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Dual Citizenship and Access To Elected Office in NIgeria By Bello Salihu
London, United Kingdom
Mixed signals are being sent to Nigerians in Diaspora by the Nigerian state. While, according Reuben Abati in an opinion expressed in the Guardian of January 26th 2007, something as enticing as a Diaspora Village in an exclusive part of the sprawling metropolis of Abuja is being promised by the government, in the same vein Nigerians in Diaspora, over half of whom, along with their children are also citizens of their countries of residence are now told that they cannot aspire to any elective office in the land for their sins of holding dual nationalities.
I will not want to belabour the reader with the geographical spread and the strategic economic, social and political significance of Nigerian’s in Diaspora to the nation. A fact so recognized by the current administration when it encouraged the establishment of the Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation (NIDO) in 2001.
As an offshore asset, few nations in the world can boast of an economically active non-resident community like Nigeria. Nigerians are gainfully involved in every foreign land they find themselves. And it is a statement of fact to say that we are indeed in many foreign lands. From the bustling streets of Rio and New Delhi to remote unheard of places like Nunavut in the Iqaluit province of Canada, we are everywhere. The Nigerian state loses more in terms of intellectual drain than it gains in terms of foreign currency remittance these modern day Marco Polos send home. So the idea of Nigerians in Diaspora being encouraged to relocate home is not novel, it is plain commonsense. No one I believe has any argument with the government on this.
Even if only a tiny fraction of Nigerians abroad heed that call and returned it will have a significant impact on the country. Then when you consider the ripple effect of their presence here in terms of the fresh ideas they will infuse into the intellectual, creative and entrepreneurial activities in the country, the social and professional networks they have access to worldwide and the fresh eye with which they will look at some aberrations that have become commonplace in today’s Nigeria, then indeed, we shall all be the better for it if we can have these sojourners look into their rear-view mirrors, make a u-turn and head home.
Non-resident nationals of many countries, even those in their secondary stage of Migrations such Indians displaced from Uganda to the United Kingdom during the era of Idi Amin have tried to maintain the identity and culture of their homeland. First, second, third and even fourth generation Indians, some of whom have never been to India and whose only contact with their country is through Bollywood and Indian food, have been instrumental to and, are now relocating back to India to become part of their country’s economic miracle.
No matter how much bad press we receive in foreign media and how embarrassing some actions of our leaders at home may be, I am yet to see a Nigerian in Diaspora who is not nostalgic of a childhood or youth spent in Nigeria and who is not looking forward to one day returning home. Recently on a flight to Abuja from Amsterdam I ran into a respected Nigerian elder statesman who is a father figure to me and millions like me. The first thing he wants to know is when I am planning to relocate home. I mumbled something about some personal projects and the children’s schooling (the usual excuses). He looked at me in the eye and calmly told me that it is my responsibility to be in Nigeria and contribute to building my own country. And that whatever I may be enjoying now wherever I may be was neither built overnight nor by citizens who run away from the uncomfortable.
It is a statement of fact that we are all looking forward to returning home. Well, almost all of us. The few that are not ready to leave yet will join us eventually when in the not too distant future our country becomes the economic miracle of Africa.
It is at the height of this regurgitation of facts, aspirations to glory and rekindling of hope for and about the Nigerian in Diaspora that the issue I introduced at the beginning of this write-up about Nigerians holding dual citizenship not being allowed to seek elective offices reels us back to the reality of Nigerian doublespeak and lack of foresight. This is not about the government in power, it is about the interpretation of the constitution.
Professor Isa Odidi and Honourable Akeem Bello have, along with their party, the New Democrats (ND), a political party registered by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of Nigeria to participate in Nigeria’s electoral process, have filed an originating summons at the Federal High Court in Abuja against INEC and its Chairman Professor Maurice Iwu over INEC’s interpretation of Sections 28, 66 and 137 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
The aforementioned sections deal with the issues of dual citizenship for Nigerians (section 28); how it affects those seeking elected offices in Nigeria (section 66); and those seeking the highest office of the land, that of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Commander in-chief- of the Nigerian Armed Forces (section 137).
It is INEC’s and Professor Iwu’s contention that any Nigerian that holds the citizenship of a second country cannot be elected into office according to the Nigerian constitution.
It is Professor Isa Odidi, Hon. Akeem Bello and ND’s contention that INEC’s interpretation of the aforesaid sections of the constitution is flawed.
It is our duty as Nigerians to look at the deeper implications of this landmark case. I encourage every Nigerian at home and abroad to reflect deeply about this and follow this case as the implications are bound to be far-reaching to us the present generation and to generations yet unborn.
Since we know INEC and, to some extent, its outspoken Chairman Professor Maurice Iwu, let us attempt to know Principal Characters on the other side of the ring.
