Funding Graduate Program for Nigerian LGBT leader

How often do you meet a young person and know they are destined for great things? That has happened to me. They recently got admitted to a Masters program at Germany’s University of Erlangen–Nuremberg to study Human Rights.

For over 5 years, since they were a teenager, they’ve fought injustice. They literally put their own personal safety at risk by raising awareness of the persecution of the Nigerian queer community at the hands of the notorious SARS unit within Nigeria’s federal police. This helped bring about the dissolution of the unit. Since that time, they have founded two separate LGBTQ+ human rights institutions within Nigeria. In 2023 they have organized travel to Germany, Belgium, and France in furthering the cause of LGBTQ+ rights in Nigeria.

During their undergraduate studies, my friend never felt safe as a gay person. They were constantly harassed, assaulted and discriminated against by both homophobic faculty and students. This program will be an opportunity for them to heal that trauma and build capacity for the sustainability of my queer activism work in Nigeria.

While graduate programs in Germany are very affordable by U.S. standards, my friend still needs about €12,250 (USD 13,500). That will cover all expenses – tuition, books, meals and accommodations – for one year. Please contribute what you can. Thank you.