Disclaimer: I’m not an expert, but more familiar than most westerners.
Nigeria has a particularly rough history of religious extremism and totalitarianism. Even a lot of the indigenous beliefs were particularly intolerant (although this varied a lot, as Nigeria is an extremely diverse nation). These beliefs are rare nowadays, but still influence the culture and superstition. Adding to this, you have the influence of two abrahamic religions - in the north is a significant Islamic population, and in the south, Christianity largely imported (and enforced) by the British. I can’t speak for the Islamic beleifs, but as was the case in many other places, the Christian beliefs imported and enforced were generally more conservative and extreme, and less allowed to change.
As well as this, the brutality of both regional warlords, colonization, then multiple different military dictatorships that followed, and now an ineffective government where terrorism and organized crime are common, lead many people to become more religious. Even now with a (relatively) stable and calm government, churchs and mosks are still one of the only sources for social assistance and security in communities. At the same time, the central positon of these churches leads to them being very corrupt and greedy, often being run more like a cult than a church as we tend to think of one. At the same time, in the modern world, this greed mean they also take in a lot of money from influential “Christian” organizations, for example, a lot of very rich, very political Anerican mega-churches, and will happily bend their teachings to appease wealthy donors.
All of this has led to Nigeria being effectively a perfect storm for homophobia and religious discrimination despite being (relatively) free.
Disclaimer: I’m not an expert, but more familiar than most westerners.
Nigeria has a particularly rough history of religious extremism and totalitarianism. Even a lot of the indigenous beliefs were particularly intolerant (although this varied a lot, as Nigeria is an extremely diverse nation). These beliefs are rare nowadays, but still influence the culture and superstition. Adding to this, you have the influence of two abrahamic religions - in the north is a significant Islamic population, and in the south, Christianity largely imported (and enforced) by the British. I can’t speak for the Islamic beleifs, but as was the case in many other places, the Christian beliefs imported and enforced were generally more conservative and extreme, and less allowed to change.
As well as this, the brutality of both regional warlords, colonization, then multiple different military dictatorships that followed, and now an ineffective government where terrorism and organized crime are common, lead many people to become more religious. Even now with a (relatively) stable and calm government, churchs and mosks are still one of the only sources for social assistance and security in communities. At the same time, the central positon of these churches leads to them being very corrupt and greedy, often being run more like a cult than a church as we tend to think of one. At the same time, in the modern world, this greed mean they also take in a lot of money from influential “Christian” organizations, for example, a lot of very rich, very political Anerican mega-churches, and will happily bend their teachings to appease wealthy donors.
All of this has led to Nigeria being effectively a perfect storm for homophobia and religious discrimination despite being (relatively) free.