Popular Nigerian gay rights activist Bisi Alimi in a Twitter post this morning hinted that the criminalization of homosexuality in Africa has to do with colonization.
According to Bisi Alimi, homosexuality was not seen as a criminal offence in Africa until the arrival of the colonizers.
Bisi in what he called “History 101” also informed those demanding for the “decolonization” of Africa to stop being homophobic first.
He wrote: “Homosexuality was not a criminal offence in Africa before the colonizers came.”
Bisi Alimi who is now based in the UK and happily married is known for his activism and strict pursuance of gay rights (which is nonexistent in many parts of Africa).
Many writers and scholars have spoken about the role colonization played in the criminalization of homosexuality in Africa before.
In his article for Think Africa titled “Africa: homophobia is a legacy of colonialism“, Val Kalende wrote that anti-gay laws were introduced to Africa by Western colonialists.
The writer also described how the colonizers preyed on African values and rewrote Africa’s history.
