If Nigeria can’t play fair, they may not be able to play at all. The African nation, which has been mulling comprehensive homophobic laws, has applied to host The Commonwealth, also known as the Olympics for Britain and their 52-former colonies.
Glasgow, Scotland and Abuja, Nigeria lead the hosting competition, but some claim Nigeria’s unjust laws violate the Games’ philosophy. The Guardian‘s sportsman, Nicky Campbell, writes
I might best explain by adducing Article 2 of the Commonwealth Games Federation constitution, which earnestly promotes “gender equality and tolerance”; or Article 7, which says “there shall be no discrimination against any country or person on any grounds whatsoever including race, colour, gender, religion or politics”. That is clear enough, then, and that is Abuja scuppered, then.
One would hope so…
CGF’s chief executive, Mike Hooper, says that organizers have yet to make a decision on the matter. Gay activist Ben Summerskill, however, insists Nigeria’s anti-gay ways undercut the games:
The games is meant to be a celebration of high ideals as well as sportsmanship. To invite people to a country where they are liable to be imprisoned seems inimical to any claim they’re keen to engage them in competitive sport.
Nigeria’s homophobia makes Glasgow the only winner [The Guardian]
Gay rights record threatens Nigerian bid for Commonwealth Games [Pink News UK]
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anonymous
That’s really good news. We have to shame countries like Nigeria that have anti-gay laws into realizing they will lose out on a lot of money if they persist in being willfully hateful.
There is a parellel in the U.S. In the 1950s and 60s, when the Cold War was on. The USSR would regularly mock the US whenever the US would accuse it and China and other communist countries of human rights abuses. They would essentially say: blacks in the US don’t have civil rights. How can you pretend to be the leader of the free world when you treat blacks the way you do?
It was this kind of international shame that helped make the Civil Rights breakthrough of the 60s possible. The federal govt realized that, if they wanted to have the upper moral hand in the Cold War, they couldn’t continue to support segregation.
Anyway, the point of this is that the same thing can happen again: the parts of the world that are against anti-gay laws can shame countries like Nigeria by preventing them from hosting international events (such as the Olympics).
Gay activists should also put pressure on international corporations. They should put conditions on doing business with Nigeria. It’s slow, but it will happen. Just as it did for Civil Rights here all those decades ago.
anonymous
parallel, not parellel, duh
Whup-Ass Master
Of course Nigeria, the retarded country that thinks that the best way to discourage ass sex is to put all the gays in prison together, should be disqualified as a host. Yet remember that homophobia is just one item on a long long list of horrible things that happen there. Sharia stonings, kidnappings, child trafficing, rape, etc. To harp on its anti-homo behavior (which it feels totally justified in continuing) and neglect to mention anything else, has the inintended effect of separating gay rights from human rights. Right?
James
This two year old report seems apt:
http://web.amnesty.org/report2005/nga-summary-eng
Ike
You guys can call us(nigerians)whatever you like to make you guys feel ok ,that’s kool. You can also add school shootings!!,Pedofilers!!,drug wasted generation!!, and other civilised horrible things of the west.
The fact is that the west have in the puffed-up pride of being civilized have lost ‘THAT’ that makes the human race special .
lOST CONTROL OF YOUR KIDS, LOST CONTROL OF THE FAMILY ,AND THE INNATE PERSPECTIVE OF RIGHT AND WRONG.
Now you want to send your gabbage ideolgy to us??
We dont need the money,we are debt free .We may have greedy and in-considerate leaders BUT we have not lost our innate perspective of right and wrong.
We owe it to the next-next- next generation of kids with special regards to ones from the west to know the original concept of what the Family structure looks like.
We owe it to the future Human race to stand firm at this hour when ‘THAT’ that makes us unique is about to be erased.
Your kids need not read about different types of family structure in their books in the future and be brain washed with biased facts but will look up to africa , to nigeria for the truth. So we should be applauded as ones dedicating to keep a human legacy alive as a live museum not as a relic .And what is this legacy…….
As the christian Bible says,”The Good ,All knowing Lord created them male and female,and He named them ADAM and EVE” and not ADAM and STEVE. and He saw it was good.
The games or give up this call to be human,
Then we will give up the games …It’s tooooo little a prise to pay..
NOW,WOULD YOU DARE TO POST MY COMMEN IN THE SPIRIT OF FREEDOM OF SPEECH???
paul taylor
and where is gays rights in Malaysia ? Malaysia held the games in 1998 in a time that did not have the gay marriage issue coming up. Where was the gay marriage provision when New Delhi successfully bid on and won the right to host the 2010 commonwealth games?
The other question is about Glasgow and whether the feral boys situation would perclude gays from walking down the street hand in hand .
Gays are being used in a smear campaign of Nigeria because Glasgow knows that the games are going to Nigeria.
going down the path to what gays are trying to do here is only going to set back any thought of the gays rights you want for Africa. Africa the with the second largest population for a continent has never had a sports event like this in the 76 year history of the games. deny Africa at this time and you will probably have a repeat of 1986 and Edinburgh where Africa, the Caribbean and Asia all boycotted the games over a real human right issue Apartheid.
Grow up