US discriminating against Nigerians unfairly

I cannot but be proud that my roots are in Nigeria, a country of about 150 million people. Of course in modern times there are those aspects of Nigerian society that leave much to be desired. Many people of Nigerian origin, especially those of us who live outside the country, have to carry around with us a mostly undeserved reputation for fraudulent activity and even the Internet is replete with 'warnings' about Nigerians and their 'fraud'. The country's misguided leaders have over the years since independence, demonstrated a disturbing lack of insight and foresight. What natural wealth the country is blessed with has been mismanaged to the point where some like me, believe that the chance that the country was given to achieve real development has been squandered and irretrievably lost.

The standard of living and the quality of life for most citizens of Nigeria have not improved appreciably for decades. Indeed life expectancy at birth for the citizens of the country has seen a steady decline since 2003. Estimates for life expectancy at birth explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to HIV/AIDS. This can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality, higher death rates, lower population growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected. Life expectancy at birth is also a measure of overall quality of life in a country and summarises the mortality at all ages. But there are other things to be said about Nigeria and Nigerians and not all of it is negative.

On the whole Nigerians have for centuries lived harmoniously and at peace with each other and with their neighbours. And while I do not intend to blame colonialism for Nigeria's troubles, there can be no disputing the fact that interference in African affairs by the powers of Europe caused upheaval in Africa so substantial that even half a century after Europe's withdrawal, Africans continue to suffer from the consequences of this interference. There has always been a multiplicity of cultures and religions among Nigerian societies and this will always be. And all along these different peoples have found ways to co-exist in harmony, the only exception being the bloody and tragic war of secession of the late 1960s, sometimes referred to as the 'civil war' or the Biafran war.

Despite all of this and quite apart from it, Nigerians tend to be the more industrious, personable, confident, self-assured, hardworking, peace loving, hospitable, enterprising, generous Africans to be found anywhere. I would have added 'honest' and 'sincere' to that list, but you wouldn't believe me anyway. This is not surprising since as I stated earlier, all of us Nigerians have been tainted with those rumours being bandied around about fraud and dishonesty, whereas in actuality only a minority of Nigerians are responsible for the acts that have given rise to this unpleasant reputation. Moreover fraudsters come in all shapes, colours and nationalities. And so do paedophiles! But we never hear that all British people are branded as child abusers, despite what we know about predatory child-sex tourism in south Asia and East Africa. Nigerian fraudsters are not different from fraudsters of other nations, including the United States itself. But instead, and rather unfortunately, there seems to be a zealousness to criticise, malign and even blame Nigerians as a whole for any crime committed by a person of Nigerian origin.

Recently the holder of a Nigerian passport was apprehended before he could successfully detonate an explosive device said to be strapped to his body while aboard an aeroplane that was about to land at an airport in Michigan, USA. Of course this story is not news, neither is it news that the US government acting in what seems like a knee-jerk reaction, has declared that special checks must now be conducted on passengers arriving at US airports from any of the following countries - Nigeria, Afghanistan, Algeria, Iraq, Yemen, Lebanon, Libya, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Cuba, Iran, Sudan and Syria. To include Nigeria in this list of countries is not only unfair, it is also misleading.

Cuba, Iran, Sudan and Syria are countries that the US believes to be state sponsors of terrorism. The other countries in this list (with the exception of Nigeria) are known to harbour terrorists of varying political hues, but for all of whom the underlying objectives are the same as Al Qaeda's. Why is Nigeria on this list, you may ask. Well, apparently one of the country's citizens was recruited by Al Qaeda elements in Yemen and having been trained and indoctrinated by them, he has travelled from Yemen through Ghana, Nigeria and The Netherlands before arriving in the US with incendiary explosive material concealed in his underwear. He was apprehended while trying to set off these explosives with the intent of blowing himself up, along with the hundreds of innocent fellow passengers on the aeroplane. This person has over the last several years been outside Nigeria for longer than he has been in the country. Reports suggest that he became radicalised not in Nigeria, but while abroad. I suppose it was not at all relevant to the US authorities, or indeed to anyone, that the father of this suspected terrorist had alerted the authorities well in advance about the threat that his son posed and that this terrorist's father is a Nigerian too.

