An op-ed by Peace Osemwengie, in honour of Pride Month.
Queerness: fad, concept, or truth? Who defines what a taboo is? And then, who decides why taboos should have consequences for breaking them?
Our society is rigid in its obvious flexibility, a jostling between good, not so good, not so bad, bad, and the very worst, which serves as good to its advocates, all in one bag.
In this seeming chaos, there is agreed order, and often, this order is entrenched firmly in beliefs, practices and values dictated by organised religion. So, one cannot reach for certain aspirations because of their gender, nor exhibit certain traits because ‘weak’ is a name you cannot be rid of. And so, people hide, lie and pretend and do it so well that they become shadows, empty shells walking this brown earth.
One such taboo subject is Queerness. A vast majority of the population does not understand it because it is taboo to talk about it or write about it, and so the stories that we ought to hear, to help us understand the subject only resound in the head of the storyteller. And this absence of words to fill the vacuum has resulted in the exploitation of many, the death of many more, the exile of much more, and a huge misunderstanding of a greater population.
Literature helps us see, hear and understand the world around us, and in this rapidly evolving world, we need to hear the truth so that we do not become liars and pretenders.
There are a number of Nigerian authors and poets who have owned up to their real selves and have decided to tell their own stories so that everyone understands, everyone sees, and maybe one day soon, acceptance will not mean burning bodies and bloody fists.
Romeo Oriogun
is a poet of Bini and Yoruba origin who grew up in Lagos and now lives in Iowa, United States. Oriogun has written a number of chapbooks, but the one that stands out for most poets today is Sacrament of Bodies. The book, written in a journalistic manner, is a yearning to be free to be. It expresses anger, sorrow, pain, regret, illusory acceptance, and some form of fragile joy.
Romeo won the Brunel University Africa Poetry Prize in 2017 and the Nigerian Prize for Literature Award in 2022.
Elogohosa Osunde
is the author of the debut short story collection: Vagabonds! They are a multidisciplinary maker whose work spans film, visual art and writing. Elogohosa uses language and an otherworldly sense of realism to explain, unapologetically, why certain things are and tell how that ownership of the true self breaks the power that a “righteous” collective holds over the individual. Their latest short film, TATAFO, is loosely based on two short stories in their debut book and is described as “an art, fashion and music film for vagabonds everywhere.”
Eloghosa has been reviewed by the New York Times, LA Times, Olongo Africa and interviewed by Elle, Shondaland and A Long House.
Akwaeke Emezi
Freshwater, Dear Senthuran, and The Death of Vivek Oji, among many others, are testaments to the reality of Akwaeke Emezi. They have owned their selves, accepted their existence, and now shatter all the roadblocks that have previously held them back. Akwaeke uses a beautiful, almost lyrical command of language to create written art that celebrates Ibo ontology, mysticism, and a sense of being that defies modern conventions about gender and sexuality.
Akwaeke has been celebrated by notable organisations and presses like the NAACP and TIME magazine and has won several awards, like the Stonewall Book Award for Nonfiction and the Commonwealth Short Story Prize for Africa.
Read the full digital version of this story in the May – June 2023 issue of Modaculture Digital here.
