Matthew Nwozaku Chukwudi Blaise is a Nigerian queer rights activist.

Activity

In March 2020, after the murder of a gay man in Nigeria, Blaise created a

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

campaign with Ani Kayode Somtochukwu and

Victor Emmanuel Victor Emmanuel may refer to: * Victor Emmanuel I of Sardinia (1759–1824), Duke of Savoy and King of Sardinia * Victor Emmanuel II of Italy (1820–1878), King of Sardinia and later King of Italy * Victor Emmanuel III of Italy (1869–1947), King ...

. The three successfully made the

hashtag A hashtag is a metadata tag that is prefaced by the hash (also known as pound or octothorpe) sign, ''#''. On social media, hashtags are used on microblogging and photo-sharing services such as Twitter or Instagram as a form of user-generated ...

"#EndHomophobiainNigeria"

trend A fad or trend is any form of collective behavior that develops within a culture, a generation or social group in which a group of people enthusiastically follow an impulse for a short period. Fads are objects or behaviors that achieve short- ...

on Nigerian Twitter for multiple days. Having been detained and threatened by

Special Anti-Robbery Squad The Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) was a Nigerian Police Force unit created in late 1992 to deal with crimes associated with robbery, motor vehicle theft, kidnapping, cattle rustling, and firearms. It was part of the Force Criminal Investig ...

officers for "perceived

homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to pe ...

", Blaise became active in the October 2020

End SARS #EndSARS is a decentralised social movement, and series of mass protests against police brutality in Nigeria. The slogan calls for the disbanding of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), a notorious unit of the Nigerian Police with a long ...

protests, where they were verbally assaulted for carrying a sign with the words "Queer Lives Matter". They additionally organized a group of other queer people to attend the protests. After the

2020 Lekki shooting On the night of 20 October 2020, at about 6:50p.m., members of the Nigerian Army opened fire on unarmed End SARS protesters at the Lekki toll gate in Lagos State, Nigeria. Amnesty International stated that at least 12 protesters were killed ...

, Blaise started working with

Safe HQuse A safe (also called a strongbox or coffer) is a secure lockable box used for securing valuable objects against theft or fire. A safe is usually a hollow cuboid or cylinder, with one face being removable or hinged to form a door. The body and d ...

to support queer protestors and survivors.

Personal life

Blaise is

non-binary Non-binary and genderqueer are umbrella terms for gender identities that are not solely male or femaleidentities that are outside the gender binary. Non-binary identities fall under the transgender umbrella, since non-binary people typicall ...

, and uses

they/them Singular ''they'', along with its inflected or derivative forms, ''them'', ''their'', ''theirs'' and ''themselves'' (or ''themself''), is a gender-neutral third-person pronoun. It typically occurs with an unspecified antecedent, in sentences ...

pronouns. they were attending

Alex Ekwueme Federal University Ndufu Alike Ikwo The Alex Ekwueme Federal University Ndufu Alike Ikwo (AE-FUNAI) is a Nigerian higher institution located in Ndufu, Alike Ikwo of Ebonyi State. It was established in 2011. It was formally called Federal University Ndufu Alike Ikwo until Februa ...

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of G ...

, seeking a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

in English and Literary Studies. Blaise became more outspoken about their sexuality on

social media Social media are interactive media technologies that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, interests, and other forms of expression through virtual communities and networks. While challenges to the definition of ''social me ...

after they were punched and choked by a

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

for being gay in 2019, and other people in the church did not intervene.

Recognition

Blaise was a

Women Deliver Women Deliver is a global advocacy organization that works to generate political commitment and financial investment for fulfilling Millennium Development Goal 5, which is improving maternal health. This is a multifactorial approach, involving acce ...

youth leader in 2020; they were 22 years old at the time. Also in 2020, they were a winner of

The Future Awards Africa The Future Awards Africa (previously known as The Future Awards) are a set of awards given by The Future Project, a social enterprise communications firm affiliated to Red Africa. The awards are intended to celebrate young people between the age ...

"Prize for Leading Conversations", and

The Initiative For Equal Rights The Initiative for Equal Rights (TIERs) is a Nigeria-based registered non-for-profit organisation which advocates for LGBT rights in Nigeria. TIERs provides support and resources for the LGBTQ+ community, including conducting educational program ...

' award for "SOGIESC Rights Activist of the Year". In June 2021, they were featured in a

short film A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

by Dafe Oboro that accompanied the summer 2021 cover story of ''

Dazed ''Dazed'' (''Dazed & Confused'' until February 2014) is a bi-monthly British style magazine founded in 1991. It covers music, fashion, film, art, and literature. Dazed is published by Dazed Media, an independent media group known for producing ...

''. In November 2021, they were honoured with a "Generation Change Award" at the

2021 MTV Europe Music Awards The 2021 MTV Europe Music Awards were held on 14 November 2021 at the László Papp Budapest Sports Arena in Budapest, Hungary. This marked the first time that Hungary hosted the awards show and as well the first event has been held in a former ...

in Budapest.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blaise, Matthew 1990s births End SARS activists Igbo people Living people Nigerian activists Nigerian LGBT rights activists Nigerian non-binary people Non-binary activists Year of birth missing (living people)