The Nigerian federal government’s decision to sign a $150 billion Samoa Deal has been met with controversies and outrage, due to an alleged LGBTQ clause attached to it.
According to reports, the agreement purportedly includes clauses that require underdeveloped and developing countries to support LGBTQ rights as a condition for getting financial and other forms of support from the more advanced countries.
The agreement which was named after the Pacific Island Samoa where it was signed on November 15, 2023 is gaining traction despite the resistance from the several countries that uphold Islamic and Christian values as well as their cultural norms.
The reports of Nigeria’s ratification of the agreement surfaced on Monday, July 1, when Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, confirmed the development at an European Union (EU) reception in Abuja.
However, in a disclaimer, Bagudu’s media assistant, Bolaji Adebiyi, had on Wednesday, clarified that the documents referenced by Bagudu during the EU reception was strictly pertaining to the Economic Development and did not mention LGBTQ or same-sex marriage.
Adebiyi had stressed that Bagudu signed an agreement related to a $150 billion trade component and not LGBT issues.
Clerics, several rights activists, and Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in Nigeria have and are expressing outrage over the alleged problematic deal.
Recall that a former Nigerian President, Goodluck Jonathan had in January 2014, signed into law, a bill that criminalises same-sex relationships, resisting Western pressure over gay rights and evoking criticism from the United States.
The law contains penalties of up to 14 years in prison and prohibits gay marriage, same-sex ‘amorous relationships’ and membership of gay rights groups.
What They’re Saying
Kamarudeen Ogundele, the spokesman for the Attorney General of the Federation and the Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi SAN, while speaking on the controversy surrounding the Samoa agreement had said that he needed to gather more information and refused to further more details.
In the same vein, a Lagos-based lawyer and chairman of the Human and Constitutional Rights Committee of the African Bar Association (AfBA), Sonnie Ekwowusi posed several questions as regards the alleged bill in an article on Wednesday.
Ekwowusi had criticized the alleged signing of the Samoa Agreement, describing it as “nauseating” and queried the judgment of Nigerian officials.
In his words:
“The Samoa Agreement, named after the Pacific Island, Samoa, where it was signed on November 15, 2023, celebrates perversity. Certain Articles of the Agreement especially Articles 2.5 and 29.5 legalise LGBT, transgenderism, abortion, teen sexual abuse, and perversity in African countries.
“The signing of the Agreement by Nigeria constitutes a threat to the sovereignty of Nigeria and Africa. It further debases our democracy.
“I can wager that neither Minister Atiku Bagudu nor the Nigerian officials or diplomats who signed the Samoa Agreement on our behalf, understand the import of the agreement to Nigeria’s sovereignty, let alone the destructive impact of the Agreement in Nigeria.
“This explains why many African bodies including the AfBA have condemned the agreement and respectfully urged African countries not to sign it.
“Not infrequently, Nigerian officials in Geneva, New York, and other places sign international agreements or treaties over a cup of coffee or a glass of wine with little or no knowledge of their contents.”
The AfBA chairman further recounted that Nigeria and 34 other African, Caribbean, and Pacific countries had originally refused to sign the agreement on November 15, 2023.
He called for Nigeria to immediately withdraw from the Samoa Agreement and urged the National Assembly to summon the officials who signed it to explain their actions.
Also reacting to the controversial deal, an official from The Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) had also reacted to this news, stating that the council’s stance on same-sex marriage and LGBT issues remains unchanged.
Rabiu Yusuf, the Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Treaties, Protocols and Agreements had however, said that the Samoa Agreement had not been brought before the National Assembly for approval.
“To the best of my knowledge, nothing has happened in the National Assembly regarding the Samoa Agreement,” he said.
Why It Matters
By legalizing LGBTQ rights through Articles 2.5 and 29.5, the Samoa deal challenges existing laws and societal norms. Political pundits are questioning whether Nigerian officials fully comprehend the implications, fearing it could undermine the nation’s autonomy and democratic principles.
This alleged agreement has also ignited a clash of cultural values, especially in a country that upholds Islamic and Christian norms that traditionally oppose LGBTQ rights. This tension between cultural conservatism and global advocacy for LGBTQ equality adds the fuel to the controversy.
