Olumide Makanjuola is the director of programmes at Initiative Sankofa D’Afrique de L’ouest (ISDAO). He is a human rights activist, who has received recognitions on the global stage for his creativity and service to mankind. In this interview with BUNMI BAILEY, he shares his exploits; his passion, high points, life challenges, and need for justice for all. Excerpts:
What inspired you to be a human rights activist?
For me, it was about creating the kind of environment that operate and function properly. I was keen in creating that society where people matter, where we understand people emotion and their wellbeing. It was important for me to ensure that I join hands with many across the country to build that society where human being matter regardless of their sexuality or gender. I have always been of the thought that everyone should be an activist; activism is not just a job but a way of life. It’s you seeing injustice and speaking up and against regardless of your personal religious or cultural beliefs. For me, I am inspired at how I am creating that Nigeria, that Africa we are going to live for a very long time. I strongly believe we can build a National and continent that is reflective our diversities.
Can you tell us how the journey has been so far?
The journey has been great some days, and some days, not so great. You know, sometime you see or hear things happen and you just wish you had the power to seek or provide the redress yourself. Having said that, I feel that the journey on sexuality and gender discourse in Nigeria has progressed however, little. I do remember how just about a decade ago, we couldn’t even talk about this issues and how they impact society at large. Today, we are seeing new information around sexuality and gender; we are reading stories of people coming to terms with their sexuality despite societal expectation of them. Beyond just seeing people coming to term with their sexuality, we are seeing spaces being created to address these issues. For example, when I was working as the Executive Director of TIERs, we launched a platform titled ‘Human Rights Sexuality, and The Law’. It was created solely to discuss sexuality and gender but also looking at restrictive law and societal norm. These things couldn’t happen just about a decade ago. Apart from this, we are using pop culture to advance discourse but also to educate people and tell stories of Gay, bisexual and lesbian person, and their daily experience in a society that majorly belief in heteronormative and think heteronormativity is the only way of being human. Honestly, it has been a journey and I see that journey taking us further into the future of a Nigeria where we understand people and know that not everyone is like yourself but you must learn to accept others.
What are the major challenges you face?
There are many challenges, just like you have in every field of work. One of the biggest challenges is how we use personal religious belief as a yardstick to judge others and forgetting that religion is a personal choice that people make, sexuality is not. Also, we have seen cases where law enforcement agencies have victimised persons perceived to be LGBTQ instead of protecting. We don’t have laws that protect people; instead we have several laws that criminalise persons that self-identify as LGBTQ. Also, some of the challenges we face are very social such as parent rejecting their child, mob attack, arbitrary arrest but to mention a few. When these issues happen, addressing them is always a challenge because for a parent, they are worried mostly how immediate family and society at large will view them, and for this reason, they will rather not spend time trying to understand their child. The problem with us as people is that we have never taught ourselves diversities and this idea that people are different and when we see different, we should embrace and learn and not set a standard. Societal standard set by us is the biggest challenge I have faced throughout this work. Once we remove this unnecessary standard and understand human diversity, we will be able to change our laws to reflect this. We need to stop telling people what they should be or how they should be without us understanding that we will never be same, never.
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In 2016, you were honoured by Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II for your advocacy work; what does this mean for you?
Every time I get asked these questions, I laugh. I laugh because I often don’t even know how to process this. It was a great moment when it happened. Accolades are great but that has never been the goal for me. My own accolades have always been centered on achieving that society where everyone can be and live together regardless of any form of stigma, discrimination or violence as a result of who they are. The event was great, hanging and chatting with the Queen, David Beckham, Prince Harry and a few British Icons, I enjoyed it but that ended there. Post the event, I was back to my reality, one where we judge people per their sexuality or gender or disenfranchise people from employment, housing, education, health care services because they don’t fit into the box of societal expectation.
You have just been appointed as the first director of programmes at ISDAO, how do you feel about this?
These feel great, absolutely great. I will be doing more than I was doing before. Beyond just leading a conversation from Nigeria, I now get to work across West Africa but more importantly, ensure that we support grassroots organisations that are creating safe space and enabling an environment that respect rights of everyone including LGBTQ persons. We are about to change how philanthropy or known like within West Africa. This is the first indigenous philanthropy fund for West Africa and by Africa working toward an inclusive and just society. Any philanthropy that supports work where human rights of everyone including LGBTQ person is not respected, is part of the problem. Your philanthropy work doesn’t need to be LGBTQI inclusive if it’s not your focus but it needs to respect the rights of every human being while delivering its work and those human beings are inclusive of LGBTQ persons.
What new thing will you bring to the table now that you have such an important role?
For me, we must understand why philanthropy exists in the first place and one of this is to fill the gap of injustice created by government law and policies. One of the many things I will be doing is challenging how philanthropy has organised in West Africa and how many of these philanthropy organisations have contributed to the problem through what they fund or who they fund. For example, if you are funding an organisations that believes that LGBTQ person should be stoned to death, sent to 14 years imprisonment or death sentence, you are part of the problem. And what we want to show people is that philanthropy must be inclusive, respectful and promote justice for all regardless of sexual orientation or identity expression. My focus in seeing that we support the work of many organisation across West Africa that are providing legal support, ensuring justice for those whose right are violated, creating a safe space that is inclusive for all person. We will do this through many means and that includes working with groups to tell their stories, share these stories and ensure that we use these stories to provide a new way of thinking.
How will ISDAO ensure equality across the West Africa through her work?
We will do this through the work that we fund, the spaces that we engage and the voices that we promote. Our goal is to increase and diversify resources available to support and advance the rights and safety of LGBTQ in the West African region as well as to build a culture of philanthropy committed to human rights and social justice in West Africa. We are very clear on our long-term goal, an inclusive West Africa and we believe this is possible through what we and others philanthropies fund, we can achieve this.
What role do you think business play in ensuring Human Rights across the world?
Business plays a huge role in promoting human rights. We must make business think beyond profit or the huge number and start seeing people. You can create philanthropy culture if you don’t understand why they exist in the first place, it is not for show off but actual doing and problem-solving. We need to ask business, how do you treat people who work for you? Are inclusive is your work-place? How much do you respect diversity? During my tenure at TIERs, we saw people fired for being gay or lesbian and not because they were unable to deliver on the job. Also, business must understand that the work they do must respect, promote and protect the right of their workers and others. Before profit, we must see people as people and not as number. Business must ensure that they create work-place policies that are inclusive for all regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. They must speak up in places or countries that violate human rights of persons without any hold back. If your business is silent in the face of injustice just because you make so much profit from that country or place, your business and yourself is part of the problem. Business must remember that their business need human to function.
How can philanthropic organisation working in West Africa ensure the right of everyone is protected?
The only way they can do this is through what they fund. We understand and know that not everyone has to work on LGBTQ rights but we must ensure that organisations that you are funding are not promoting hate or violence toward any group of persons including LGBTQ persons. If any philanthropic organization is funding groups or person that has been known to promote hate, violence or justify a law that limit how people can be and express, that philanthropic organisation need to rethink their work and strategy, especially those whose work is based on human rights. Human Rights have only one language and that language is human regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity expression. This means, organisation receiving fund to do work right work or any other charitable work must respect the right of people from a human rights perspective not a religious perspective. Religious beliefs are fine but these are personal beliefs and can’t override human rights of persons.
