A True Portrait of Queer Nigerian Life

Shots from ‘On The Streets’ Documentary. ONTHESTREETSDOC / IG. Collage by THE REPUBLIC.

Shots from ‘On The Streets’ Documentary. ONTHESTREETSDOC / IG. Collage by THE REPUBLIC.

the republic interviews

A True Portrait of Queer Nigerian Life

Filmmaker and queer rights activist, Olaide Kayode Timileyin, on what it takes to make an authentic Nigerian queer documentary.
Shots from ‘On The Streets’ Documentary. ONTHESTREETSDOC / IG. Collage by THE REPUBLIC.

Shots from ‘On The Streets’ Documentary. ONTHESTREETSDOC / IG. Collage by THE REPUBLIC.

the republic interviews

A True Portrait of Queer Nigerian Life

Filmmaker and queer rights activist, Olaide Kayode Timileyin, on what it takes to make an authentic Nigerian queer documentary.

Queer representation in Nigerian media can be traced back to the early 2000s, when Nollywood, a budding film industry at the time, tried exploring homosexuality. However, queerness was depicted without the necessary nuance, and the films tended to associate homosexuality with immorality. The queer characters in Nollywood films were hedonistic, unstable and sick, in need of spiritual deliverance. Titles like Emotional Crack, Dirty Secret, and Men in Love come to mind when considering these Nollywood stereotypes.

In the 2003 film Emotional Crack, Crystal (played by Stephanie Okereke Linus), a young woman, in an abusive marriage gets roped into a sexual relationship with her husband’s mistress, Camilla (Dakore Akande). However, Crystal soon starts to grieve the relationship, which doesn’t sit right with Camilla. Camilla, in the end, becomes mentally unstable due to the rejection from Crystal and kills herself. Similarly, in Dirty Secret, a male gigolo, Alex (Muna Obiekwe), gets entangled in an incestuous relationship with a wealthy man and his daughter. The film paints the wealthy man as hedonistic and interested in ‘experimenting when it comes to pleasure’—these were his exact words—as he tries to woo Alex, who is already in a relationship with his daughter. As the film progresses, the man and Alex spend time together shopping and frolicking. However, the man and Alex soon meet their demise, with the daughter left demented. In the 2010 Men in Love, Charles (John Dumelo), a married man, reconnects with an old friend, Alex (Muna Obiekwe), who happens to be gay. Alex hits on Charles, but he rejects his advances, and Alex rapes him. The film ends with Charles’s wife arresting Alex while seeking spiritual deliverance from a pastor.

The Same-Sex Marriage (Prohibition) Act, 2014 (SSMPA) introduced draconian measures to the legal discrimination against LGBTQ+ people in Nigeria beyond the colonial legacy laws, such as the Criminal Code Act, Penal Code and the Islamic Sharia Penal Code. Following the SSMPA, the stereotypes often associated with queer characters before the SSMPA dwindled as there were little to no films depicting queer people. The reduction in the representations of queer characters could be attributed to the introduction of the SSMPA and the associated fear of the repercussions of portraying these characters—even if prior films were riddled with negative stereotypes and lacked nuance. As such, the representations from the films in the early 2000s became essentially all we had and remained canon in how many Nigerians perceived homosexuality and queer people.

To properly present an accurate narrative and representation of marginalized communities, titles like, We Don’t Live Here Anymore, released in 2018 and produced by Olumide Makanjuola, provided some nuance to queer perspectives. The film marks the first film that explores homosexuality between two young boys, particularly teenagers, in Nigeria. Although the film doesn’t depict the love affair between the boys primarily, it explores the struggles they experience after they are caught having sex. Chidi (Temidayo Akinboro), a less privileged character, faces expulsion from school and bullying due to homophobia. At the same time, Tolu (Francis Sule), who comes from a more affluent background, struggles to play along with his mother’s ruthless ploy of erasing the sex scandal and getting him to conform to heteronormativity.

We Don’t Live Here Anymore provides a nuanced perspective because, for the first time, although homosexuality is still layered with some religious and conservative undertones, the characters are treated with humanity; unlike the early Nollywood films where queer characters are often met with demise because of their supposedly immoral and hedonistic ways of life.

Another notable contribution to a nuanced queer representation on film is Ife, released in 2020. Ife is a short indie film produced by Pamela Adie and directed by Uyaiedu Ikpe-Etim. The film explores the relationship between two women; one of them, Ife (Uzoamaka Aniunoh), is out and proud of their sexuality, while the other, Adaora (Cindy Amadi), keeps her sexuality a secret due to fear of rejection from her family. The story in Ife marks a very progressive approach to queerness between women despite the film not being considered a mainstream Nollywood film. Unlike the 2003 title Emotional Crack, which also explores the relationship between two women, Ife captures the nuances of many same-sex relationships in Nigeria. It explores class dynamics and power, the politics of coming and being out, and the complexities of bravery and acceptance.

