Cheikh Traore

Medical Doctor. International Development Consultant. Passionately Pan African. Queer Feminist Ally 🇲🇷
🇳🇬 Traveller

[Cheikh Traore @CheikhEteka]

Wait? 🤔 Where did the ceremony happen? I presume in a country where same sex ❤️ marriage is legal

[Red Media @RedMedia_us]

Nigerian gay couple marry in their traditional attire amidst ongoing homophobia from Nigerians on social media. 🥺🏳️‍🌈

[Cheikh Traore @CheikhEteka]

@Tobirz6 Love is love, off course..but pne has to wonder is this a Civil, religious or traditional wedding ceremony 🤔

[Cheikh Traore @CheikhEteka]

@RightifyGhana @Ebenezer_Peegah Very powerful and informative article 👏

[Cheikh Traore @CheikhEteka]

Censorship and civic spaces shutting down everywhere... May this conversation keep gtowing strong 💪

[Ayo Sogunro @ayosogunro]

If you live in a country where people cannot advocate queer rights in academia or the media without stigma or persecution, you do not live in a free country.

One way or another, LGBTIQ+ rights are human rights for everyone.

[Cheikh Traore @CheikhEteka]

@Ndiayetrust Excellente discussion de haut niveau

[Cheikh Traore @CheikhEteka]

@marcus_herve Since Mali has no airline, we have been using Royal Air Maroc and Air Algerie. There is space for Air Senegal to take its market share

[Cheikh Traore @CheikhEteka]

Hard and tough issues that will need massive public and civic education to take effect

[Oby Ezekwesili @obyezeks]

Public Memorandum ………/2
To:  
The People of Nigeria
Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria
House of Representatives of the Federal Republic of Nigeria
President Bola Tinubu

By: Obiageli “Oby” Ezekwesili

The Urgency to Restructure Nigeria: Why a Single‑Issue Constitutional Amendment Can No Longer Wait

A Citizens‑Led Sovereign National Conference, properly constituted, would negotiate the federal structure, fiscal arrangements, security architecture, human rights protections, and national identity that a modern Nigerian state requires. Its composition must be broad enough to prevent political class capture and inclusive enough to reflect the country’s true diversity - ethnic nationalities, women, youth, labour, civil society, persons with disabilities, traditional institutions, faith communities, the private sector, diaspora Nigerians, and elected representatives. Its proceedings must be transparent, participatory, and accessible to the public. And its final draft must be ratified through a national referendum.

Some have argued that the Tinubu administration has already “achieved” restructuring through scattered policy reforms. But piecemeal adjustments are not restructuring. They are, at best, administrative conveniences. At worst, they are distractions that obscure the deeper crisis. True restructuring requires a collectively owned, citizen‑driven constitutional process - not executive‑led policy tweaks that leave the underlying power imbalances intact.

Nigeria cannot continue outsourcing its future to elite bargains. A country of more than 200 million people cannot be remade through backroom negotiations. The National Assembly and State Houses of Assembly must therefore be called upon - through collective civic action - to pass one urgent amendment: the amendment that returns constitution‑making authority to the people.

Not many amendments. Not cosmetic amendments. Not amendments that pretend to restructure Nigeria on behalf of the people.

Just one: the amendment that empowers Nigerians to restructure Nigeria for themselves.

Our condition is dire. Our window is narrowing. The insecurity that now engulfs the country is not merely a failure of policing; it is the predictable outcome of a constitutional order that concentrates power without accountability, centralizes authority without capacity, and imposes unity without consent. Nigeria cannot survive the next decade on the foundation of the last one.

The demand before us is simple: create the pathway, mandate the Conference, submit the draft to a referendum, and let Nigerians decide.

There is no reason to be paralyzed by the fear that a constitutional referendum will unravel Nigeria. Far from it. Look across at Kenya which escaped the abyss of the worst ethnic conflict by using its 2010 constitutional referendum to give their citizens the power to remake and unify their country - a lesson Nigeria can no longer afford to ignore.

Now is the next best time to reset Nigeria since independence. The question that is to be answered by each of us is the one that has haunted our national journey for decades.

Can Nigeria ever Become and lead the rest of Africa to “Claim the 21st Century?”

The answer, dear compatriots is in our hands because as the GenZs would say, Nigeria desperately needs those who will step up to “carry her matter for their heads”.

Are you in for the right kind of collective actions that Nigeria deserves from her citizens?

The answer is in your hand.

Obiageli “Oby” Ezekwesili
Founder, SPPG - School of Politics, Policy and Governance

June 17, 2026

End. ✍🏾✍🏾✍🏾

[Cheikh Traore @CheikhEteka]

Volia une belle preuve que l'Afrique reste malgré tout un continent d'hommes et de femmes courageux 💪

[FRANCE 24 Afrique @France24Afrique]

Alors que l’homosexualité est encore criminalisée dans de nombreux pays d’Afrique, les associations poursuivent leur mobilisation malgré les risques. Waly Sissoko, président de l’association Afrique d’Arc-en-Ciel, était l’invité du JTA.

[Cheikh Traore @CheikhEteka]

Un role important dans une organisation africaine qui fait un travail vital pout la protection des droits humains

[ISLA @ISLAfrica]

ISLA seeks a bilingual (English/French) Legal Associate to support the Feminist Litigation Network across Anglophone & Francophone West Africa.