Professor Isa Odidi holds the citizenship of Nigeria and Canada. He moved to Canada after spending more than three-quarters of his life in Nigeria and bagging a degree in Pharmacy from Ahmadu Bello University in Zaria. Before settling in Canada he bagged an MSc and PhD in his chosen field from the University of London. He was an active member of the now non-defunct Nigerian Union in London, an umbrella socio-political association of Nigerians in the UK and one of the founding fathers of the Arewa Association in the United Kingdom. He was also invited by the Federal Government to participate as a member in the National Political Reform Conference.
Professor Odidi worked as Vice President of Research, Drug Development and New Technologies at Biovail Corporation International (now Biovail Corporation), a drug delivery company. During this time, Professor Odidi developed several blockbuster drugs, including supergenerics such as Adalat CC (Bayer) and Procardia XL (Pfizer).
Professor Isa Odidi is a founder and one of the principals of IntelliPharmaCeutics, and serves as Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Officer, Co-Chief Scientific Officer and Chair of Scientific Advisory Board. He currently holds a Chair as Professor of Pharmaceutical Technology at the Toronto Institute of Pharmaceutical Technology in Canada, and is an Adjunct Professor at the Institute for Molecular Medicine, California, U.S.A.
His calling is science and technology and he has acquired immense wealth and recognition in his chosen field. As a member of the inner caucus of the Conservative Party in Canada which swept the current Canadian Prime Minister into power, he is also well respected and recognized in his country of residence. He is Canadian. He is also a Nigerian. In the Diaspora.
The party which he founded, The New Democrats (ND), is the only political party in Nigeria to have its roots in the agitation for change in the motherland from Nigerians in the Diaspora. It is seen as a paradigm shift in Nigerian politics and does not hide its foreign roots. Even its flag looks foreign. That does not, however, belittle that laudability of its mission. Which is to give every Nigerian at home and in the Diaspora an equal stake and equal commitment to the future of the Nation.
It warms the heart of every patriotic and well meaning Nigerian to see people of the calibre of Isa Odidi leaving their comfort zone and sacrificing their heard earned reputation and wealth to delve into murky water of Nigerian politics. People of his calibre abound in the diaspora and this may just open the floodgates. They are light years away from the kleptocracy and outright thuggery that has damaged the polity. Canada will gladly give Isa Odidi a chance to go for the highest office of their land.
Having introduced the case and the opposition positions, I have to at this point tell you, the reader, how I see it. I am a Nigerian professional leaving outside Nigeria. Every child I have sired to date holds the citizenship of their country of birth and of the country of their parents’ birth. In the case of my two lovely daughters, they are citizens of Venezuela, where they were born, United Kingdom where we live now and Nigeria where we come from originally. I am not sitting on the fence on this one as keeping silent will render my progeny as second class citizens who can only vote and not be voted for in the only country we all call home.
But lets us take a step back and move away from the self. Let us all look at the broader implication of this law.
One, what happens to people with dual citizenship that are currently serving the Nigerian state in an elected or appointed capacity?
What happens to the Nigerians in the Diaspora that the current government is wooing to return home? What happens to the active participation of Nigerians in Diaspora that this latest adventure into democracy enjoys? What happens to my children and the children of millions of Nigerians who are hold citizenships of this land and their land of residence?
Why should we (or our constitution) take a stand that is basically that of exclusion and not of inclusion? This is even more absurd when we consider countries we are trying hard to emulate such as the United States of America working hard on changing its own constitution to allow people like the Governor of California, action hero Arnold Swarzenegger, to have access to the White House. Swarzenegger is Austrian by birth and nationality and a naturalized American citizen. It is sad to see that In Nigeria we are working hard to exclude people who are already Nigerians.
Having said all this I still believe there are people with dual nationality who should not be given access to some elected offices or whose dual nationality status must change before they are allowed such access. This is to forestall any conflict of interest. This is the same conflict of interest scenario that requires a CEO or Director of a company that enjoys the patronage of a government to resign his position in the company before taking an elected or appointed position in the said government.
For example, if Professor Isa Odidi contests and wins the highest office of the land, it will be expected that he automatically rescinds his other nationality (for which he holds allegiance to another foreign land) before becoming the Commander-in-Chief of our Armed Forces. Although in his own particular case, I have come to learn that he has already issued INEC a written affidavit that he has not sworn allegiance to any nation in the world but Nigeria as Canada does not make it mandatory for their citizens to swear allegiance to the nation.
To do a blanket ban and ask all potential contestants not to even participate until they rescind their dual nationalities (for those who have it) is impracticable, counter-productive and may keep more of the Nigerians in Diaspora from taking part in the nations democratic process. If you are a Nigerian in Diaspora this is sure to affect you or your children.
This one needs a rethink.
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