“STOP PRESSURING NIGERIA TO ACCEPT GAY MARRIAGE” OKOGIE WARNS AMERICA

The Archbishop of the Catholic Archdiocese of Lagos, Anthony Cardinal Okogie and the founder of Vineyard Christian Centre, Lagos, Archbishop John Osa-Oni, have sent a strong warning to United States of America and its Western collaborators to abstain from pressuring Nigerian government to soft pedal on its current anti-gay stands, vowing that no amount of intimidation would make the nation give in to their whims and caprices. Speaking at different occasions in the wake of pressures on President Goodluck Jonathan by officials of the United States and other international human rights groups to have a re-think on the Same Sex Marriage Prohibition Act recently passed by the National Assembly and duly signed into law by the President, the two religious titans cautioned them to mind their own business and stop meddling into Nigerian domestic affairs. In a press conference ahead of the world leadership conference of end-time generals, scheduled to take place at the Guiding Light Assembly from Thursday March 13th to Saturday 15th, Osa-Oni said, it was most unfortunate that the Western countries that brought Christianity to Africa are now the ones requesting that they should embrace gay marriage which goes against the very foundation of the Christian faith.

He puts it thus, “The Holy Bible is unambiguous about the issue of homosexuality and I thank God for the national assembly for passing the bill into an act despite the pressure from the Western countries and the courage of President Goodluck Jonathan for signing same into law without giving consideration to threats from the western leaders to stop giving aid to the nation.” The Pentecostal archbishop described Jonathan as “God’s appointed for this season,” noting that he should be applauded for that singular act of bravery and a demonstration of patriotism. On his part, the Catholic Cardinal said, “I don’t know what concerns the United States of America and other Western nations on a matter that purely concerns our own moral code. As a nation, we have a right to decide on what we want and what we don’t want.

If the western nations decide that homosexuality and lesbianism are good enough for them, fine. But they have no right to impose their will on us.” “We have made it clear that we do not approve gay relationship under any guise or its attendant consequences and we have every right to establish such in our law. That is the wish of our people, and as you know the voice of the people is the voice of God.” On the possibility of Nigeria being sanctioned by the international committee like is the case with Uganda if it fails to bend to their wishes; Okogie said such a move if contemplated, would be unfortunate as it would only make Nigerians more determined in their stand. He said, “I have said it before and I will continue to say it; nothing can make us bend to their wishes, if as I gathered, over 83 countries across the world are currently opposed to homosexuality, it shows how detested the practice is. It is against our religious belief and custom and these are very sensitive areas that make us who we are as a people and we cannot compromise them.”