akwaeke emeziKonto zweryfikowane

I wrote #TheDeathOfVivekOji because God knows I could've used a book like it when I was growing up in Aba. I set it in the community I was raised in and I sheltered Vivek in love. It's important. There is so much hate and people are being murdered for it.

This person decided to tag me, deliberately misgender me, call me 'it' when we all know the rules are that you keep your trash talk about me in your Whatsapp chats. But here's the thing, I'm not in danger. I have the resources to stay in my bubble and be nothing but loved.

What happens to the other people who get called 'it' by bigots like this one? Have you seen the #EndHomophobiaInNigeria hashtag and do you know about the murder that started it? It's not a game.

Even if we don't die by homicide, we can easily die from suicide. There are many roads to death and people like this are cheering from the sidelines. When I was suicidal (last year, hah) tweets like this were reminders that a world wanted me dead. It's never just one person.

It's a country that used to be yours, a community that used to be yours, that spat you out when they realized what you were. But we are worldmakers, we are still Nigerian, we are still alive. We are still telling our stories, and my God, you should read them. #TheDeathOfVivekOji