How Queercity Is Advancing Gay Rights in Nigeria Through Media and Activism
Jesse Aduma
Before the read
Q: How are queer voices gaining ground in Nigeria despite legal and cultural barriers?
A bold media platform is creating space for LGBTQI+ expression and activism through powerful storytelling.
Q: What is Queercity Media, and why is it making headlines in Nigeria?
It’s a trailblazing queer-led media and arts group amplifying LGBTQI+ rights like never before.
Q: Can creative activism really influence gay rights in Nigeria?
Through art, festivals, and media, one organization is turning visibility into empowerment.
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The Impact Of The Activities Of Queercity Media & Productions On The LGBTQI+ Community In Nigeria
The urge to express one’s innermost identity is an impulse rooted in any living species. For LGBTQI+ individuals in Nigeria, where gay rights remain a highly contested issue, this expression becomes even more urgent. Humans – being more intelligent than most – have the ability, and often the need, to conceal aspects of their lives that may not conform to societal norms. In regions where queer expression is criminalized or stigmatized, such as Nigeria, this impulse can evolve into a severe compulsion, as the real self continually strives to break through the surface.
This constant struggle to suppress authentic identity—especially within a society that challenges gay rights in Nigeria—leads many to feel constrained, inadequate, or unseen. It’s this emotional weight that Queercity, a groundbreaking LGBTQI+ media and arts organization, is working to lift. By championing visibility and creative expression, Queercity is helping queer Nigerians reclaim their narratives and live more freely.
More so than in other areas of the world, these worldly views on life have been met with stiff opposition in Africa, where the culture is thicker and the people more rigid. As such, the community’s growth in these areas has been hindered more so than anywhere else.
However, thanks to the efforts of different pillars in the community, queer persons in these areas are finding the will and motivation to take pride in the aspects of their personalities they once concealed, thereby embracing their full identities and becoming whole.
Man in rainbow fabric, red hat, and sunglasses.
Two men in colorful, open vest clothing.
One such pillar of the community is Nigeria’s own Olaide Kayode Timileyin. Timi, as he is popularly called, has played, and is still playing, a huge role in furthering the LGBTQI+ movement in Nigeria.
Timi has ventured into many career paths and describes himself as “a person of multiple endeavors.” Despite being in his youth, Timi has traversed multiple fields of discipline and accrued knowledge as a trained scientist, teacher, podcast producer, curator, activist, and archivist.
Burdened by the neglect of the community in his country—of which he is a part, Timi decided to take matters into his own hands, putting in the effort to bolster his community, thereby challenging the unprogressive ideologies prevalent in his part of the world.
Queercity Media Breaking a Taboo
One of the instruments that have been most useful to Timi in furthering his cause is his very own media organization, Queercity Media & Productions.
Queercity Media & Productions is West Africa’s foremost LGBTQI+ media and arts organization. Founded by Timi, a Nigerian culture producer and creative executive, the organization has been very forward in advocating for the community’s freedom of expression.
Amongst other things, Timi works as the CEO of Queercity Media in Lagos and, via the organization, has succeeded in revitalizing the community as he puts in a lot of effort to attract attention and keep the buzz about.
oyful man in rainbow pride carnival outfit.
I work as the Festival Manager, artistic researcher, and CEO of Queercity Media in Lagos, leading the organization and its sub-collectives like Pride in Lagos, the Haus II Gallery (Nigeria’s LGBTQI+ Museum of Queer Arts) – where my works are majorly on the reclamation of LGBTQ+ narratives and the decolonization of Africa, through collecting archival materials and working with indigenous West African artistic scene, researchers, cultural organizations, and curating festivals, experiences, performances, and exhibitions.
Group in vibrant rainbow carnival attire outdoors.
The efforts made by Queercity Media & Productions in furthering the cause of the LGBTQI+ community have been nothing short of magnanimous, and the tremendous results are only a testament to this.
In June of 2022, Timi, through the organization, organized the Pride in Lagos festival, a one-week-long event to reclaim indigenous Queer representation and further societal acceptance for sexual minorities and gender-diverse persons in West Africa. This served as a huge milestone for the community. Individuals from different areas of life who had gotten used to hiding their identities finally had the courage to step out and be their true selves.
A Step Forward for Gay Rights in Nigeria
When asked about how he had directly contributed to the growth of the LGBTQ+ community in Nigeria, Timi couldn’t conceal his sense of pride.
Group photo under "Queercity Media and Productions."
…this is me trying to count how many times we’ve made history, which is funny because all our works and projects are not only unique but phenomenal. From Queercity Media, which has risen to be West Africa’s biggest LGBTQI+ media space, to Pride in Lagos which is now an international household, to The Third Café, our new coffee space., etc. In the past five years of running Queercity Media! The works I have done haven’t just created visibility for LGBTQI+ persons in Nigeria, but have continuously brought international solidarity on the very human experience of the Nigeria Queer persons.
Besides helping to attract attention, and creating buzz and visibility for his community, Timi, through Queercity Media, has also been aiding members of the community by creating employment opportunities for those in need.
Timi is not indifferent to the difficulties of leading a progressive lifestyle in a leisurely developing environment. He has opened up to being on the receiving end of backlash for his persistence in overturning tradition.
Smiling man on chair with green light.
I have had to change addresses multiple times, I have been denied housing even after paying for it, and I have faced continuous violence from the Nigerian police, which has had a huge impact on my mental health and how I navigate public spaces.
Besides the challenges faced as an individual, Timi has encountered some hindrances while running Queercity Media.
Protestors holding anti-SARS sign, "Am I Next."
Happy man with headphones holding pink mug.
I will say that the challenges I face are both internal politics within the movement and externally, the laws of Nigeria have really reduced our capacities, we can’t get registered, talk more of working to our maximum potential.
But despite the drawbacks, the hindrances, the opposition faced while doing what began as a passion project, Timi’s colossal successes cannot be overlooked. Thanks to the traction gained from his efforts to create visibility for the LGBTQI+ space, Timi has had the privilege of working with international media institutes, academic institutes, and experts on reporting LGBTQI+ narrative in West Africa., thereby bringing international solidarity to the plight of the Nigeria Queer persons.
Timi says that besides helping him find peace, his affiliation with the LGBTQI+ space and the efforts to foster a sense of pride “fulfilled the essence of his being and helped him find his voice and build a community.”
Grateful for the growth of the movement and optimistic about the future, Timi had this to say about the future of the movement in Nigeria.
