In January, when Nigeria signed a law that not only banned gay marriage but imposed a 14-year jail term for same-sex relations, the country's new policy placed it at the heart of a global schism over gay rights.
But while Nigeria's new legislation may have captured worldwide attention, the hostility toward homosexuals in Nigeria wasn't new.
For example, take the case of Bisi Alimi, a gay rights activist who is believed to have been one of the first Nigerian gay men to come out on national television back in 2004. Alimi was later forced to flee Nigeria after a number of threats were made against him. He now resides in London and has not been back to Nigeria since.
Alimi was recently in Washington, D.C., where, as an Aspen New Voices Fellow, he had been asked to talk to the World Bank about how they should be handling Nigeria. Alimi was kind enough to talk to us about his own remarkable circumstances ("it's like, 'Did this actually happen to me?' "), the realities of LGBT rights in Nigeria, and…