LGBT: Outrage As Nigeria Signs $150 Billion Samoa Deal

The decision by the federal government of Nigeria to sign the contentious Samoa Agreement has infuriated many religious leaders, human rights advocates, and Civil Society Organizations (CSOs).

According to reports, the pact contains provisions requiring developing and underdeveloped countries to back the efforts of the Lesbian, Gay, Bis*xual, and Transgender (LGBT) community for recognition, as condition for getting financial and other supports from advanced societies.

The accord, which bears the name of the Pacific Island of Samoa and was signed there on November 15, 2023, is progressively gaining pace despite resistance from numerous nations that value their cultures’ sensitivity as well as Islamic and Christian beliefs.

This information became public knowledge after the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning; Alhaji Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, at a reception hosted by the European Union (EU) in Abuja on Monday, July 1, revealed that Nigeria has ratified the agreement.

However, in response to a message on Wednesday, Bagudu’s media aide; Bolaji Adebiyi, stated that the federal government’s signed documents—to which the EU’s Minister of Budget had alluded—were solely intended for Nigeria’s economic growth.

He emphasized that there was not even the slightest mention of same-sex marriage or LGBT issues in the documents and that it would be incorrect for anyone to suggest that Nigeria had adopted those ideologies.

The $150 billion trade component was the focus of what Bagudu signed, he claimed. Speaking for Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice Lateef Olasunkanmi Fagbemi SAN, Kamarudeen Ogundele stated he needed to gather some information when he was contacted yesterday to inquire about their knowledge of the recent controversy surrounding the Samoa Agreement.

An alarm was raised about the situation on Wednesday in an article by Sonnie Ekwowusi, a lawyer from Lagos State who chairs the African Bar Association’s (AfBA) Human and Constitutional Rights Committee. Despite numerous meetings and discussions with Nigerian officials, he described the situation as sickening.

“The Samoa Agreement, named after the Pacific Island, Samoa, where it was signed on November 15, 2023, is a celebration of perversity. Certain Articles of the Agreement especially Articles 2.5 and 29.5 legalize LGBT, transgenderism, abortion, teen sexual abuse, and perversity in African countries. The signing of the Agreement by Nigeria constitutes a threat to the sovereignty of Nigeria and Africa. It further debases our democracy.

“I can wager that neither Minister Atiku Bagudu nor the Nigerian officials or diplomats who signed the Samoa Agreement on our behalf, understand the import of the agreement to Nigeria’s sovereignty, let alone the destructive impact of the Agreement in Nigeria. This explains why many African bodies including the AfBA have condemned the agreement and respectfully urged African countries not to sign it.

“Not infrequently, Nigerian officials in Geneva, New York, and other places sign international agreements or treaties over a cup of coffee or a glass of wine with little or no knowledge of their contents,” Ekwowusi said.

Also Read: LGBT Blessings: Pope Francis Says That Africans Are A “Special Case”

He further queried: “Were the Nigerian officials who signed the offensive Samoa Agreement representing their interests or the interests of the Nigerian people? Having refused to sign the Agreement earlier, why did Nigeria change its mind and proceed to sign the Agreement?”

He recalled that on November 15, 2023, Nigeria, to the bewilderment of the EU, refused to sign the “offensive” deal.

He also said that apart from Nigeria, 34 other African, Caribbean, and Pacific (ACP) countries, including the Republic of Benin, Senegal, Liberia, Botswana, Burundi, Jamaica, Mali, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, Somalia, Namibia, Grenada, Eritrea, Malawi, Guinea-Bissau, Madagascar, Antigua and Barbuda, the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, the Central African Republic, the Republic of Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Equatorial Guinea, the Kingdom of Eswatini, the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, the Republic of Maldives, Mauritania, the Republic of Nauru, the Republic of Palau, Saint Lucia, the Republic of Saint Kitts and Nevis, the Kingdom of Tonga, the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, and Tuvalu, also refused to sign the LGBT Agreement.

“In fact, on that fateful November 15, 2023, Nigeria not only refused to sign the LGBT Agreement but was conspicuously absent in Samoa on the day of the signing. Frustrated by the refusal of these 35 countries to sign the Agreement, the European Union issued a significant threat dated November 24, 2023,” he said.

He said that the signing of the Samoa Agreement was completely unacceptable and Nigeria must undo the damage, by immediately withdrawing from the LGBT agreement.

He also urged the National Assembly to invite the Nigerian officials who signed the agreement to explain why they did so.

Gentle Reminder: Be careful how you use your authority and influence, be wise, and treat others with respect.

Chychy Jonas