Uche Maduagwu, a renown Nigerian actor caused a stir on social media after he came out and publically shared his sexuality with the world. The actor took to his Instagram account and shared a picture which he captioned “Appreciate others and #share only love we need to respect people’s choices not to judge them so let’s practice Jesus kind of love.”  He shared the hash tag #ProudlyGay besides his photo.

In a second post, Uche said, “Don’t let anyone intimidate you. Come out, show your identity, you are who you are, boy, you’re who you are. Don’t let anybody intimidate you. I be gay, I be no herdsman, and I am proud.”

The actor also made headlines last year after he spoke up about being sexually abused while on a film set back in 2012. Uche used the same platform (Instagram) to find healing and talk about the sad yet unaddressed reality in Nollywood.

“Honestly, anytime I remember how I was molested and raped by a male actor on my first movie location in Lagos, I cry bitterly,” he shared on Instagram last year.

It should be noted that Nigeria has some of the most repressive laws against homosexuality. The law bans gay marriage and same-sex “amorous relationships, which are punishable by up to 14 years in prison. The African movement as a whole continues to channel most of its efforts towards getting rid of the laws such as these across the continent.

We applaud Uche for his bravery and for unapologetically living his truth.