By: WALE ODUSOTE, USA
Anyone who surfs the thriving Nigerian Blogs (internet media) would have noticed these admirable and muscular debates of issues that concern Nigeria and Nigerians – both at home and abroad. One issue that may as yet take primetime in cyberspace is a little noticed suit filed by Abubakar Atiku and Action Congress seeking to have Maurice Iwu removed as Chairman of INEC on the basis of Iwu’s alleged dual citizenship. By implication, the suit also seeks to bar millions of Nigerians with dual citizenship from holding certain offices (elective and appointive) in the motherland. Prof. Iwu of INEC is the defendant for the time being but the entire Nigerian Diaspora - first generation and their off-springs are collectively the defendants-in-chief. That includes this writer, Philip Emeagwali and a certain Godwin Akinwande, who claims to live in the United States (a Diasporan for sure) but who seemed have approved of the suit in an essay he got published in some Nigerian national dailies in the month of May – Leadership, Tribune and SUN. I assume Akinwande to have sadly missed the point that he is also a defendant-at-large in the suit; otherwise he wouldn’t have ventured writing a piece in defense of the very people who are intent on watering down his Nigerian citizenship.
That said, the suit (if it succeeds, and it has real prospects) will: (a) bar Nigerian citizens of full blood/by birth who have naturalized in other countries and their children from being appointed to most federal jobs in Nigeria or even qualified to run for certain elective offices; (b) stigmatize Nigerians with dual citizenship as a people who ought to be hounded and held suspect by their compatriots; (c) partially denaturalize millions of Nigerians with dual citizenship by redlining them; (d) effectively discourage millions from seeking the citizenship of countries of their domicile, thus making them vulnerable to deportation and shutting them out of lucrative life-changing careers that require citizenship; (e) force resignation, removal or impeachment of any Nigerian Diasporan currently holding any of the offices Atiku/AC claim are constitutionally off-limits to them (they may also be forced to refund all emoluments they earned, as Atiku/AC also insist Iwu must do); (f) strip every Nigerian Diasporan of full and unfettered citizenship of Nigeria – a country of his/her birth and ancestry; and (g) create two hostile sets of citizens – Diasporan against home-based (brother against brother).
Granted that the action has Maurice Iwu as the sole defendant but that does not mean that the ruling of the court when it comes will impact on him alone. The opposite is true, and that is absolutely true – no exceptions, no man-know-man. In other words, it will impact each and every Nigerian Diasporan in Prof. Iwu’s position and those are, again: millions with dual citizenship and many more yet to acquire same. AC and Atiku filed the action as part of their strategy geared to seeking nullification of the presidential election on the legal rationale that the election was null and void as having been umpired by a ‘foreigner’ – Iwu, allegedly a US citizen by naturalization. I might add that the way the pleading hammered on Iwu having sworn allegiance to the United States and being a registered voter there makes it sound like any Diasporan who falls into the same category has committed something like treason against the Federation of Nigeria. For those who don’t know it yet, swearing allegiance and registering to vote are ordinary matters of routine in the naturalization process - never intended to replace the allegiance you have to your country of birth as of natural right. The suit also seeks a declaration that Iwu’s tenure is unconstitutional and therefore he should vacate office forthwith and refund his salaries/emoluments; and to be sent to jail if he fails to budge. Thank God, expulsion (or deportation) from Nigeria was not pleaded to boot. But who knows if someone becomes suddenly emboldened and decides to haul all Diasporans before Nigerian courts to be deported back to their adopted countries.
Much as I can understand why some people may not want to get involved in Atiku/AC’s scorched-earth battles with Prof. Iwu on the other fronts, this one about seeking to shut Diasporans out is way overly and taking matters too far. It is no longer about whether the elections were free and fair – that one has been discussed much already; it is about the future of the present generation of millions of Nigerians who naturalized in other countries (mostly Europe and the United States) and their children borne in the countries of their domicile; and then their children’s children, not to talk of the millions more in line to acquiring foreign citizenships. It is also about the disparate impact this suit portends for broad sections of the Nigerian Diaspora. Disparate in the sense that, by credible estimates, more than 80% of the odd five million Nigerians domiciled in foreign lands have origins in the southern parts of Nigeria, especially the South West and South East. And to think of the talent Nigeria holds (and is bound to lose) amongst her Diaspora ranks makes it even scarier. And then this suit is coming in an era of unprecedented global enlightenment when Arnold Schwarzenegger (an Austrian) is Governor of California today and Barrack Obama (a Kenyan) is about becoming president of the United States. Yet, a whole body of teeming Nigerian Diasporans is just about to be barred from holding a job in their motherland. Can you dig it?
What to do? Well, for starters, a friend of the court brief (amicus) is in the offing to interplead the Nigerian Diaspora as a class party-by-consequence; and the National Assembly will surely be pressured to amend the constitution to remove any consequences of dual citizenship for those who are Nigerians by birth. It is so sad that from demanding absentee voting rights, the Nigerian Diaspora has come full circle back to just about losing it all. The way the average Diasporan sees it, is this: we cannot be remitting over $4 billion Dollars into the Nigerian economy (according to World Bank) and be timid about our basic citizenship rights. That doesn’t add up. And in the United States, a Nigerian Diasporan can walk into an American court and walk away with top Dollars if he has been discriminated against based on national origin. So, why would anyone expect him to remain silent when some politician is trying to visit him with much worse in the land of his birth – the land of his ancestors from the beginning of time? No way.
