Son of Homophobic Nigerian Politician Comes Out, Responds to Trolls

Bolu Okupe, the son of a former Nigerian presidential advisor, Doyin Okupe, hit back hard against haters who reacted negatively to his recent coming out. The younger Okupe posted to Instagram two days ago, wearing a pair of Pride colored swim trunks and holding a matching flag.

"Yes I'm Gay AF," he wrote. Expectedly, the homophobia leapt out in some who saw the message.

Saying Okupe "could be a corpse" in Kenya, Adam Mligo wrote "We Black colored Never go against our God!! Stay with ur stupidity in France."

Okupe, who graduated from the University of Manchester, United Kingdom in 2015, responded mercilessly.

"Your whole mentality is tragic," he wrote back. "I feel sorry for you. Your religion has turned you into a psychotic imbecile that you think it's okay to kill people?"

The influencer then gave the bigoted commenter a brief history lesson.

"First, you said to stay in France with your stupidity; sir, who do you think gave Africans Christianity?" he wrote. "The French and the English pushed the religion on you that you are calling."

After noting that much of Europe has evolved in the last 300 years, Okupe pointed out people like Mligo "are still stuck in the 18th century. You should know that the same religion that you so deeply cherish justified people to enslave your ancestors in the past."

He closed by calling the commenter "delusional" and expressing the wish that he educate himself...sort of.

"I hope one day you will educate yourself. If not, I don't care; you will die ignorant and on the wrong side of history."

Bulo's father, Doyin Okupe, took to Twitter to express his dismay over his son's orientation and public coming out.

"My attention has been drawn to a publication of my 27yr old son, Bolu okupe, in which he declared publicly that he is Gay," the former presidential aide wrote. Admitting he's known of his son's "new orientation for a while," he went on to say that as a Christian he is "vehemently opposed to homosexuality" as it violates his religious beliefs. He said he foresees a "a major spiritual challenge ahead" in his relationship with his son.

While his father and others may not have been fully supportive, at least one commenter had the perfect message of affirmation for Bolu on Twitter.

Nigeria has a strong conservative religious undercurrent running through its government and society. Over 53 percent of its citizens are Muslim, with nearly all the remaining population identifying as either Christian or Catholic. Queer Nigerians were brutally beaten following peaceful protests in October, described here in an exclusive firsthand account. In more encouraging news, though, charges were dropped last month against 47 suspected gay men accused of same-sex public displays of affection in 2018. The judge dropped the case after prosecutors failed to produce a single witness supporting their claims.

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