Richard Reid the Boston "shoe bomber" is a British citizen who converted to Islam. He too was apprehended in the US in similar circumstances, but I have not heard that British people or air travellers to the US from Britain have as a result been subjected to more rigorous body searches since that incident occured years ago. It was in Amsterdam that the Nigerian terrorist suspect boarded the US bound flight that he attempted to blow up, supposedly evading the security systems at Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport. Yet travellers from The Netherlands are not subjected to the 'special checks' that have been imposed on Nigerians, when in fact Nigeria is a country with no past record of involvement in international terrorism activity of any kind. The US government should hang its head in shame at this announcement. Blaming an entire country's population for the act of just one of the country's citizens and then proceeding to impose sanctions on the entire travelling public from that country, is unbecoming of the intelligent leadership that we thought the world had gained when the result of the last US election was announced. This is a disappointment to me and I am pleased to hear that Nigeria has officially criticised the decision.

The danger of the single story

Hot Cities: Dakar, Senegal

From the Rockefeller Foundation's landmark documentary series, 'Hot Cities', which premièred on BBC World News in 2009 and explores the impact of climate change on urban areas. The series was released just as world leaders were conducting negotiations leading up to the United Nations Climate Conference in Copenhagen.

Click here to watch in full all of the episodes in the 8 - part series.

The underlying message in the case of Senegal, as with several other African countries in a similar situation, and facing similar circumstances in a world with a rapidly changing climate, governments should understand more acutely the need for investment in food security. The problems of 'climate change migration' and 'climate change refugees' that were predicted, are now becoming a reality.

Increased urbanisation will make the dangers of global poverty and climate crises especially acute in cities. The concentration of low-income people in high risk areas and on an ecologically fragile land will increasingly expose millions to the consequences of imminent and worsening climate disruption.

The problems associated with climate change are among the most serious that many African countries face. Yet I fear that too few on the continent are aware of this, understand the seriousness of the situation and recognise the potentially dire consequences of failing in a timely manner to tackle the looming crises head on.

This is what happens when you fight corruption

I saw this article on the BBC website. It accurately describes the nature of the corruption in my country and how entrenched it is. It also precisely reflects my views. Please read it and then listen to this interview.

Nuhu Ribadu was at Law School at the same time as me. Some have attributed his meteoric rise to prominence to his connections with powerful people in politics. However, his stand on corruption, an issue I care very much about, arouses inspiration.

The things people do

He called me and said he wanted to use my computer because his laptop was out of order. I thought this was odd, since the Internet in commercially cheaply available in innumerable places on almost every street. Then I thought perhaps he was trying to save a few quid, but my disquiet heightened sharply when after I'd told him that I would be away at work at the time when he said he'd need to use the computer, he quickly retorted that he would only have to turn up at my doorstep early in the morning before I left home, and that I could then leave the keys of the flat with him..

I left home that morning leaving him in my flat, but with a puzzled frown on my face. Deep down I suspected that he was up to something dubious, but I had no way of knowing what it was. I was trying to be a good friend to a friend who was in need, or so I thought. So I quickly erased all negative thoughts from my mind and focused on my activities for the day ahead. I returned home unusually late that evening and found him still there. I discreetly inspected the flat, but there was nothing to arouse my suspicion or to give an indication as to what he had been up to during my absence. I then dropped him off at home and put the entire episode behind me, although I couldn't stop thinking that it was rather strange that he would insist on using my computer in my flat while I was away. This was almost two weeks ago.

Last evening I was stretched out on the sofa trying to relax after a particularly busy day when my phone rang. I was surprised, since most calls I receive are on the mobile phone. This one was on the landline, a number that only few people have, none of whom I was expecting a call from. I answered the call to hear a strange voice at the other end of the line greeting me familiarly, asking me why he had not heard from me.. Pardon me?? Are you sure you have the correct number?? He then repeats my number to me and asks me if I'm not Tony (not his real name). 

Hearing this I was even more surprised. I explained that I know who Tony is but that he doesn't live at this address. To which this gentleman who called himself Mike said that he had been in the flat two weeks ago and that the said Tony had the keys to the flat. Tony had shown him around, telling him that the flat was his. Tony had used my address to obtain a loan from this person, who I later find out is a loan shark.

It took supreme effort on my part to remain calm as I explained to this gentleman what had really happened on the day Tony showed him into my flat. I tried to explain that I wasn't Tony and that I knew nothing of a loan or what he was talking about. At first Mike was having none of it. He didn't know what Tony and I were up to, he said, but whatever it was, I'd better pay back his money or...at this point what immediately flashed through my mind were those stories I'd heard about people who failed to pay such debts and how they got their kneecaps smashed. I was losing my cool..

