The Nigerian government is facing significant backlash from clerics, rights activists, and civil society organizations (CSOs) following the signing of a controversial $150 billion agreement, known as the Samoa Deal. This deal, reportedly including clauses that mandate the support of LGBTQ rights as a condition for receiving financial and other forms of aid from developed nations, has stirred widespread outrage.
The agreement, named after the Pacific Island Samoa where it was signed on November 15, 2023, has garnered attention and opposition from numerous countries that adhere to Islamic and Christian values and prioritize their cultural norms.
News of Nigeria’s ratification of the Samoa Deal broke on Monday, July 1, when Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, confirmed the development at a European Union (EU) reception in Abuja. However, Bagudu’s media assistant, Bolaji Adebiyi, later clarified that the documents referenced by Bagudu at the EU reception were strictly related to economic development and did not mention LGBTQ or same-sex marriage.
Adebiyi insisted that Bagudu signed an agreement focused solely on a $150 billion trade component, devoid of any connection to LGBTQ issues. This clarification did little to quell the growing controversy.
When approached for comments on the contentious agreement, Kamarudeen Ogundele, spokesperson for the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi SAN, indicated that he needed more information and did not provide further details.
Sonnie Ekwowusi, a Lagos-based lawyer and chairman of the Human and Constitutional Rights Committee of the African Bar Association (AfBA), voiced strong concerns in an article on Wednesday. He condemned the signing of the Samoa Agreement, describing it as “nauseating” and questioned the judgment of Nigerian officials.
“The Samoa Agreement, named after the Pacific Island, Samoa, where it was signed on November 15, 2023, celebrates perversity. Certain Articles of the Agreement especially Articles 2.5 and 29.5 legalize LGBT, transgenderism, abortion, teen sexual abuse, and perversity in African countries. The signing of the Agreement by Nigeria constitutes a threat to the sovereignty of Nigeria and Africa. It further debases our democracy,” Ekwowusi stated.
Ekwowusi expressed doubts about whether Minister Atiku Bagudu and other Nigerian officials fully understood the implications of the agreement on Nigeria’s sovereignty and the destructive impact it could have. He highlighted that numerous African bodies, including the AfBA, have condemned the agreement and urged African countries to refrain from signing it.
“Not infrequently, Nigerian officials in Geneva, New York, and other places sign international agreements or treaties over a cup of coffee or a glass of wine with little or no knowledge of their contents,” he added.
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Ekwowusi further questioned whether Nigerian officials who signed the agreement were genuinely representing the interests of the Nigerian people. He recalled that Nigeria and 34 other African, Caribbean, and Pacific countries initially refused to sign the agreement on November 15, 2023.
These countries included Benin, Senegal, Liberia, Botswana, Burundi, Jamaica, Mali, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, Somalia, Namibia, Grenada, Eritrea, Malawi, Guinea-Bissau, Madagascar, Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, the Central African Republic, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Eswatini, Guyana, the Maldives, Mauritania, Nauru, Palau, Saint Lucia, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, and Tuvalu.
Ekwowusi noted that Nigeria’s initial refusal to sign the agreement on the original date frustrated the EU, which subsequently issued a threat on November 24, 2023. He called for Nigeria to immediately withdraw from the Samoa Agreement and urged the National Assembly to summon the officials who signed it to explain their actions.
An official from the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) reiterated the council’s unchanged stance on same-sex marriage and LGBTQ issues. Abubakar Akande, the administrative secretary of NSCIA, stated that although they attended a meeting in March this year, it was not their role to ratify or oppose the draft presented to them. He mentioned that the 403-page document, containing 104 articles, was given to the NSCIA’s Legal Director and that it did not include provisions for same-sex marriage.
“We (NSCIA) would not welcome such an agreement. Our stance remains the same since the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan. We cannot agree to what is against the injunction of our Creator, Allah, on this matter, and which also disrespects Nigeria’s sovereignty,” Akande said.
Similarly, Abdulrazaq Ajani, the Ameer (leader) of the Abuja Muslim Forum (AMF), reported that African civil society organizations (CSOs), including AMF, met with top government officials and members of both chambers of the National Assembly, particularly the chairmen of relevant committees in the House of Representatives. They also engaged with the administrative leadership of the legislators and unequivocally rejected the proposed agreement.
Rabiu Yusuf, the chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Treaties, Protocols, and Agreements, stated that the Samoa Agreement had not been brought before the National Assembly for consideration. “To the best of my knowledge, nothing has happened in the National Assembly regarding the Samoa Agreement,” he said.
