4 Openly Gay Creatives In Nigeria
It's pride month! Deck the halls with priceless artworks, fa la la la la la, la la la la!
Pride month is celebrated annually in June, across the globe. The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and questioning celebrate this month in honour of the 1969 Stonewall riots. This movement is to aid in achieving equal justice and equal opportunity for members of the community.
With the extra portions of hate on a plater, served daily to queer persons in Nigeria, living and ‘daring’ to thrive, is a feat that must be celebrated.
Here are 4 openly queer creatives who have in or way or the other impacted the community with their work.
PAMELA ADIE
Fighting to ensure the first same-sex movie is created in the country, screenwriter, Director and LGBTQ Rights activist Pamela Adie, can best be described as an icon in my books. Adie made history with the movie ”Ife”, the country’s first gay romance movie. MTV’s Shuga actress, Uzoamaka Aniunoh, played the lead role in the movie which has since gone on to garner thousands of views and was recently selected by the ”Wicked Queer, Boston’s LGBTQ+ Film Festival.”
UYAIEDU IKPE-ETIM
Nigerian filmmaker Uyaiedu needs little to no introduction. The screenwriter and movie director came to prominence following her work on the 2020 same-sex movie Ife. Uyai worked alongside producer Pamela Adie on the masterpiece. She was also listed as BBC’s 100 Women for 2020, to recognise her contributions to women’s rights in Nigeria. Her directorial debut marked the first major movie centring on gay romance.
ADO AMINU
Writer Ado Aminu is one of the few queer writers the community and country as a whole, can boast of. This spiritually-awakened wordsmith ran the non-binary blog at Ynaija before exiting the platform to work on a project with Hollywood’s paramount pictures. Ado Aminu has with his writings and creativity impacted thousands of queer and heterosexual folks alike with his insightful takes on several topics affecting not just the community but humanity as a whole. Currently, Ado is working to build the boldest space yet for Nigerian queer creatives.
HARRY ITIE
Award-winning entertainment journalist and filmmaker Harry Itie is everywhere and nowhere. Harry, is the Editor in Chief at The Rustin Times, a media platform that focuses on issues surrounding the LGBT community across Africa and the African diaspora. He has also worked on several documentaries including 2020’s ”Defiance: Voices Of A New Generation, a documentary which focused on the experiences of young LGBT+ Nigerians. Defiance went on to garner major attention and was selected at the Out Film Festival in Nairobi, Kenya, and the Black History Month edition of DC Queer Flix in the United States.