Unsurprisingly, Ife sparked widespread homophobia from the general public and didn’t get approval from the National Film and Video Censors Board (NFVCB) for theatrical distribution.

The NFVCB continues to censor queer filmmaking in Nigeria. In a statement issued on 26 June 2024, the board warned filmmakers against creating and promoting media that depicts same-sex relationships.

QUEER VISIBILITY AND ITS DOCUMENTATION

Following the #ENDSARS protest in October 2020, there was a further increase in the visibility of the Nigerian queer community. The presence of queer people at the protest grounds was an assertion that sexual minorities existed in Nigeria despite facing discrimination. After the protests, documentation of queer Nigerians became inescapable, and these especially took shape through documentary filmmaking.

In the past four years, there has been a significant increase in non-fiction films that capture more raw and insightful perspectives into the lives of queer people in Nigeria. These nonfiction films and documentaries sit alongside fictional depictions of queer people, which are equally as valid and necessary for a comprehensive portrayal of queer lives.

Notable documentaries, such as The Legend of the Underground (2021), Defiance: Voice of a New Generation (2021), Proud and Unafraid (2021) and Vice News: Transnational (2023), have explored the intersectional perspectives of queerness in Nigeria. For instance, The Legend of the Underground dived into how queer people (referred to as ‘nonconformists’ as a way of concealing their sexual or gender identity) are bypassing homophobia in Nigeria. It also highlighted the case of the Egbeda 57, a group of young men arrested back in 2018, among other themes like class oppression and police brutality. Defiance: Voice of a New Generation and Proud and Unafraid, released a year after the #ENDSARS protests, focuses on the lives of out and proud queer individuals who are using their voices for equal rights in the country.

On The Streets is the debut documentary from indie filmmaker and queer rights activist Olaide Kayode Timileyin (aka Timi), which delves into the lives of trans and gender non-conforming people in Africa’s most populous city, Lagos. Against a backdrop of incessant homophobia and transphobia, On The Streets highlights how members of the marginalized community navigate and negotiate their identity ‘on the street’—a metaphor for hustle in the city of Lagos.

The documentary also addresses a critical issue affecting sexual minorities—homelessness. A national survey conducted in 2023 by Queercity Media and Production reported that 13 per cent of transgender and gender non-conforming people in Nigeria face homelessness. For some more insight into the documentary, I spoke to the producer about starting in filmmaking and creating On The Streets.

shop the republic

BOLAJI AKINWANDE

At what stage in your advocacy did you know you were going to explore filmmaking/ make a documentary?

OLAIDE KAYODE TIMILEYIN

I grew up watching National Geographic—NatGeowild. It was a documentary channel based on animals. I have always imagined myself being that narrator. As a poor, queer Nigerian who couldn’t afford a camera to film the kind of documentary I would have wanted to make, I started exploring audio documentaries instead. I did several different episodes; I remember doing an audio documentary on Hotel Alabama, which focused on a hotel called Alabama in Lagos in the early 2000s where queer people used to go in Ejigbo, on the Mainland, for parties. I have always explored documentaries and have always wanted to transition into filmmaking, but I was financially restrained. However, I got funded by ISDAO (Initiative Sankofa d’Afrique de l’Ouest) which made the On The Streets documentary possible.

BOLAJI AKINWANDE

What kind of films did you grow up watching, and did it influence your making On The Streets?

OLAIDE KAYODE TIMILEYIN

Apart from watching a lot of Natgeowild, I was also a sci-fi nerd. I read a lot of books and comics. I find it a bit tedious to enjoy any other form of art if it is not documentary or sci-fi.

BOLAJI AKINWANDE

How did On The Streets come to be?

OLAIDE KAYODE TIMILEYIN

On The Streets is about the story of the streets of Lagos. I believe the story has always been there; it was just waiting to be told. I wanted to tell this story not from the stakeholder point of view, not from the activists, not from the organizations, not from people with privileges. I wanted On The Streets to be focused on the owners of the story as opposed to questioning an organization about how they are doing interventions for the people on the streets of Lagos. I was interested in the story of the people on the street. So, I met several people, some of whom I knew, who were just waiting for their stories to be told. They were stories that had always existed but just needed their voices.

