Homophobia in African Music – The P-Square Rant

Recently a member of the popular Nigerian duo P-Square made a homophobic post on Facebook which naturally got shared and liked a bunch of times. What pissed gay people off was that they were slated to perform in Washington DC in the USA (a city which supports gay marriage) and in a gay-friendly club no less. Also annoying is that there have been rumours (some from very credible sources) that one of them is gay. Some Nigerian LGBT activists are trying to put a stop to their tour. 

I don’t know if the one who made the statement is the gay one and he’s trying to draw attention away from himself. I would advise him to read about all the outed US statesmen and religious leaders and think again about the course of action he has chosen. On the other hand, people have tried to talk to him via Facebook about the comments he has been making – he usually responds by blocking them. The other thing that I didn’t expect is the surprising response by many LGBTs – they keep trying to downplay the post, saying “he didn’t mean it” or “it’s not that serious” or “he’s just playing“. The worst is that “he is an African trying to make it so let’s leave him“. While I’m all for my fellow Africans making it in the big bad world, people are responsible for the words that leave their mouths, pens or keyboards in a public space and should be held accountable for them. Many people listen to their music (including yours truly) and to what they say, therefore I hate to think of what such comments could do to fans who are not comfortable with their sexuality and those looking to cause havoc as homophobia is rising in sub-Saharan Africa. Sometimes I wonder if many gay Africans really do prefer the anti-gay environments many of us live in.

This is yet another reason I think most musicians should pipe down and focus on their music if they have nothing constructive to say.