Owerri to London: The Screams the World Ignored
The book I had to write before anything else could be said.
Author · Advocate · Owerri to England
Ifechi Japhet Nwaorisa
I write so that I am not erased. Six books, ten years of journals, a support line for LGBT+ Nigerians, and a memory that will outlast me.
Where I come from
I was born in Owerri.
Imo State, south-east Nigeria. Igbo, Christian, gay. Three things my country says cannot live in one body. They do.
Where I am
I am still here.
Living with HIV, living in England, still writing. Every page on this site exists so that my story stays told, whatever happens to me.
What I stand for
I stand for Biafra.
For a people who were starved and then told to forget. Peacefully, in my own words, with my mother beside me.
If you need help
You are not alone.
The support line for LGBT+ Nigerians is open in Nigeria, Ghana and the UK. Call, message, or just read.
Owerri, July 2025
My story
All chapters
The story, chapter by chapter
From a family home at the Army Housing Scheme in Obinze to a flat in England. Growing up gay under a law that promises fourteen years, keeping a faith that was used against me, leaving, and living with HIV.
01My familyI am the second of four children of Stephen Nwaorisa and Ngozi Obi. We grew up at D10, Army Housing Scheme, Obinze, on the Port Harcourt…Read →
02Owerri, Imo StateOwerri is the capital of Imo State, in the Igbo heartland of south-east Nigeria. It calls itself the entertainment capital and the land of…Read →
03Growing up gay in NigeriaI knew before I had a word for it. Most of us do. What Nigeria adds is a second knowledge, learned at the same time: that this thing you…Read →
04God bless gay peopleI grew up in church and I never left it, even when it left me. The prayer that gives my memoir its title is the one I have said every day…Read →
05Fourteen years: the law against usIn January 2014 the President of Nigeria signed the Same Sex Marriage (Prohibition) Act. I was a teenager. Overnight, in law, I became a…Read →
06From Owerri to EnglandPeople imagine leaving as an escape. It is closer to an amputation. You cut off the country to save the rest of yourself, and then you…Read →
The books
All six books
Six books, all on Amazon
Two memoirs, a history of Biafra written with my mother, two novels and a devotional. Every copy sold keeps the support line running.
God Bless Gay People: Challenges of Being Gay in Nigeria
A short memoir about faith, family and a prayer I could only say in secret.
Biafra Rising: A Story of Resistance, Identity and the Unbreakable Spirit
Written with my mother. The history they told us to forget, and the movement that refuses to.
Journal
Ten years, written down
A journal of the hardest decade of my life, from Owerri to England, one honest entry at a time.
Ten yearsTen years since the hundred-naira notebook under the mattress. What is different, what is the same, and the sentence I still write at the top.Beginning
A call from OwerriThe boy from Aba called the British number. He has shoes now, and a job, and a number a friend wrote on his own arm to give away. On how a line becomes a line.Support line
The addressI am building a website. Everything, in English and in Igbo, with my face on it, at a fixed address. On why a man builds his own memorial while he is well.Writing
NnaAn Igbo church in London on Easter Sunday. A man who knew who I was, and what he called me anyway.Faith
The clinicA sexual health clinic in England: no bench with a malaria poster, no question about how, a nurse who did not flinch, and a leaflet with four letters on it.Health
Support line
A line for LGBT+ Nigerians
Being gay in Nigeria can mean prison, blackmail, the street. If that is where you are, call. Volunteers answer in Nigeria, Ghana and the UK. Sometimes we can help with money for a night somewhere safe.
United Kingdom+44 7503 119455CallWhatsApp
Biafra
Biafra, told by a Biafran
In 1967 a people declared themselves free and were starved for it. I write about that history, about why I stand with the movement today, and why I do not accept that peaceful separatists are terrorists.
Memory box
Open the memory box
The memory box
Every photograph and every video I gave, kept in one place. Thirteen silent clips from one afternoon in Owerri, the portraits, my mother, the covers.
Questions
Questions people ask me
Who is Ifechi Japhet Nwaorisa?
A Nigerian writer from Owerri, Imo State, now living in England. He is gay, lives with HIV, has published six books on Amazon, advocates peacefully for Biafra and runs a volunteer support line for LGBT+ Nigerians.
Where can I buy the books?
Only on Amazon, as Kindle e-books, paperbacks and hardcovers. Links are on every book page. The books are not sold anywhere else and no full text is published on this site.
Is being gay really illegal in Nigeria?
Yes. The Same Sex Marriage (Prohibition) Act of 2014 carries up to fourteen years in prison, and older criminal-code provisions punish same-sex intimacy with up to fourteen years. In the twelve northern states that apply Sharia penal codes, the maximum penalty for men is death.
How do I reach the support line?
Call or WhatsApp any of the numbers on the support page, or email [email protected]. Lines are answered by volunteers in Nigeria, Ghana and the United Kingdom.
How can I help?
Buy a book, donate through Buy Me a Coffee, share the support line with someone who needs it, or write to say that you read this. All of it matters.
Can I read the site in Igbo?
Yes. Use the EN / IG switch at the top of any page. The Igbo pages were prepared for this site and are being reviewed by native speakers.
Read me while I am here.
The books are on Amazon. The journal is free. The support line is open. If you take one thing from this site, take the number.