Thread by @aeckay

I was less than 9 the first time I saw two men kissing in Kano.

They were local men.
They didn’t learn it in yankee.

https://twitter.com/mahmoodsalisu/status/1153351825061502977

So I’ve been getting a bunch of “defensive” and “aggressive” feedback on this tweet.
And it’s typical.

The main issue of Northern Nigeria is denial. They would rather deny everything to obscurity.

The biggest crime is shame.
The biggest success is hypocrisy.

Your support or otherwise of the LGBTQ community is entirely your decision and whichever stand you take I’m sure is justifiable

But what you shouldn’t do is pretend the subject is inexistent.

An outspoken person is seen as “Mara kunya” which literally means “a shameless person”

From D.V. to the infinity of human evils are always subdued by silence.

“What will people say”
“How will the other family see us”
“Washing your dirty linen in public”
Until you die. LOL.

Most Northerners will rather die than admit openly to anything “unpopular” to the culture.

I grew up in a conservative Christian denomination in Kano and it’s the same fucking problem.

Teenagers get pregnant and no one talks about sex education.. everyone is focused on how they have disgraced the family.

“They get pregnant out of wedlock in their family” LOL

I remember a prominent member of the church whose daughter got pregnant out of wedlock 3times.

No one talked about the unproteted sex. It was concluded that there was a demonic attack on the family to test their faith.

Everyone was having sex.. but the attack was pregnancy.

I lived inside the city of Kano.
I went into houses inside the cities with walls taller than the entire building.

I had conversations with fathers of friends.

There are very few things anyone will tell me about Northern Nigeria.

I went to school in Borno State.

In my opinion, the NORTH will never move forward until the oath of silence is broken and honest conversations are had.

The rape of both boys and girls in the North is outrageous.
Those almajiris are not accounted for.
Most of them are raped and even killed.
No record.

It’s like when we speak of religious intolerance that we are all seeing
The riots, the deaths

There are people that will tear shirt to argue with you that Islam does not support it
Okay fine

Now tell those killing “in the name of Allah” that they are wrong
NO.

Denial is easier

And before you think this is an attack on a group, you see the whole conversation about catholic priests and Altar boys?

Someone spoke out.
That oath of silence was broken.

For years the church, though aware, subdued it.. made it seem “impossible to happen”

But today nko?

You can only pretend for so long

Poverty is also a very potent weapon.
And that’s why poverty is preserved in the north

Imagine your benefactor molesting your child.. you will have to choose btw food and child

This is never an easy decision especially when you have other kids.