We're Both Happy And Worried For Bisi Alimi's Nigeria Politics Announcement

If he lives up to his word, he will be the first openly gay man to go into Nigerian politics.
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CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA - JANUARY 19: Banners in protest at the Anti-Gay Marrage Law recently passed in Nigeria are displayed in the crowd during the 2014 African Nations Championship match between South Africa and Nigeria at Cape Town Stadium on January 19, 2014 in Cape Town, South Africa. (Photo by Shaun Roy/Gallo Images/Getty Images)
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Nigerian lecturer and gay rights activist Bisi Alimi, who recently got married to his Scottish partner, might just be planning to contest the West Africa country's 2019 elections.

Alimi posted a tweet over the weekend in which he said that he had finally decided to throw his "hat into Nigerian politics".

If he lives up to his word, Alimi would be the first openly gay man to go into Nigerian politics.

While we're excited for this announcement, we're also worried for Alimi.

Reports last year indicated that Alimi was assaulted and persecuted before fleeing into exile, all because he was gay.

It was also reported at the time that he spoke about his travails to persuade British legislators to engage Nigerian policy makers about a law that made even befriending a homosexual a crime punishable by 10 years in jail.

Nigeria signed a law in 2014 which made it illegal for gay people to even hold meetings. The Same Sex Marriage Prohibition Act also criminalised clubs, associations and organisations, with penalties of up to 14 years in jail.

The act drew international condemnation.