This Tony person has been a friend of mine for many years, and I have looked out for him every step of the way. I could hardly believe what I was hearing, but gradually the pieces came together. Now I understood why he had wanted to "use my computer" while I was away. I'd been conned, or to put it more accurately, my so-called friend had betrayed the trust that I had in him. I gave Tony's number to Mike and told him Tony's real address. I then called Tony and expressed my displeasure at what had happened. A few minutes later Mike called me back to say that Tony was not answering his phone. I tried to call Tony again, but as expected his phone was by now switched off.

I have tried to call him several times today and his phone is still switched off. Indeed the message I get when I call his number is "you have dialled an incorrect number...". Driving home this evening, I drove past his building, but his flat was in darkness. I don't know whether to be worried about him, i.e., whether Mike has come down hard on him; or whether the police have invited him to the police station and he's locked up somewhere...but then if that was the case, surely the police would have invited me too to make some kind of statement. 

Then I wonder if perhaps he has gone into hiding. I feel so protective of him and feel sorry that I revealed his real address. But at the same time I'm angry at his callousness and his dishonesty. I really don't know what to think.

Myth or Reality? An Ethnographic Exploration in Togo, West Africa

Presented at 5th African Population Conference

Arusha, Tanzania (December 2007)

Virgile Capo-Chichi, Regional Researcher for West & Central Africa, Population Services International

Sethson Kassegné, Research Director. Population Services International - Togo.

Introduction

§ Same-sex relations are denied in most African countries even though studies have found cultural and traditional practices that demonstrate their existence for centuries (Roscoe & Murray, 1998).

§ Compared to other regions, Africa has the lowest levels of awareness and communication with regards to male-to-male sex (McKenna, 1996) and the most repressive laws against it.

§ Men-who-have-sex-with-men (MSM) are particularly vulnerable to HIV infection as demonstrated by studies in many settings (UNAIDS, 2000).

§ Except in South Africa, little is known about how male-to-male sexual activity takes place in sub-Saharan Africa.

Study Objectives

§ Explore current practices as well as historical and cultural perspectives relative to male-to-male sex and homosexuality in Togo, West Africa.

§ Understand the sexual behavior of MSM

§ Identify factors related to HIV preventive behaviour among MSM

Background: Togo

§ Small West African country bordered by Republic of Benin (East), Ghana (West), Burkina Faso (North) & Atlantic Ocean (South).

§ Total land area = 56,600 km²

§ Population = ~ 5.3 million

§ Life expectancy = 55 years (UNDP, 2006)

§ Ranked 147 in Human Development Index (United Nations, 2006)

§ HIV prevalence ~ 3.2% among general population (UNAIDS

2006)

Data & Methods

§ Study conducted in two phases using gate-keeper interviews and an adapted peer ethnographic (PEER) approach (Price and Hawkins 2001).

§ The study was conducted in four communities in Togo: Lomé, Aneho, Sokode & Kara

Phase 1: Exploratory phase with gatekeepers in each study community

§ 20 MSM identified through members of various NGOs working in HIV

prevention (first wave of participants)

§ Focus group discussion (FGD) conducted by the study team with the first wave of participants

§ Individual interviews with those 20 MSM using open – ended questions

§ Training of those 20 MSM

Phase 2: Discussions with MSM

§ 102 additional participants identified by the 20 initial MSMs through snowballing and peer networking (second wave of participants)

§ Individual interviews conducted by peer interviewers with the second wave of participants

§ With all study respondents, a survey of knowledge and behavior regarding STIs and HIV/AIDS was also administered

§ Data were collected using local languages (Mina in the south and Kabyè in the north).

§ The data were audio – recorded and later transcribed

§ Data analysis using qualitative data analysis software The Ethnograph™

Results:

Lack of agreement among gatekeepers about the existence or history of male-to-male sex in their communities

§ Some gatekeepers strongly deny the existence of male-to-male sex and homosexuality in their communities. Even some local journalists believe that the “phenomenon” must have been imported from the west.

“…homosexuality as it exists nowadays is unknown to traditional African societies. There was no man-to–man sex… In contrast, traditional chiefs of priests in the process of their enthronization were known to have lived in isolation and therefore participated in ‘recurrent’ masturbation to satisfy their sexual desires. This is what was perceived as homosexuality.”

(gatekeeper, Kara)

§ Other gatekeepers believe that same sex relations and homosexuality have always existed in traditional societies in Togo

“…tendencies towards homosexual behavior have always existed among men as well as women. It is more pronounced among men and that’s why they were called ‘nyonu – sunu’ (man – woman); that is, a man living as a woman. Or, alternatively, ‘sunu nyonu’ (woman-man) because they tend to behave like a person of the opposite sex.” (Gatekeeper, Aneho)

§ Homosexuality is also believed to be linked to some magical and mystical practices used to acquire power and test the validity of amulets and “charms”.

