In some places, the practice has been legalised and in those places, it has had great disruption to the basis of their societal life and Nigeria stands such risks. CHIJIOKE IREMEKA reports.
“I had my anus sutured three times while I was
practising homosexual. That was the price I had to pay for such ignorance. The
first suture was in South Africa. There, it wasn’t a problem because people
don’t give a damn but coming back to Nigeria was a clash of culture and my
religion,” said an ex-gay master, who turned a new leaf, Emmanuel Stephens.
Emmanuel Stephens is one of a rising number of Nigerian young graduates, who
venture into odd jobs to make ends meet.
A graduate of Theatre Arts, University of Calabar,
Emmanuel went to South Africa in search of greener pastures, but fell in the
hands of late Johnson, a gay, whom he served for four and quarter years.
Emmanuel, who was coerced into the fraternity, according to him, said when he
got back to Nigeria and met a particular doctor for the second round of anus
suture, he knew his time was up, following the doctor’s counseling.
The doctor brought him to the realm of conscience
and culture. He noted that such suture was a painful procedure but the money
involve didn’t afford him a chance to see. He said: “I was forced into the
practice by my master, who was a drug dealer. He gave me all that I needed just
to be his partner. As I speak, the man is dead though his death was not
connected to the pervasion; he was killed in a drugrelated incident in 2014.
After his death, I was next in line, so I had to make haste to return to
Nigeria.
“So, when I came back to Abuja, I continued the
practice until I met a Christian doctor, who was supposed to suture my torn
anus. The doctor had done it once and the second time, he had to counsel me on
the dangers of homosexuality and advised me to quit, which I paid no heed to. I
treated him with some level of contempt but on that very day, I had an issue
with my system, and he gave me an option of repentance or death.
“When I was given such options, I chose life than to
die and gave up the practice but it wasn’t easy at first because the doctor
made me go through a psychologist and psychiatrist as a way of reforming me.
After that, I had a new lease of life. I had been wearing adult pampers to
prevent the feaces that regularly oozes from the anus because the anus has
widened and cannot control defaecation.
“Really, Satan has a way of subjecting the ignorant
people into perpetual bondage. I thought I was a ‘big boy,’ spending money at
will but I was dying gradually. I don’t know how I got into such. Women didn’t
appeal to me then. I played the female character.
Many people wished to be like me but they didn’t
know what I was going through. “I didn’t get married when I was supposed
because as a gay, I had nothing to do with women and I didn’t want any woman to
discover that I wear pampers. My male partner was rich and did everything for
me. We helped one another in this club and this is one of the ploys to recruit
more people into the clique.
Many people still indulge in it, but I advise all to
quit for Christ’s sake. It took me some fortune and pain to get my mind back.”
Also, in another development, a popular trader with over 15 stalls in Ladipo
Motor Parts Market in Mushin, Lagos State (name withheld) told his friend,
Victor Ibezi, who wanted to be like him, a little secret of his riches –
homosexualism and drugs.
“I have been admiring the wealth of this man and he
drives clean cars. We all sell motor parts but I didn’t know he has something
else. One day, the man called me and said, ‘Victor, you want to be like me?’ I
said ‘yes’. And he asked me to follow him. We entered a public toilet, he
removed his pant and showed me blood stained pampers and said, ‘This is what we
do for money. I blend homosexualism with drugs’.
“If you are interested, come, I will make you. When
I saw and heard what he said, I opened my mouth agape and he laughed and said,
‘You don’t want to be like me. I’m not a cultist. I have showed you what I do.’
I was surprised because we all pursue the same trade. This is a very clean man
that drives the latest model of G-Wagon. I didn’t accept the offer because I’m
married and I didn’t know how to hide it from my wife.”
Confirming the increasing rate of this menace of
homosexuality in Nigeria, which is on the geometric progression, a medical
practitioner and a surgeon at Hannah Hospital, Lagos Island, Dr. (Mrs.) Chioma
Udenwa, said she had personally sutured the anuses of more than 11 persons
across the country. According to her, they are clean and wealth young men.
She noted that they have money to throw around and
are not ready to negotiate price with doctors as they pay any amount they are
asked to pay. She said: “These are young handsome men. Once they come to the
hospital and meet a particular doctor and confide in him, they will never have
any business with another person.
Any time they come and that particular doctor is not
on seat, they will go back. They want somebody that will keep their secret and
that is why they deal with a particular doctor at a time but they can go to
another doctor on the matters that are not related to their gay life. “I treat
them because they pay well. But treating them is another disgusting thing
because you would see anus of different perimeters.