Apply by 18 June 2026:
https://t.co/c8y8RoDYQH

#LegalJobs #HumanRightsJobs #AfricaJobs #StrategicLitigation

[Cheikh Traore @CheikhEteka]

Great initiative fro. SFH! We need so many more of such centres. And I look forward to visit and learn from your experience

[Society for Family Health @SFHNigeria]

The Society for Family Health (SFH) Nigeria has successfully concluded a landmark co-creation of a pioneering Safe Space Programme for adolescent boys and young men in Rivers State, marking a significant step toward addressing a long-overlooked gap in adolescent health and development programming.

The initiative is currently being implemented under the Adolescents 360 Health and Economic Empowerment Project (A360 HEEP) Phase 4, which strategically expands the programme's scope to meaningfully include adolescent boys; recognising that sustained health outcomes for girls are significantly strengthened when boys are engaged as equal partners in change.

From 2nd – 5th June 2026, SFH convened a four-day multi-stakeholder workshop that brought together government representatives, community leaders, healthcare providers, civil society organizations, and adolescent boys themselves to jointly develop a practical Facilitation Guide for the NextGenZ Boys Safe Space Sessions. This initiative, with funding support from TotalEnergies, NNPC and Partners, will initially serve boys aged 15–19 years across Eleme, Bonny, Ogba-Egbema-Ndoni, and Ahoada East Local Government Areas (LGAs).

The workshop responds directly to evidence generated through baseline assessments, which revealed that no dedicated adolescent-boy-focused services existed across six target communities prior to the intervention. While significant investments have been made globally to improve outcomes for adolescent girls, fewer programmes have intentionally engaged boys in structured conversations around health, wellbeing, gender norms, and future opportunities.

The Permanent Secretary of the Rivers State Ministry of Health, speaking at the workshop, noted that adolescent boy programming had been a long-standing gap in the state and expressed satisfaction that a concrete intervention was finally being implemented. He observed that for too long, gender-focused health programming had overlooked boys entirely and welcomed this initiative as a meaningful step toward more inclusive and equitable adolescent health delivery in Rivers State.

The newly developed facilitation guide adopts a holistic approach, equipping adolescent boys with knowledge, skills, and support networks across key areas including sexual and reproductive health, positive masculinity, life skills development, risk and vulnerability reduction, economic empowerment, and access to youth-friendly health services.

When a boy from Eleme LGA sat in that workshop room and helped design the very programme that will serve adolescent boys like him, it was more than a workshop activity. It was a reminder that the most effective solutions are often built with the people closest to the challenge. The resulting guide reflects that principle, combining the lived experiences of adolescent boys with the expertise of health, community, and government stakeholders.

This effort reinforces SFH's commitment to advancing inclusive adolescent and youth programming that leaves no one behind and contributes to stronger, healthier communities.

[Cheikh Traore @CheikhEteka]

@Kalosagathoss Tapettes contre enragés. A lutta continua 💪

[Cheikh Traore @CheikhEteka]

Homophobie, xenophobie, negrophobie, misogynie...Les seuls remparts contre ses vagues de haine demeurent nos vaillants defenseurs des droits et valeurs humanistes a travers ce beau continent. Osons rever d'un Monde meilleur 💪 #AfricaLiberation

[Bacc Jakarta⭐🇸🇳 @Kalosagathoss]

@CheikhEteka @mamadoukanny Homophobe assumé et fier.

[Cheikh Traore @CheikhEteka]

Okay. Interesting food for thought 🤔

[Lavish Living @busiwe_bubu]

Somizi says South Africa would not survive if all foreign nationals left the country.

[Cheikh Traore @CheikhEteka]

@Kalosagathoss C'est comme la foire sur X ces jours ci. On y trouve tous les enragés avec le coeur noir de haine ⛈️ 😈

[Cheikh Traore @CheikhEteka]

@Mambaonline We need more of this..please can you share a template 🙏 DM

[UN Women @UN_Women]

Equal means equal pay.
Equal means equal rights.
Equal means equal protection.
Equal means equal opportunity.
Equal means equal representation.
Equal means equal access.
Equal means equal power.
Equal means equal.

[Cheikh Traore @CheikhEteka]

@Kalosagathoss @mamadoukanny L'ironie c'est que cette loi Senegalaise est copié-collé d'une loi francaise coloniale . Regime de Vichy 1946. Allez verifier ! Vive le souverainisme homophobe et populiste 😆 🤣

[Cheikh Traore @CheikhEteka]

@Kalosagathoss @mamadoukanny Nothing you can do..., il y'aura toujours l'ingerence humanitaire lorsque des humains sont injustement perecutés et il y'aura toujours des gays au Senegal. Sorry 😞

[Cheikh Traore @CheikhEteka]

C'est tellement triste ces histoires de persecutions. Des vies brisées...

[Le journal Afrique TV5MONDE @JTAtv5monde]

Un premier groupe de 258 ressortissants nigérians sont rentrés au pays. Tous ont décidé de quitter l'Afrique
du Sud et son climat de tensions xénophobes, de plus en plus violent ces dernières semaines.

[Cheikh Traore @CheikhEteka]

@Kalosagathoss @mamadoukanny Le probleme c'est que vous n'avez pas le choix. Les gays seront toujours au Senegal comme partout aulleurs. Comme depuis la quit des temps. En prison ou en non. Vous n'y pouvez absolument rien. 😆