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Meet Bolu Okupe, the 27-year-old son of Nigerian presidential advisor Doyin Okupe. In a stark rebuke to his father and the homophobia of his birth country, Okupe just came out of the closet.
“Yes I’m Gay AF,” he wrote on Instagram, captioning a photo of him holding the Pride flag and posing in his rainbow-colored shorts.
The announcement invited immediate homophobic backlash from his Nigerian countrymen, including a rebuke from his father.
My attention has been drawn to a publication of my 27yr old son, Bolu okupe, in which he declared publicly that he is Gay.
I gave him that name MOBA OLUWA RIN, ( I WALKED WITH GOD) because he was born at the time I gave my life to Christ. pic.twitter.com/39RXFueGVB— Doyin (@doyinokupe) January 21, 2021
“My attention has been drawn to a publication of my 27yr old son, Bolu okupe, in which he declared publicly that he is Gay,” Doyin Okupe wrote on Twitter. “I gave him that name MOBA OLUWA RIN, ( I WALKED WITH GOD) because he was born at the time I gave my life to Christ.”
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I have been aware of this his new orientation for a while now.
He knows that as a Christian and a witness for Christ ( an evangelist) I am vehemently opposed to homosexuality as it runs contrary to the avowed precepts of my Christian faith.— Doyin (@doyinokupe) January 21, 2021
“I have been aware of this his new orientation for a while now.” Doyin Okupe continued. “He knows that as a Christian and a witness for Christ ( an evangelist) I am vehemently opposed to homosexuality as it runs contrary to the avowed precepts of my Christian faith.”
Related: Professional basketball player Marco Lehmann comes out as gay
Bolu Okupe, for his part, isn’t standing for the hate. After his post received more than 3,000 comments–some supportive, some attacking him–he deleted the entire comments section of the post and turned off any further commenting.
Over on Twitter, Bolu has experienced an outpouring of support for coming out.
“@boluokupe is a hero,” user @blacky_shaun wrote. “It takes a lot of strong will to come out as gay when you from such a prominent Nigerian family. Kudos to you man.”
@boluokupe is a hero. It takes a lot of strong will to come out as gay when you from such a prominent Nigerian family. Kudos to you man ???????
— ? Masseur ??? (55k) (@blacky_shaun) January 22, 2021
“But seriously @boluokupe we are here for you bro,” tweeted @BlahkCedar. “May your bravery be a starting point for more of us to begin to live our true selves and over our darkest fears. Love.”
But seriously @boluokupe we are here for you bro. May your bravery be a starting point for more of us to begin to live our true selves and over our darkest fears. Love ??
— Cedar??? (@BlahkCedar) January 22, 2021
In Nigeria, homosexuality remains a criminal offense, punishable by up to 14 years in prison. Gay sex, cross-dressing and showing same-sex affection are all considered illegal. Doyin Okupe, for his part, supports the criminalization of LGBTQ conduct. He also has become the subject of criminal investigations himself, having failed to adhere to road-building contracts through his business, and for money laundering and embezzlement.