To some, theirs have torn over three inches wide or
more but when we suture it, it tightens a bit to hold back faeces but the
person will still wear pampers,” she said. Speaking on the effects of such anal
sex, a medical pathologist, Dr. Wole Alabi, said, penile-anal leads to colon
cancer as well as other infections, adding that the anus is dirty on its own
and contains a lot of bacteria.
He said: “The simple truth is that the human body
was not designed to accommodate anal intercourse. The rectum is significantly
different from the vagina, with regard to suitability for penetration by a
joystick.
The vagina has natural lubricants and is composed of
a mucus membrane with a multi-layer stratified squamous epithelium that allows
it to endure friction without damage and to resist the immunological actions
caused by Fluid and sperm. “In contrast, the anus is a delicate mechanism of
small muscles that comprise an exit-only passage. With repeated trauma,
friction and stretching, the sphincter loses its tone and its ability to
maintain a tight seal.
“Consequently, anal intercourse leads to leakage of
faecal material that can easily become chronic. Moreover, the intestine has
only a single layer of cells separating it from blood. Therefore, any organisms
that are introduced into the rectum have a much easier time establishing a
foothold for infection than they would in a vagina.
“The single layer tissue cannot withstand the
friction associated with penile penetration, resulting in traumas that expose
both participants to blood, organisms in feces, and a mixing of bodily fluids.
“Furthermore, Erupt has components that are immunosuppressive,
designed to allow the sperm to evade the immune defenses of the female. The
fragility of the anus and rectum, along with the immunosuppressive effect of
Erupt, make anal-genital intercourse a most efficient manner of transmitting
HIV and other infections.
“A list of diseases found with extraordinary
frequency among male homosexual practitioners as a result of anal intercourse
include viral hepatitis types B & C, anal cancer, human papilloma virus,
isospora belli, microsporidia, chlamydia trachomatis, cryptosporidium, giardia
lamblia, herpes simplex virus, Human immunodeficiency virus and gonorrhea.
“Gay men contract syphilis at 3 to 4 times the rate
of heterosexuals. A study based upon statistics from 1986 through 1990
estimated that 20-year-old gay men had a 50% chance of becoming HIV positive by
age 55. As of June 2001, nearly 64% of men with AIDS were men, who have had sex
with men.”
According to medical psychiatrist, Dr. Apu
Chakraborty, homosexuality has damaging effects and people involved tend to
experience more mental health problems than heterosexual people, saying that
discrimination may contribute to the higher risk.
“These higher levels of psychiatric problems in
homosexual people call for greater efforts at preventing the issues arising.
Whether or not discrimination is the cause, mental health problems have
previously been found to be higher among homosexual people. “There are a number
of reasons gay people may be more likely to report psychological difficulties,
which include difficulties growing up in a world orientated to heterosexual
norms and values and the negative influence of social stigma against
homosexuality,” he added.
But a relationship counselor, and a trained
psychologist, Dr. Candyfidel Okoye, said the major issue with gay community is
that they operate in secrecy and do not know who to confide in, adding that
they have the feeling that when they confide in you, the person will betray
them as they find it difficult to live with the stigma. He noted that a number
of them want to stop but do not know how to go about it. “Having discussed with
quite lot of them, I can say that the major reason for the increase in the
practice is economic gains. These people are known to be helping members just
like the lesbians. They have society and they all have their signs round time.
“They have common language and sighs. Most of them
have big boys clubs that they attend. I have a number of them from Surulere,
Festac and Okota. When you discuss with them, they will tell you what they go
through. What they need to be freed from such mental slavery is our care, and
listening ear as well as leaning shoulder.”
He noted that homosexuality is a spirit rather than
physical thing and urged those involve to seek spiritual liberation. Nigeria is
one of 38 African countries making up about 70 per cent of the continent that
have passed anti-gay legislation in one form or another.
The passing of these legislations has drawn
criticisms from western nations with some threatening sanctions against these
African nations. Nigeria’s former president, Goodluck Jonathan, signed into law
the legislation criminalising same sex marriage recently.
The law was passed by members of Nigeria’s House of
Representatives in Abuja on December 17, 2013 and it was signed into law by the
president on January 7, 2014 although there was no public announcement. The
Same Sex Marriage Prohibition Act criminalizes same-sex marriage and provides
for up to 14 years jail term for offenders under the Act.
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