I am led into writing about my experiences and opinion following the disheartening responses coming from fellow Africans on the continued homosexuality debate. I have had some peer debates on this issue both before and after becoming a Global Health Corps fellow through which some people may have or had different thoughts and questions about me. Thanks to people who I have lived with and know my life well, I can testify to my heterosexual orientation and objective opinion on homosexuality.
From an African upbringing point of view, I can certainly understand how controversial it might be to think, discuss, and accept homosexuality. But I believe that for a human who lives a life for both themselves and other’s happiness and freedom, homosexuality cannot be a very complicated phenomenon to understand. I am speaking to my fellow Africans: I do not condemn you for standing strongly against this issue, rather, I urge you to start debating the existence of homosexuality with honesty and objectivity regardless of what is norm in our society. So much has changed in our culture over time because certain norms were biased to favor some society members while infringing the right and freedom of other members of the same society. As we broaden our understanding of the diversity that exists among ourselves as humans, we must keep our minds open for change as it will always be necessary to mitigate the biasness that robs the freedoms of individuals who exist in different forms from us.
Genetics is basic science. We cannot confuse the distinction between genotype, environment and phenotype. It is clear that no human will get to choose or change the genotypic composition to carry. Environment is a more dynamic situation, however, it only affects the organism’s phenotype, not genotype. That is why I am appealing to my fellow counterparts not to leave this basic fact behind as we talk about sexual orientation. I fail to connect the relationship between homosexuality and demonic possession as some individuals may argue. I have spent my life in church, and have witnessed a range of demon casting, as well as testimonies around the world. However, I have never witnessed or heard any testimony that a homosexuality demon has been casted. And since demons migrate from one human to another, I would have loved to hear a story about somebody whose sexual orientation changed after acquiring a homosexuality demon. We are humans and should not let our hearts drive into criminalizing others who pose no harm or threat to mankind.
I am not saying Africa should promote homosexuality, rather, I am disheartened by a lack of objectivity in the ongoing debates. It prompts me to question what motivates our leaders to continue in leadership if they are willing to abandon reality for the fear of losing popularity, and why our aspiring leaders are more willing to gain popularity through false pretenses. I cannot trace the wisdom in abandoning aid when leaders have failed to develop mechanisms that compensate for what is provided by aid. At the end of it all, it will only cause more pain and strife for the most vulnerable populations of society.
We need brave leaders who are capable of going against misconceptions of the majority for the good and development of the nation. Imprisoning people who are considered outside the realm of “normal”, on the other hand, is taking human capital away from society. Homosexual people can and do work all around us, and many have and will continue to make valuable contributions in many areas of life. Instead of criminalizing people for being who they are, let’s try to consider that everyone has a valuable contribution in this world.
Speaking of Global Health Corps, we are made unique by our local and international co-fellow pair model. This attracts the world to keep an eye on us and learn from our commitment to affecting social justice. Thus the way we participate in such issues as homosexuality must demonstrate our connectivity, humility, and changemaker qualities. Not only are we opinion leaders, we also possess the quality to negotiate and mobilize others toward our opinion. As much as we may be vested with good opinions, it is always wise to remember that a good opinion maybe spoiled by a wrong approach. We should never present ourselves as ordinary individuals. As we are in the frontlines of changemaking, adaptability must be our asset and such simple phenomenon as homosexuality cannot be complex enough to raise debate among us. If fellows focus so much on embracing their culture and its norms, it may adversely affect the unity that exists among fellows despite coming from diverse backgrounds. Let’s keep momentum, for we have the voice of neglected society members.
I would simply conclude that we are people, whether black or white, African or Western, homosexual or heterosexual. We are all different, and yet, so similar. Being concerned and sharing the pain faced by others makes us human. We should be looking forward to a world where people are accepted for who they are, a world where people freely express who they are, and have opportunities to reach their full potential.
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