CNN's Quest, Gay and the Nigerian Hostility Welcome! — By Tobenna Obiano.

Yesterday, towards mid-day, I had just picked up my phone to scan through my FB page and behold, one of the best world renowned media professional of all-time, the anchor of CNN's "Quest Means Business" and "CNN's Business Traveller", Richard Quest had touched down in Nigeria. He was somewhere in Lagos.

For the records, Richard Quest is undeniably a very intelligent, traveled and celebrated journalist. He is a leading voice in the international scene, he squarely covers business and exposure for that international media outfit, CNN.

Mr. Quest has dined and wined with the high and mighty, hosted Royals and Presidents. He knows his job and does it excellently. He is very friendly to many world-class leading business executives and most of them respect him a lot.

Mr. Quest was featured in a restaurant in some part of Lagos, Nigeria where he was holding his usual program. He was discussing with a lady, who seemed to be the owner of a restaurant about doing business in Nigeria, challenges and prospects. The issue of epileptic power supply was raised, poor funding for start-ups, insecurity and many more were all discussed.

Richard then said he will delve into a funny controversy, he presented his plate of jollof rice, which is still our usual rice mixed with tomatoes sauce and spices. He ate a few spoons from it. He then talked about the long debate of Ghana jollof and Nigerian jollof which is the best. It formed a center stage of the debate.

Ofcourse, the owner of the restaurant as was expected of her, unapologetically waved down Ghanaian rice insisting that Nigerian jollof was the in-thing and there is no match or measure between Nigerian jollof for Ghanaian jollof in comparison. The debate went on for a while with Mr. Quest maintaining that it was just rice mixed with tomatoes paste and that's all. The lady maintained her stand about the taste of her delicacy and its preparation been way high and superior than that of Ghanaians. It was laughed over.

Mr. Quest in his characteristic style requested his colleagues to bring on questions that had been penned-down for him for them to discuss it. He began by asking for who speaks our conventional "pigeon" English and the first person came, later another. He was praising the rice and asking them to translate into pigeon. It was fun listening to their translations. He also tried learning and repeating those "pigeon" language words after them. As a smart and quick learner that he is.

Now, on the questions, after all this long discussion, amongst the few questions thrown the way of this CNN celebrated anchor was, is it really true that Richard Quest is gay?

While watching the live broadcast, I saw quite clearly through his face an unsettled mind, surprised at such a myopic, sentimental and obviously intolerant question squarely aimed at making a nonsense of his person through shaming him. I watched with so-much pity, not for Mr. Quest but the person that asked such question for his or her pettiness.

I mean, out of everything bothering and withholding Nigerias growth and development, especially as regards our poor power supply, no accessibility to loan, our infrastructural decay,  failure in leadership. Even if one wanted to ask out of contest, a question like, what makes the Nigerian jollof better than that of Ghanaians is a better and more serious question. Someone choose to shame himself on international TV. How else can one measure been myopic and stupid.

Sometimes, I have the urge to believe that some people, especially on Social Media have saw dust in their skull in place of grey matter. What's the correlation of Mr. Quest's sexual orientation to the discuss especially on issues bothering Nigeria. Why the unnecessary hostility?

Yes, Nigeria and the rest of Africa frowns on gay and lesbians. Infact, it's a big crime in our country. If one is caught in the act back home in Nigeria, it's a 14 straight years of jail sentence, without any option of fine. Some other African countries have an even more hostile punishments backed by law for anything relating to same-sex dealings.

No doubt, it's not tolerated or condoled in our nation. This doesn't give any Nigerian any right whatsoever to choose to ridicule a man who his only crime was pursuing his career, arriving Nigeria and doing his job. He hasn't committed any crime and he obviously hasn't been caught in the act.

This same man transverses the word and I wonder if he has ever met such level hostile and shameful attitude he saw in Lagos today. Nigeria has litanies of cases relating to sexual misdoing, we hear of rape of all standards, child-marriages, pedophile, incest, prostitution, bloody womanizers, adulterous few and many young persons committing fornication, yet those are less worrisome than the gay orientation which actually isn't permitted in our nation.

Richard Quest been the intelligent man that he is, saw the obvious hostility that has come from the question choose to be more meticulous, smart and classy in his response, "it's on the internet, go google it!" What a smart approach in responding.

This is again what we see always, where we have assess to the internet world but are always too lazy to take some quality time to do even common research and findings. Mr. Quest gave the "fool" a worthwhile assignment.

Now, if one was actually been sensitive and respectful, this things are quite simple. Approach one of Mr. Quests crew and sort to ask him a personal question. Ofcourse, they aren't as prideful and ostentatious as we have on the Nigerian scene, they will most likely allow you to ask him such in private. It would have been more reserved, respectful and honorable if one stepped aside with him and ask him that question than that public show of shame and craze.

The sexual orientation or choice of this man in entirety has nothing to do about his job and the reason for his coming to Nigeria. It also has nothing to do with all that was discussed. Even if one wanted to ask in that manner, courtesy demands you include in writing above, "personal question please!"

It's most unfortunate to see my country men choose to ridicule Mr. Quest this way. He is one international journalist that I respect and revere. His carriage, his discipline, his exposure and informed inputs are second to none.  He is a class in his chosen career of media practice, therein, he is a Boss!

As a people, we can choose to abide by our laws and maintain our ground of a No No for LGBT's, which is okay. Our Africanness and Nigerianness plus Religiosity frowns at those acts and it's fine; but to extend same hostility to our international friends or visitors is just unpardonable. It's cheap, it's mischievous, it's unnecessary and it's very sad!

We can't keep complaining of racism before the world, then xenophobia in our own continent and now in the eyes of the world, extend just same hateful stance of intolerance to others, especially when they are not from our locality.

I'm ever proud of my African root and Nigerian origin. I have my standards and principles to which I abide by. I'm also aware people have their own rights and privileges, therefore as a sane mind, I respect whatsoever anyone chooses to be his or her stand, especially if it's within the stand of the law of the entity within which one is.

The gay question against Mr. Quest was wholly uncalled for and it's shameful to come from our own people. I strongly condemn it!

I'm very angry and I have every right to be. I, for one, may unapologetically detest gay, but that doesn't give me anything whatsoever to shame, assault or ridicule them. They aren't in anyway less human than any of us. They deserve respect, love and understanding.

This is a case of doing a seemingly right thing but wholly at the wrong time, at the wrong place and to the wrong person. I'm not the spokesperson for LGBT, I'm also not gay, but in all, I have a sane mind to distinguish clearly between right and wrong and speak up when wrong wants to overtake right!

The questionnaire honestly owes Mr. Quest an unreserved apology for this class case of ignorance, insensitivity and foolishness. Indeed, with that question alone, Nigeria was intolerant, unaccommodating and hostile to Mr. Quest and it's very bad.

No matter from whichever standard we look at it, whosoever that asked that question was very wrong, simple and short!

Tobenna Obiano