‘Sexual orientation’ a political manipulation of West – ECOWAS Commissioner

The ECOWAS Commissioner for Human Development and Social Affairs, Prof Fatou Sow Sarr, has said the issue of “sexual orientation” is a political manipulation of the West.

Prof Sow Sarr stated this during an interactive session with ECOWAS Commissioners on the implementation of the programmes of their departments at the ongoing 2024 Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Parliament on Friday in Abuja.

Sexual orientation is defined by Britannica as the enduring pattern of an individual’s emotional, sexual, and/or romantic attraction.

Sexual orientation is often divided into three components – attraction, behaviour, and self-identification. There are myriad ways to describe sexual orientation, but the most common include heterosexual, being attracted to the opposite gender; homosexual, being attracted to the same gender; and bisexual, being attracted to more than one gender.

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However, while responding to inquiries from some members of the parliament over the controversies surrounding the Samoa agreement recently signed by Nigeria, she said: “I am a specialist on gender issues for 30 years. We believe that gender is a science. The imposition of sexual orientation is a political agenda the Europeans want to impose on us. We should not allow them to succeed.

“As long as I am around (as the ECOWAS Commissioner for Human Development and Social Affairs), nobody will tell me anything about LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer).”

While explaining the concept of gender, Prof Sow Sarr said only the male and female genders were recognised in Africa, stressing that the two were characterized by their assigned roles in society.

According to her, “Gender and LGBTQ is a big lie and is a manipulation for political reasons. Gender is a science but sexual orientation is political.

“Masculine and feminine roles are societal constructs, for instance, you are not born a woman you become a woman”.

“The issue of gender is a science and there is a political agenda today in the world with regard to the issues of gender.

“In my department, nobody will come and tell me about LGBTQ. No partner will tell me about LGBTQ, I will not bend my back when it comes to partners”.

While responding to concerns raised by some members of the parliament on the threat by the West to withdraw funding to ECOWAS if sexual orientation was not taken seriously in the region, she explained that contrary to the speculations that 70 per cent of funds to the regional bloc is from European partners, it is only 30 per cent that comes from partners, adding that the remaining 70 per cent is the contributions from members states.