None of this is calculated to bring a smile to the face of the strait-laced mainstream Nigerian male, especially if he has Religion, as he believes passionately in his heart that a person’s sexuality is determined by God, and all sexual relations are for the purpose of procreation.

How Common Is ‘Homosexuality’ In The World?

What evidence there is, is apt to be confusing, and is mired in controversy and denial. Some researchers have given a figure as high as 8 per cent of the entire human population as having a predominantly homosexual orientation. Many people in different parts of the world, especially in Africa, would hotly dispute that it is so common. President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe would say categorically that there is no homosexuality in his country, nor should any be allowed. President Museveni of Uganda would echo his sentiment. Many members of the general public in Nigeria would agree with those sentiments.

What Is The Evidence From Ethology And The Study Of Other Animals In General?

As stated earlier, it is clearly established that homosexual behaviour is present among several species of animals.

Of course it is one thing to find that a habit exists on the fringe in the animal kingdom. It is another matter to contemplate its possibility or legitimacy among human beings. For one thing, human beings live in society. Every society has rules undergirding personal behaviour and interactions between different members. These rules are based on culture, religion, the prevalent definition of morality, and the world view of the society.

The major religions of the world have positions on homosexuality which would appear clear-cut for the most part, but which have not been exempted from controversy in the present-day.

•Lesbians

Christianity frowns at homosexuality as behaviour which is abhorrent. The story of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah as told in Genesis 19 is generally seen as punishment for rampant homosexual behaviour by the citizenry (the word ‘sodomy’ which is used pejoratively to describe anal sex has its origins in ‘Sodom’). The book of Leviticus has passages that prohibit ‘lying with mankind as with womankind’. A similar story is told in the book of Judges.

Some Christian denominations are clearly opposed tohomosexuality. They include the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Methodist Church, the Reformed Church in America, the American Baptist Church, Conservative Evangelical Churches, and the Southern Baptist Convention. The mainstream Catholic Church holds ‘homosexual acts’ to be ‘grave sins’ which are ‘contrary to natural law’.