EYE CANDY: Toyin Koyejo

Toyin Koyejo is a model of Nigerian descent who lives in Los Angeles and New York City (according to PopGlitz). Toyin has social media accounts on Facebook, Instagram (@shirtlesssinger) and Twitter (@shirtlesssinger). However, even with all this information I don't know Toyin's age, height or weight (although he is referred to as 26 in articles published on the web in 2011).

UPDATE: Uganda President Blocks Anti-Gay Bill From Going Into Effect

Good news! The horrible anti-gay measure that passsed the Uganda legislature late last year has been prevented from going into effect by President Yoweri Museveni on procedural grounds. The bill would have provided for up to a life sentence for homosexual conduct.

The BBC reports:

Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni has refused to approve a controversial bill to toughen punishments for homosexuals.

He has written to the parliamentary speaker criticising her for passing it in December without a quorum.

Homosexuals were "abnormal" or were so for "mercenary reasons" and could be "rescued", a local paper quotes his letter as saying.

The bill provides for life imprisonment for homosexual acts and also makes it a crime not to report gay people.

The promotion of homosexuality - even talking about it without condemning the lifestyle - would also be punishable by a prison term.

Earlier this year the President of Nigeria signed a similarly virulent anti-gay measure into law.

QUEER QUOTE: Nigerian President Signs Virulently Homophobic Bill Into Law

President Goodluck Johnathan of the African nation of Nigeria has signed a virulently anti-gay bill into law that had previously passed the legislature. The bill bans gay marriage and criminalizes public display and almost any public advocacy in support of LGBT equality.

This excerpt from the law is today's Queer Quote:

"Persons who enter into a same-sex marriage contract or civil union commit an offence and are each liable on conviction to a term of 14 years in prison. Any person who registers, operates or participates in gay clubs, societies and organizations or directly or indirectly makes public show of same-sex amorous relationship in Nigeria commits an offence and shall each be liable on conviction to a term of 10 years in prison."

This legislation is of course in direct contravention to basic principles of international human rights law and the United States Department of State released a statement condemning the legislation:

The United States is deeply concerned by Nigeria’s enactment of the Same Sex Marriage Prohibition Act. Beyond even prohibiting same sex marriage, this law dangerously restricts freedom of assembly, association, and expression for all Nigerians. Moreover, it is inconsistent with Nigeria’s international legal obligations and undermines the democratic reforms and human rights protections enshrined in its 1999 Constitution. People everywhere deserve to live in freedom and equality. No one should face violence or discrimination for who they are or who they love. We join with those in Nigeria who appeal for the protection of their fellow citizens’ fundamental freedoms and universal human rights.

It will be interesting to see how domestic anti-gay activists respond to the enactment of this atrocious act. Think they will condemn it? I wouldn't hold my breath!

Hat/tip to Joe.My.God

Eye Candy: Ngo Okafor

Ngo Okafor is an American athlete and model of Nigerian descent who claims to be "the most downloaded black male model on the internet." He has a ModelMayhem.com profile which lists his statistics at 6'3" and 197 pounds. That reference also says he is 27 years old but then at Wikipedia it says that he that he began boxing at age 31 and has since won 2 Golden Gloves titles (in 2008 and 2009). He calls himself a renaissance man on his website, getingo.com, where he has a frequently updated blog.

His full name appears to be Ngoli Onyeka Okafor, but whatever you call him, he is clearly a handsome man!

Celebrity Friday: The Gifted Rotimi Akinosho

One of my secret pleasures has been watching the Starz cable television series Boss starring Kelsey Grammer as the powerful, ruthless mayor of a Midwestern big city (*cough* Chicago *cough*). The show is about the inside view of quid pro quo politics and features some great acting and clever writing. It also features the pulchritudinous Rotimi Akinosho, in a small but pivotal role as "Darius, a muscular drug dealer covered with tattoos" who is dating the Mayor's estranged daughter. 22-year-old Akinosho is of Nigerian descent, and as you can see is definitely tattooed and muscular! (And phyne.)

He is more than just a pretty face, however. Besides being an actor, he is also a model and a musician (and a graduate of Northwestern University).

Remember the name Rotimi Akinosho, because I think (and hope) we will see a lot more of him in the future!

Map of Status of Gay Rights in Africa

Joe.My.God links to this interesting map about the state of the law towards homosexuality throughout Africa, provided by ILGA.

Interestingly, friend of MadProfessah.com, Rod McCollum is currently in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia for an international AIDS conference and is posting some amazing first person reports of his trip on his blog, Rod 2.0. Check it out!

Nigeria Senate Passes Insanely Anti-Gay Bill

Very bad news out of Nigeria. For the last 18 months or so the LGBT blogosphere has been tracking an anti-homosexuality bill in Uganda which included the death penalty for some homosexual acts. Happily that legislation died when the legislative session ended earlier this year, although there are some reports that Uganda's Anti-Homosexuality Bill is being revived.

Now comes news that an arguably even more repressively homophobic bill has passed one legislative body i Africa's most populous nation, Nigeria.

The Washington Post reports:

Nigeria’s Senate voted Tuesday to criminalize gay marriage, gay advocacy groups and same-sex public displays of affection, the latest legislation targeting a minority already facing discrimination in Africa’s most populous nation. 

The bill, now much more wide-ranging than its initial draft, must be passed by Nigeria’s House of Representatives and signed by President Goodluck Jonathan before becoming law. However, public opinion and lawmakers’ calls Tuesday for even harsher penalties show the widespread support for the measure in the deeply religious nation. 

“Such elements in society should be killed,” said Sen. Baba-Ahmed Yusuf Datti of the opposition party Congress for Progressive Change, drawing some murmurs of support from the gallery. 

Gay sex has been banned in Nigeria, a nation of more than 160 million people, since colonial rule by the British. Gays and lesbians face open discrimination and abuse in a country divided by Christians and Muslims who almost uniformly oppose homosexuality. In the areas in Nigeria’s north where Islamic Shariah law has been enforced for about a decade, gays and lesbians can face death by stoning.

Hat/tip to Rod 2.0.

Situation in Nigeria Appears Grim For Gays and Lesbians

Rod 2.0 and Doug Ireland have been doing excellent work covering the ongoing story of draconian, homophobic legislation winding its way through the Nigerian Parliament. The Same Sex Marriage Prohibition Act of 2006 (pdf) would not only prohibit same-sex marriage but any expression of pro-gay sentiment in the country. As Doug Ireland calls it "the world's worst anti-gay law" on his blog:

Homosexual conduct among consenting persons in Nigeria is already a crime
punishable by 14 years in prison, a 19th century penal provision that is alegacy of British colonial rule. But the new legislation goes much, much further in terms of curbing fundamental rights of expression, association, and communication. Among the proposed new law’s many noxious provisions, it would, under penalty of a stiff prison term of five years:

— outlaw membership in a gay group, attending a gay meeting or protest, donating money to a gay organization; or even advocating gay equality in any way, shape, or form;

— outlaw hosting or even visiting a gay Web site;

— outlaw expressions of same-sex love in letters or e-mails;

— outlaw attending a same-sex marriage or blessing ceremony, screening or watching a gay movie, taking or possessing photos of a gay couple, and publishing, selling, or loaning a gay book or video.

The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission has issued a report documenting the response by Nigerians to this proposed anti-gay legislation. The blog Political Spaghetti has particularly detailed coverage of the response of activists to the proposed law.