Olumide Makanjuola

Olumide Makanjuola (born 7 June, 1984) is a Nigerian human rights activist, storyteller, LGBTQI advocate,and social entrepreneur. He co-founded The Initiative For Equal Rights (TIERs) and served as its executive director since 2024. He is the program director for Initiative Sankofa d'Afrique de l'Ouest (ISDAO), a regional activist-led organization supporting an inclusive society free from violence and injustice through funding to local organisations. Quotes I started around about 2005. It started quite informally, it wasn't something that was planned by myself and a group of friends. We were just seeing different people complain about different issues, different experiences. We saw how people who were feminists would constantly get beaten and or bullied or those who would say things like "this one na gay, why you come dey waka like gay na?" Things like that. Why? Why can't we just let people be, why can't we just free people? So, it started rather informally in 2005, and then in 2007, it started taking shape. And then in 2008, we realized there was an issue at hand to deal and that's when we thought about creating an organisation. For me, the urge was to resist injustice, so it wasn't injustice that was experienced by LGTBQ persons, but everyone. I would generally flip at anything that abuses children. But I took a particular interest in LGTBQ and minority rights because it was something that a lot of people did not want to discuss, something a lot of people didn't see as part of human rights. We hate women and we hate LGBTQ people so Nigeria is anti-women and anti-LGBTQ people. Talk about LGBTQ, everyone has the same voice, talk about women, everyone has the same voice. Look at the women who were arrested and molested by the police in Abuja. Now the same men who were complaining about how SARS officers were doing social profiling of what they call yahoo boys with the tattoos and dreadlocks. These same people came and asked why the women were wearing short skirts and why there were outside at 12 am. The only time our voices are collectively agreed is when there is some kind of injustice towards women and LGBTQ persons. I think there was a lack of education, lack of understanding, and lack of awareness of how diverse we are as human beings, that really got me interested in this subject. In an interview people think that when somebody says he is gay, he automatically wants to get married, but it's a lie. How can you want to get married in a country that doesn't even recognise you to begin with? Why would you want to get married in a county that doesn't believe that your sexuality is valid? It is actually beyond marriage, it's more about the ability for people to be who they are and have that freedom to express themselves. So, it is less about the law and more about people first understanding that human beings are diverse. His opinion on Nigeria law on same sex union One of the ways we can do this is by changing the narrative which can be done through TV shows. We have to project alternatives because we can't all be one thing. So we can do this through plays, books, storytelling. We have to create diverse things that show how people can be and let them make an informed decision. We have to also create space for conversation, things like symposium and political dialogues because a lot of times people don't really understand the issue all they know is the headline they saw. This is why the media also has a role to play. Journalists need to learn to report the facts without bias. It's not just about legalising same-sex marriage for me. You can legalise it and people still do not have equal rights. For instance, South Africa has some of the best equality laws in the world but lesbians are still getting raped on a daily basis by men who think they can change their sexual orientation. This is why we should be talking about the many African countries that have declared homosexuality as a crime. That's what I care about. We have to stop criminalising homosexuality. So, let's start with the fact that being gay is not a crime before talking about legalising same-sex unions. His opinion about about gay laws in Africa I have always believed we need to free ourselves on discussion around sex, this thinking that once you talk about sex you are “lose or unholy” is wrong and a false to our realities. Heterosexual people need to liberate themselves from this thought as it will help them free LGB persons and start seeing them as full human being who is not only about sex but will equally have sex as much as any human being. I have been thinking about the ideology of people and how they think about other human beings, especially those they consider to be different from what they already know. External links Category:Activists from Nigeria Category:Human rights activists Category:1984 births Category:Living people