Nigerian gay priest in Church of England fights for marriage with his partner
Jide Macaulay A 53-year-old Nigerian priest in the church of England is struggling to marry his partner. His partner lives in their birth country where homosexuality is seen abnormal only deserving of expulsion or death. Nigeria banned same-sex marriage in 2014, the same year it became legal in Britain. As a priest, the Church allows Jide Macaulay to be gay. But an outright marriage to his partner is not permitted. He can live with him in a celibate relationship but cannot get married in the church. He risks losing his job in the Church if he does. “To me, that is a great disservice and discrimination against same-gender-loving individuals,” Macaulay, also a lawyer, said in a BBC documentary – Too Gay for God? The Same-Sex Marriage Prohibition Act (SSMPA), signed into law in 2014 by former President Goodluck Jonathan, was enacted on the premise that the Nigerian culture is not in support to homosexuality.