In an exclusive interview with Kayode Gomez, Lawrencia Ameh, broke the silence by speaking up about the many issues affecting the lives of Lesbians in Nigeria, including her journey.
Below is an excerpt from the interview:
Can we meet you?
My name is Lawrencia Ameh. I am an openly out lesbian. I am a human rights defender and a paralegal. I grew up in a military home with a very religious mother and an army general as a father. I am the first of 4 kids. I have lived in Abuja all my life.
When and how did you discover you are a lesbian?
Well, as a child I always knew I was different, but I couldn’t explain it. I came to terms with my sexuality during my first degree in Law at University of Abuja. It came with a lot of personal struggles, but in 2007 I was able to deal with it. I was outted to my family by my brother.
My family always suspected I was gay because in secondary school I was suspended a lot for being a lesbian with no evidence of course…. Lol!
So do you have any affection/attraction for the opposite Sex?
No I don’t. I did try to experiment but I ended up freaking out.
So how did your family take your coming out?
My relationship with my mum is nonexistent, It’s been one hell of a ride, I was taken to church for deliverance. I had to move out of my house, I was beaten by my mum. I lost a lot of privileges from my family. .
My dad is the love of my life, he loves me just the way I am. He lives here in Abuja. My mum went to my work place to threatening my boss, she threaten my friends as well. .
I was locked in a church for almost 8 days; I was told I had an evil spirit inside me. I was also told I have been delivered of the spirit of lesbianism. I got to a point I almost took my own life. Thank God a friend found me.
So what exactly has motivated you to speak out as a Lesbian?
My motivation comes from losing a good friend who took her own life because of her struggle with her sexuality, from trying to make people understand I was born this way and from trying to tell other lesbians going through what I have gone through that they are not alone or abnormal.
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