Enforce Same-Sex Prohibition Law, Now

The Nigeria Police recently issued a subtle warning to homosexuals, asking them to flee the country or face the wrath of the law. Giving the admonition in a post on her official instagram handle, the Public Relations Officer of the Zone 2 Police Command, Mrs Dolapo Badmus, said Nigeria was no longer safe for homosexuals.
According to her, “if you are homosexual inclined, Nigeria is not a place for you. There is a law (Same-Sex Prohibition Act) here that criminalises homosexual clubs, associations and organisations with penalties of up to 15 years imprisonment.
“So, if you are homosexual in nature, leave the country or face prosecution. But before you say ‘does this matter?, kindly note that anything against the law of the land is criminal and all crimes will be punished accordingly, no matter how small you think it is”.
This statement, coming from the police, is an inadvertent admission and clear indication that the Same-Sex Prohibition Act signed into law by former President Goodluck Jonathan in July 2015 has not been fully enforced.
And, indeed, The Tide observes that since the law came into being three and half years ago, Nigeria has not recorded a single conviction. Is it that there has never been an infringement of the law or that there are no longer homosexuals in the country? If so, what necessitated the Police admonition?
There is no gainsaying the fact that homosexualism is an ideology that negates African tradition. It is abhorrent to our culture and moral values. It is ungodly and not in tandem with modern nature. It is against this backdrop that the Same-Sex Prohibition Act was signed “to prohibit a marriage contract or civil union entered into between persons of the same sex, solemnisation of same, and for related matters”.
But the Act goes beyond criminalising same-sex marriage; it also prohibits all forms of amorous relationship between two persons of the same sex.
According to the Act, anyone who registers, operates or participates in gay clubs, societies or organisations, directly or indirectly; makes a public show of same-sex amorous relationship in Nigeria commits an offence and is liable upon conviction to a term of 10 years; while anyone who is guilty of entering into a same-sex marriage contract or civil union faces up to 14 years imprisonment.
The Tide is not unaware of surreptitious moves by the Western nations to lure Nigeria and other African countries into embracing this immoral, abominable act. We recall that the United States under President Barrack Obama, had attempted to foist gay marriage on Nigeria to no avail.
We also recall that the British Prime Minister, Theresa May, during the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Westminster, United Kingdom, in April, 2018, had urged Nigeria and other Commonwealth nations to revoke laws banning same-sex marriage, even dangling a carrot that the UK would support any Commonwealth member that revokes its anti-gay laws.
The resistance by both the government and people of Nigeria to Western pressure is a clear affirmation that the country, in spite of its unlimited absorptive capacity and attendant erosion of some of its values, still cherishes and places premium on its matrimonial culture.
The Tide is, however, worried that, in spite of public outcry against homosexualism and the Act that prohibits it, the monster has refused to melt or disappear. No thanks to the lip service Nigeria pays to its Same-Sex Prohibition Act.
It is in view of this that we call on government and law enforcement agents to, without further delay, translate the vehemence and resoluteness of Nigerian citizens against this warped, incongruous Western grotesquerie into action by enforcing, in full force, the Same-Sex Prohibition Act.
We also urge the citizenry to help the law enforcement agencies in the fight against same-sex relationship by providing them useful information and evidence that could lead to arrest and prosecution of offenders.
It will amount to monstrous absurdity and great assault on our traditional family structure if we continue to wriggle our hands in helplessness while the monster of homosexualism festers. The time for action is now!