Richard Akuson’s biography, fact, career, awards, net worth and life story

Richard Akuson (born July 26, 1993) is a Nigerian lawyer, LGBT rights activist, essayist, editor, and founding father of A Nasty Boy journal, Nigeria’s first LGBTQ+ publication. In 2019, Richard was named certainly one of Forbes Africa’s 30 Below 30. Change-makers for difficult inflexible notions of masculinity, gender, and sexuality in Nigeria the place gay acts will be punished with 14 years in jail. In 2017, he was nominated for the The Future Awards Africa’s New Media Innovation Award. Richard can be a two-time Abryanz Type & Vogue Award Greatest Vogue Author nominee. Following the launch of A Nasty Boy journal in 2017, Richard was named one of many 40 Most Highly effective Nigerians beneath the age of 40 by Ynaija.

Early Life and Training

Richard was born in Akwanga, Nasarawa State, Nigeria. The second of three boys, he was raised in an upper-middle-class household; his father, a politician, and his mom, a school lecturer. He attended Shepherd’s Worldwide Faculty, a personal co-educational Christian boarding faculty, earlier than heading to the Nasarawa State College, Keffi, the place he studied legislation. He was known as to the Nigerian Bar as a Barrister and Solicitor of the Supreme Court docket of Nigeria in 2017, upon his commencement from the Nigerian Regulation College, Lagos.

Profession

Akuson began his profession as a mode intern on the age of 18. In 2014, he co-founded ILLUDED, a web-based photo-sharing platform. In 2016, he was supplied a place to go BellaNaija’s vogue and magnificence sections — a place that launched his profession by way of the roof. His work at BellaNaija earned him an Abryanz Type & Vogue Award nomination for Vogue Author of the 12 months in 2016. Later that yr, Richard left BellaNaija to launch The PR Boy, a boutique PR agency that catered primarily to Nigerian startups. In 2017, whereas on the Nigerian Regulation College, he launched A Nasty Boy, the boundary-pushing LGTBQ+ publication that quickly grew in stature and worldwide acclaim.

Essays

In April 2019, Richard authored a searing, tell-all essay for CNN detailing the circumstances that led him to flee Nigeria for security in America. In July of 2019, he wrote a heart-rending essay for The New York Instances’ Sunday Overview. The essay, That is Fairly Homosexual, was prominently printed within the Instances’ entrance web page and appeared on a equally distinguished place in print, the subsequent day.

Activism & Asylum

Richard sought asylum in America in 2018 after fleeing Nigeria upon surviving a brutal homophobic assault. Within the U.S., he continues to talk brazenly in regards to the assault and the insidious tradition of homophobia in Nigeria. He has granted interviews to OkayAfrica, Very Good Gentle, and The Black Youth Venture the place he gave nice element surrounding the unlucky occasion. Richard continues to be an outspoken activist for the LGBTQ+ and asylum communities in America.

Exterior Hyperlinks

• richardakuson.com
• Richard Akuson on Instagram
• Richard Akuson on Twitter