BOLAJI AKINWANDE

What was the biggest challenge you encountered while filming On The Streets, and how were you able to manoeuvre these challenges?

shop the republic

OLAIDE KAYODE TIMILEYIN

I think there were two major challenges for me. The first was funding, and the second one was that a lot of things that weren’t budgeted in the grant surfaced, and I had to take care of these things from my personal finances. For example, one of the things that surfaced was clearing ‘Egbon Adugbo’—street thugs. During production, since we were filming on the street, we met a lot of these street thugs, and we had to settle them in the form of a bribe. We also had some people pulling out of the project midway because of how long it took us to get the funds for the project. There is also the problem of the Nigerian government. On The Streets is the story of queer people surviving prison, surviving being killed on the street for wanting to hook up, of people being attacked in the market, and being denied banking; they are all multiple everyday stories of queer people that deserve to be heard.

BOLAJI AKINWANDE

Let’s talk about the intersectionality explored in On The Streets. The documentary explored the lives of queer people in different parts of the city, from the Mainland down to the lives of individuals on the other side of the city, the Island. Why was exploring class differences so essential?

OLAIDE KAYODE TIMILEYIN

As a Lagosian, the city is very classist. I believe that if you’re going to be telling a Lagos story, it is very essential to know the history of the city. Lagos itself traditionally is a place of hierarchy. There is the king, the white cap, the chief, and all of these people. So, it was important to tell a kind of story that not all fingers are equal in a city like Lagos. And when they are not equal, they do not have the same experiences. Every experience is a Lagos experience, and we need to tell it. The wholesomeness of it is what makes it the Lagos experience.

BOLAJI AKINWANDE

There has also been some noticeable trans representation in queer media lately; in projects like 14 Years and a Day; He/She, They; Transnational; and even On The Streets. This wasn’t the case a few years back. As a young filmmaker, do you think these representations are nuanced enough?

OLAIDE KAYODE TIMILEYIN

I think when we speak of nuance, it is just us expecting some level of perfection. However, what I am just going to say is that storytellers do not owe us any expectations. What they owe us is their creativity. However, everybody tells a different story for a different audience, but what I am happy about is that these stories are being told, either they are being told perfectly, the storytellers if their intentions are genuine, the audience will grow on it, and I am sure they would tell better stories as time goes by. But also, if they aren’t genuine with their stories, the audience will see through it.

BOLAJI AKINWANDE

The documentary also explored how trans people are often rendered homeless during their transition. However, homelessness is a global phenomenon. What is the way out to solving homelessness? What do you think can be done?

OLAIDE KAYODE TIMILEYIN

As someone who has explored a project that provided housing support and also hosted Nigeria’s first queer housing summit, I would very much think about what we are experiencing as a very sad story because it’s not just homelessness, but homelessness at the intersection of poverty, drug usage, unemployment, gender identity, and even sexual orientation. Homelessness is a multi-layered problem. However, I think for us as a community right now, it’s high time we started looking beyond free housing in terms of the housing system that we have right now. I support emergency housing to be free, but also, I don’t think the solution to homelessness is free housing. The less vulnerable persons need cheap accommodation, like a low-cost housing system, or community-based low-cost housing. It is currently a project I’m also trying to explore privately. Housing is a very capital-intensive project. I believe it’s high time we considered owning our own houses.

BOLAJI AKINWANDE

What does the future of queer filmmaking in Nigeria look like to you?

shop the republic

shop the republic

OLAIDE KAYODE TIMILEYIN

I believe African queer stories are yet to be told; however, I am scared that these stories might get gentrified as time goes on. I don’t want that; I want African queer stories to be very human as time goes on; I don’t want people to see us as the people in Africa who need help. We don’t need help. All we need is support as against help—supporting us in doing what’s best for us.

BOLAJI AKINWANDE

What sets On The Streets apart from other queer documentaries?

OLAIDE KAYODE TIMILEYIN

I think On The Streets differs because it covers a unique type of community organizing whose story hasn’t been told. For instance, the story of the ‘Panama Divas’, a group of queer friends who looked out for one another when their friends experienced abuse within their relationships. On The Streets gives us insight we don’t regularly see and provides the people whose stories need to be told the opportunity to tell those stories.

BOLAJI AKINWANDE

What other projects (films/documentaries) would you like to make in the future?

OLAIDE KAYODE TIMILEYIN

I have a project/story called ‘The Queens of Lagos’. It’s in the draft process. I feel like my projects will always have some element of Lagos in it. The story is based on a generation of queens who have been traumatized by the SSMPA, by the arrest, by raids, by communities, and by family. These people did not have the kind of support like the post-#ENDSARS community organizing and community support that we have now. Hence, these people are traumatized and on the down low. So, the project is to tell the stories of these people or, as we call them, queens

shop the republic

BUY THE MAGAZINE AND/OR THE COVER