Nigerian gay activist, Bisi Alimi, who recently got married to his Scottish lover might just be planning to contest the west Africa country’s 2019 elections.
Alimi posted a tweet over the weekend in which he said that he had finally decided to throw his “hat into Nigerian politics”.
“After much thinking for over 2yrs, I have decided to throw my hat into Nigeria politics. In what capacity? Will declare later,” he tweeted.
If he lives up to his word, Alimi would be the first openly gay man to go into Nigerian politics.
Reports last year indicated that Alimi was assaulted and persecuted before he fled into exile, all because he was gay.
It was reported at the time that he spoke about his travails to persuade British legislators to engage Nigerian policy makers about a law that made even befriending a homosexual a crime punishable by 10 years in jail.
Nigeria signed a law in 2014 which made it illegal for gay people to even hold a meeting. The Same Sex Marriage Prohibition Act also criminalised clubs,associations and organisations, with penalties of up to 14 years in jail.
The act drew international condemnation from countries such as the United States and Britain.
