"no one can legally arrest a homosexual because there are laws in place to defend the human rights of a homosexual, those laws are freedom and equality of treatment for all human beings."

"I meet so many people who read twitter every day, but almost never tweet. If I may beg your indulgence, please add your voice to the public dialogue!"

"I totally ignored the hate tirades and focused more on the LGBTQ community in Africa which reached out to me massively. Surprisingly, I also had hundreds of support messages from people my age and my parents’ age. This response has been emotional as well as humbling."

"Homophobia is like a binding glue when it comes to Cameroonians. When it comes to hating LGBTQ people, they all come together."

"it is sad to see opposition to homosexuality continuing despite the headlines carrying the rheorical question, “who am I to judge?”"

"I belief, we as Africans, can begin to live change once we have access to information that is vital for our well being."

"I told myself to be true to me, even if I have just one day left to live. Life is so precious to live in deceit. Coming out was a way to exonerate myself and be and live free."

"It still officially describes both gay people and homosexual acts as “intrinsically disordered”."

"I have the freedom to express my sexuality without fear of arrest or vigilante execution. I am indeed privileged…"

"Well yes. I am Sapiosexual. I have a thing for intelligent and physically/mentally strong women."

"I come from a country where we are so limited simply by the things we don’t know. And there is so much out there that we are not aware off and which exist for free."

"I am not too surprised about myself – some will say I have an audacity of courage."

"Today, I have earned the respect of many and have been very conspicous in the general public for the various things I do represent."

"I believe I was born this way. If there could be any influence from the environment or society, they it will do well to surpress me instead."

"Feminism is about granting women the grace to be angry about their trauma and pains the way they choose to, and being sympathetic enough to ask why they are angry and genuinely listen and understand their point of view."

"Yes, we are proud, to be Rwandese So proud that we would burn our breasts like Ndabaga."

"To embrace “WHAT” I AM TO MANY NOT “WHO” I AM."

"Poetry can push our boundaries of “speech freedom”, which will allow us to encourage a generation of critical thinkers."

"That I am that color USUALLY ARTISTICALLY COMPATIBLE with that of ancient the walls."

"I am a product of the hurt, chained, restless and once hopeless, but your grammar is wrong, there’s no full stop so don’t force it."

"Poetry is some people’s source of income."

"People do not understand how fast a culture can disappear without art especially a country whose culture is art in itself."

"I hope my writing can help people to see life in a different light and encourage mental emancipation."

"Poetry has the ability to open up the space for many Rwandans to participate in conversations about social issues, mainly those that are taboo."

"It’s been a tremendous honour to work with such strong young women because they continue to teach and push me in various ways."

"It has been great so far, God has been great. I have been able to overcome my fears and I have discovered my abilities."

"What are my dreams? To find fulfilment in all I do and be extremely happy in life."

"Beautifully Coloured’ is a children’s picture book on kindness, diversity, inclusion, and positive affirmations which can help create more awareness about diversity and inclusion for younger children in elementary schools."

"My husband is my biggest obsession. I’m just so obsessed with him and I can’t help it. He inspires me a lot and I love him more than any other thing in the world."

"I want to be a force to reckon with not just as an actor but also as a producer. I want to do quality stuff and be an employer of labour so that I can change perceptions people have about the industry."

"Incomplete as the name implies is a Cologne which makes your fashion statement complete. You can’t be complete without my Incomplete. It was born out of the need to always smell good."

"Being a mom, I can say is my greatest achievement. I love being a mommy. Never take any moment for granted."

"I believe that as humans, we should never cease to make an impact in the lives of others wherever we find ourselves or whatever we are doing. This appointment restates the fact that there is still a lot of ground to be covered,”"

"I sincerely don’t think there is any industry in the world where sex for a job doesn’t come up. So, Nollywood isn’t an exception"

"It really doesn’t make any difference to me really except he has a white skin and I have a dark skin. It would have been same if I married anyone outside my tribe in Nigeria as we all have different cultures. Adaptation happens naturally"

"I’ve never been afraid of a challenge"

"I guess sometimes when you have this burning desire that makes you lack concentration in every other thing and guarantees you fulfilment and happiness, you get to take it and not look back, that is what acting is for me."

"I never really wanted to be a celebrity. I am here because this is where my heart is. So, when it got really bad, I was like maybe I should just go and do something else, maybe I should just quit. But then, my husband always encouraged me and I picked the pieces together again and continued."

"I have a father who is very liberal. I had an upbringing of becoming an independent person who makes decisions on his or her own, knowing full well everything that one does has consequences One should be responsible enough to stand by it."

"“Be very patient and consistent. Be hard working, humble and never for any reason stop believing in yourself."

"I don’t understand why we have to get to the point of violence of any kind, be it battering, emotional, financial, psychological, before making a move. I have never understood why loved ones get to that point and why the parties involved remain in abusive relationship when it is obvious it can have a fatal end, even if it doesn’t lead to death, depression and isolation, it leads to mental breakdown. I strongly believe any form of domestic violence against both women and men is unacceptable, should be frowned at and the signs should be addressed on time. Victims should understand their priority is their happiness and safety and they owe it to themselves to walk out alive while they still have their heads on their shoulders instead of bothering themselves on what the society will say; walk out and quit when you still can. The good thing is that these days, even the society frowns at it and the law now has agencies to handle cases so they should reach out on time and save themselves from a fatal end."

"My advice for them is always to be sure what they want and then go for it. They should realise they can be anything they want and have no limitations, except that which they create themselves. Life isn’t as easy as a lot of people make it look like. It takes a lot of hard work, sleepless nights, dedication, determination, discipline, consistency, persistency, and focus to get there, so they should be ready to work extremely hard and know that it will never come easy. But the trick is to never give up, to trust the process, believe in themselves and their dreams, no matter how impossible it looks, keep pushing and to not put their trust in people and putting all their hopes in believing someone will help them fasttrack their dreams. No one owes you anything, so don’t hand your life to anyone. Take control, trust and believe in yourself, thank God for the internet and even if you don’t have money to go train yourself, you can read and watch videos on line. read, read and never stop reading and remain focused."

"From knowing that you are alive and that you can see tomorrow as you are seeing today. Knowing that you are alive is a privilege. To be alive is a huge privilege."

"I plan to own the biggest fashion store in Africa, to empower the youth by creating different life changing opportunities for them. I also plan to create a shelter to care for the old in the future. I am planning on introducing my Jeans line, Laura Ikeji Jeans and 2018 is not over yet."

"To some women, marriage is an achievement, to me Laura, it isn’t. Life isn’t that serious. I wanna achieve so much in my life, to be a Nigerian Zara, with stores all over the country and across Africa. Be a household name in fashion, have my own reality shows, so much to achieve."

"Young people need to take a moment and reflect on the cost of their lives and the value they bring into the world, their communities, and humanity."

"Don’t pay attention to hate."

"Be kind. Be honest. Dream big. Be patient. Love yourself. Believe in yourself. Judge less. Speak well of others."

"I really wanted to inspire people to continue to pursue their dreams as I was mine, despite how difficult it was."