Nigerian civil rights activist Bisi Alimi made headlines back in 2004 when he became the first Nigerian person to come out publicly on national television. Now living in here in London, he’s started a charity to try and help LGBT people living in his home nation, where LGBT people are still tortured, abused, imprisoned and murdered on a regular basis.
The Bisi Alimi Foundation aims to promote equal opportunities and social inclusion of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in Nigeria. In a more general sense, they want to reduce negative stigmas and change general public opinion, which means looking at how LGBT people are portrayed in the Nigerian media, for example.
They want to conduct public opinion surveys, and studies on how the Nigerian population regard LGBT people. The ultimate goal is to start normalizing the idea of LGBT people and their lifestyles, to a group of people who may not necessarily be accustomed to the concept.
• To find out more, head to bisialimifoundation.org
