moving moments of the night was when Bisi Alimi narrated how a gang of guys attacked him at night at the University of Lagos. If not for a woman who came out to save him, he would have probably died.

Bisi Alimi spoke about how he faced a lot of discrimination at the University of Lagos. He also revealed how he nearly lost his life on one fateful night when he was attacked by anonymous men who broke into his apartment.

He escaped within an inch of his life. The next day Bisi Alimi was on a flight to the United Kingdom. Bisi Alimi has more tales like these where he faced a lot of attacks for his sexual orientation.

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As it stands, homosexuality is illegal in the country. Everyone is free to state his or her opinion on homosexuality. You might be against it or support it- there is no problem in that. After all, we are free moral agents.

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The problem here is not about accepting or not accepting homosexuality but our tolerance level. Because someone is gay or suspected to be gay, it doesn't give anyone the right to physically assault the person. It doesn't give anyone the right to verbally assault the person.

You can be against homosexuality without attacking a gay person. It is possible. You shouldn't beat a person because he or she is gay.

During the session, Bisi Alimi stated that the first six months after the Same-Sex Prohibition Act was the darkest for gay people in Nigeria. Many of them were assaulted during this period. Surely everyone deserves some form of dignity even if they are gay.

No one should be beaten, slapped, trampled upon because of his sexual orientation. Even if you do not support homosexuality, at least be decent in your opposition to it.