Bisi Alimi

Bisi Alimi is best known for being the first gay man to come out on Nigerian television. An advocate for better HIV/AIDs education following the death of several friends in the 90s, Bisi’s work continued through the early 00s, where he engaged with the local gay/MSM (men who have sex with men) community and worked as a programme director to develop and provide sexual health services and support. 

His appearance and public coming out on a popular Nigerian TV show in 2004 risked both his career and his life, and although he received some praise for it, the response was mainly negative and he received death threats and was disowned by his family and most of his friends. During this time, LGBTQ+ support was almost non-existent, with one survey showing that 97% of Nigerian residents believe homosexuality is a way of life that society should not accept, so there was little to no support for him, including legally. His coming out was not long after he had been diagnosed with HIV, so the appearance was meant to be a call for wider acceptance, and a push for LGBTQ+ rights in the country. 

Sadly, social acceptance of LGBTQ+ rights continued to deteriorate, and the next few years saw the proposed ‘Anti Same Sex Bill’ come into play - which was eventually passed in 2013 as the Same Sex Marriage Prohibition Act. This bill meant that there would be time in prison (some Northern states also have the death penalty) for anyone who ‘performs, witnesses, aids or abets’ a same-sex marriage, while also prohibiting any display of a ‘same-sex amorous relationship’, and adoption of children by gays or lesbians. The bill is very much in use today, recently seeing 47 men put on trial for same-sex displays of affection. 

In 2007, following a number of death threats, Bisi was forced to leave Nigeria for his own safety, and he was granted asylum in the UK. Not only has he since worked with a staggering number of UK and international charities, but he is also the founder of the Bisi Alimi Foundation, a charity established in 2015 to advocate for a Nigeria where everyone is equal, regardless of their gender identity or sexual orientation.

Bisi is an inspiration to not only LGBTQ+ people in Nigeria, but across Africa and beyond. He is now a British citizen, but he continues his fight for a more equal Nigeria, AIDs advocacy, and in October 2019 he organised a successful pride event in Lagos. His story is one that reminds us, especially in Western countries, just how far we’ve come. It also asks us to acknowledge the rights we have here in the UK, and highlights the need for vigilance, as progressive wins can easily be rolled back if we get too complacent.