Martha Laraba Sambe

A student of life and love, Martha Laraba Sambe is a multi-hyphenate queer creative from Northern Nigeria. As a researcher, Laraba has tackled social and development issues in Nigeria, becoming the first Development Columnist for Stears, a Nigerian media publication cum market intelligence agency. She has also lent her expertise to research projects analyzing south-south migration funded by the Council for Development of Social Research in Africa and the Canadian Center for Excellence Research Chair in Migration and Integration, respectively. Laraba has also supported the research and archival work of queer language in Nigeria on a project led by Obodo, a queer Nigerian NGO and funded by Kampnagel, Hamburg. In addition to weaving together stories from her life, which will feed into a memoir, Laraba’s first book, she continues to explore, initiate, and lead conversations about indigenous African spirituality as a basis for wholeness, community care, and the preservation of nature. A self-proclaimed animist and an advocate for right action, Laraba is blessed with the gift of gab and an unshakable resolve to hold spaces for and be part of difficult and uncomfortable conversations specifically for their potential to deepen connection and mutual understanding.