“Becoming homosexual” in Togo

§ Some FGD participants described their experience as a “natural” progression from childhood sexual play to a homosexual identity realised in adulthood.

“If a boy who is used to bathing and sleeping in the same bed as his boyhood peers from the time he is young, when he grows into adolescence he would want to do the same. As an adult he will realise that he is attracted by other males.” (participant focus group # 1)

“… Homosexuality has never come from somewhere else… from your childhood. What you do and your habits show that you will become homosexual. One is born with it. It is not acquired.” (participant focus group # 2).

§ Other FGD participants believe that a tendency toward male-to-male sex can be acquired from forced or agreed sexual relations with another man, or social pressure.

“You become homosexual out of necessity…because you want to behave just as your friend.” (participant, focus group # 1)

“Some people are attracted by other homosexuals. When they (homosexuals) are attracted to a heterosexual, they will do everything (they can) to take make him a part of their group. If it pleases him, then he will stay.” (participants, focus group # 1)

§ Most participants agreed that men who are innately attracted to other men remain homosexual for life. Those who have “become homosexual” may change their preferences toward men or women during the course of their life.

Lifestyles and community perceptions

§ Self-identification for the 122 MSM that participated in this study was as follows:

o 44% active homosexual (playing a “male” role during intercourse)

o 18% passive homosexuals (playing a “female” role during intercourse)

o 26% versatile homosexual (could play either role)

o 12% bisexual (sexually active with both male and females)

§ Participants explained that MSM use coded language to identify one another. The most common local term used to refer to homosexuality is “Zangboin”. Passive homosexuals are called “Zangbointés” and active ones are called “Zangbointeurs”. The place where homosexuals have sex is called “Zangbointoir”.

There was a unanimous perception among all participants (gatekeepers and MSM) that community perceptions of homosexuality are negative. This results in discriminatory

behaviours against homosexuals, such as insults and sometimes beatings.

Social organisation

§ Social networking is used as a survival mechanism for MSM in Togo. Networking serves to create solidarity among men. Network members have specific places to meet, discuss and exchange their views.

§ According to participants, social networks can be formal or informal. Formal networks are considered as true institutions with clear rules and group leaders.

“A group needs clear rules to function…before you accept someone into your group, you must make sure he will be able to comply to those rules.” (participant focus group # 2).

HIV and STI awareness

§ 75% of MSM could identify at least one STI; 71% cited gonorrhoea and 49% cited syphilis.

§ Correct knowledge about symptoms of STIs was low (less than 20%).

§ 90% of MSM are aware of HIV/AIDS, but only 40% cited unprotected sex as a source of infection.

§ The vast majority of MSM (81%) who cited sexual transmission as a source of infection believe that transmission only occurs during sex with a woman and therefore do not feel vulnerable to HIV infection when having sex with men.

§ Approximately 60% of MSM cited fidelity as the only means for avoiding HIV

infection

Sexual behaviour

§ Age at first male-to-male sex ranged from 9 to 20 years with a mean of 17.6 years

§ First male partner was

o a friend: 65%

o a family relative (uncle, cousin, brother or other family member): 19%

§ Approximately 48% reporting having had intercourse with women prior to their

first sexual intercourse with a man

§ Reported numbers of current male sexual partners was:

o None: 18%

o 1: 50%

o 2 or more: 32%

§ 30% of respondents reported having concurrent male partners

Condom use

§ Approximately 32% of MSM reported using a condom during their first sexual

intercourse with a man

§ 60% reported condom use during their last sexual intercourse with a man

§ 21% reported consistently using condoms with male partners

§ Reasons for non-use of condoms included:

o Trust in partner

o Condoms not available

o Lack of pleasure while using condoms

o Partner’s refusal

o Negative beliefs about condoms

Implications

§ This study demonstrates that male-to-male sexual activity occurs in Togo and that many MSM self-identify as homosexual

§ Sexual practices among MSM put them at increased risk for HIV infection

§ There is urgency in addressing the needs of MSM in Togo, including:

o Improving awareness about STIs and HIV transmission during male-to male sex

o Promoting MSM-friendly services to improve access to condoms and VCT services

§ Using existing social networks among MSM to disseminate messages and recruit

peer educators

You can read this in full here.

For more interesting reading, click on The Politics of Homosexuality in Africa.