Bolu Okupe, son of former presidential aide, Dr Doyin Okupe, has disclosed that he knew he was gay since he was 10 years old.
In an interview, he said sexual orientation is not something that one can reconsider because it is a natural disposition emanating from birth.
According to him, homosexuality is not anti-Christ, though it is forbidden in the Bible and that he hopes one day it would be decriminalised as society becomes more open to embrace all its members with love, regardless of their sexual orientation.
He said: “I did not choose to be gay. No one chooses their sexual orientation. The same way people do not choose to be straight, you just know.
“From the age of 10 or 11, I knew I was different, and if you speak to more people in the LGBTQ community, they will tell you the same thing, it starts around pre-puberty years. We would progress more as a society if we spoke more to each other and judged less. If people take time to have conversations with people of the LGBT community and understand their point of view and perspectives, you will realise that most of us are really not trying to harm anyone and there is no “agenda.” We simply just want to exist and be entitled to the same basic human rights as everyone else.
“This is the way I am and it is the way I have always been and will always be. I and many others in the LGBTQ (Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer) community were born the way we are, many may not understand this but stop and think for a second, why would we intentionally choose this lifestyle when we know that we will be ridiculed and shamed by society? I do hope that one day we can, as Nigerians and Africans, get to the point where we love and accept each other regardless of things such as sexual orientation.
“I love and appreciate every one of my family members, my father inclusive, because if not for him, I definitely would not be able to live the life that I currently live. So, I will never utter anything disrespectful (to him) on any platform. With regard to homosexuality being anti-Christ, this is not incorrect, as many have pointed out to me. It is clearly forbidden in the Bible; however, I would like to also mention that there are a lot of things that are also forbidden in the Bible that many Christians partake in. So, it confuses me why people of the Christian religion feel like they can pick and choose what to be morally superior about.
“I do not have any regrets about coming out. Whether people like it or not, it has started a discussion on this topic within the Nigerian atmosphere that was necessary. Being gay is not “Western” or “European.” There are many gay people in Nigeria, they just do not have the ability to openly live that way due to fear of criticism and judgments similar to the reactions that I received. I hope one day homosexuality can be decriminalised in Nigeria. However, I know that we have a long way to go before we get there.
(Punch)