If I may add, it is dubious of anyone (a Godwin Akinwande or any other) to harass any Diasporan who has spoken out against this suit. Akinwande tried to do that by resorting to some time-worn allegation that Iwu or INEC were the ones that encouraged the Diasporan backlash against the suit. It is unlikely that such tactics will back-off the Nigeria Diaspora from tackling a lawsuit that portends real danger to all Diasporans presently in service of the motherland and those still aspiring to serve because any Diasporan opposed to this suit is most probably propelled by nothing else but fear – real fear that the odds are good that Atiku/AC might prevail to the partial disenfranchisement of Nigeria’s multitudes sojourning hard in foreign lands. Fear of partial loss of citizenship is a greater motivation than money and partisanship combined.
Wale wrote in from the US waleodusote@yahoo.com
Anyone who surfs the thriving Nigerian Blogs (internet media) would have noticed these admirable and muscular debates of issues that concern Nigeria and Nigerians – both at home and abroad. One issue that may as yet take primetime in cyberspace is a little noticed suit filed by Abubakar Atiku and Action Congress seeking to have Maurice Iwu removed as Chairman of INEC on the basis of Iwu’s alleged dual citizenship. By implication, the suit also seeks to bar millions of Nigerians with dual citizenship from holding certain offices (elective and appointive) in the motherland. Prof. Iwu of INEC is the defendant for the time being but the entire Nigerian Diaspora - first generation and their off-springs are collectively the defendants-in-chief. That includes this writer, Philip Emeagwali and a certain Godwin Akinwande, who claims to live in the United States (a Diasporan for sure) but who seemed have approved of the suit in an essay he got published in some Nigerian national dailies in the month of May – Leadership, Tribune and SUN. I assume Akinwande to have sadly missed the point that he is also a defendant-at-large in the suit; otherwise he wouldn’t have ventured writing a piece in defense of the very people who are intent on watering down his Nigerian citizenship.
That said, the suit (if it succeeds, and it has real prospects) will: (a) bar Nigerian citizens of full blood/by birth who have naturalized in other countries and their children from being appointed to most federal jobs in Nigeria or even qualified to run for certain elective offices; (b) stigmatize Nigerians with dual citizenship as a people who ought to be hounded and held suspect by their compatriots; (c) partially denaturalize millions of Nigerians with dual citizenship by redlining them; (d) effectively discourage millions from seeking the citizenship of countries of their domicile, thus making them vulnerable to deportation and shutting them out of lucrative life-changing careers that require citizenship; (e) force resignation, removal or impeachment of any Nigerian Diasporan currently holding any of the offices Atiku/AC claim are constitutionally off-limits to them (they may also be forced to refund all emoluments they earned, as Atiku/AC also insist Iwu must do); (f) strip every Nigerian Diasporan of full and unfettered citizenship of Nigeria – a country of his/her birth and ancestry; and (g) create two hostile sets of citizens – Diasporan against home-based (brother against brother).
Granted that the action has Maurice Iwu as the sole defendant but that does not mean that the ruling of the court when it comes will impact on him alone. The opposite is true, and that is absolutely true – no exceptions, no man-know-man. In other words, it will impact each and every Nigerian Diasporan in Prof. Iwu’s position and those are, again: millions with dual citizenship and many more yet to acquire same. AC and Atiku filed the action as part of their strategy geared to seeking nullification of the presidential election on the legal rationale that the election was null and void as having been umpired by a ‘foreigner’ – Iwu, allegedly a US citizen by naturalization. I might add that the way the pleading hammered on Iwu having sworn allegiance to the United States and being a registered voter there makes it sound like any Diasporan who falls into the same category has committed something like treason against the Federation of Nigeria. For those who don’t know it yet, swearing allegiance and registering to vote are ordinary matters of routine in the naturalization process - never intended to replace the allegiance you have to your country of birth as of natural right. The suit also seeks a declaration that Iwu’s tenure is unconstitutional and therefore he should vacate office forthwith and refund his salaries/emoluments; and to be sent to jail if he fails to budge. Thank God, expulsion (or deportation) from Nigeria was not pleaded to boot. But who knows if someone becomes suddenly emboldened and decides to haul all Diasporans before Nigerian courts to be deported back to their adopted countries.
Much as I can understand why some people may not want to get involved in Atiku/AC’s scorched-earth battles with Prof. Iwu on the other fronts, this one about seeking to shut Diasporans out is way overly and taking matters too far. It is no longer about whether the elections were free and fair – that one has been discussed much already; it is about the future of the present generation of millions of Nigerians who naturalized in other countries (mostly Europe and the United States) and their children borne in the countries of their domicile; and then their children’s children, not to talk of the millions more in line to acquiring foreign citizenships. It is also about the disparate impact this suit portends for broad sections of the Nigerian Diaspora. Disparate in the sense that, by credible estimates, more than 80% of the odd five million Nigerians domiciled in foreign lands have origins in the southern parts of Nigeria, especially the South West and South East. And to think of the talent Nigeria holds (and is bound to lose) amongst her Diaspora ranks makes it even scarier. And then this suit is coming in an era of unprecedented global enlightenment when Arnold Schwarzenegger (an Austrian) is Governor of California today and Barrack Obama (a Kenyan) is about becoming president of the United States. Yet, a whole body of teeming Nigerian Diasporans is just about to be barred from holding a job in their motherland. Can you dig it?
What to do? Well, for starters, a friend of the court brief (amicus) is in the offing to interplead the Nigerian Diaspora as a class party-by-consequence; and the National Assembly will surely be pressured to amend the constitution to remove any consequences of dual citizenship for those who are Nigerians by birth. It is so sad that from demanding absentee voting rights, the Nigerian Diaspora has come full circle back to just about losing it all. The way the average Diasporan sees it, is this: we cannot be remitting over $4 billion Dollars into the Nigerian economy (according to World Bank) and be timid about our basic citizenship rights. That doesn’t add up. And in the United States, a Nigerian Diasporan can walk into an American court and walk away with top Dollars if he has been discriminated against based on national origin. So, why would anyone expect him to remain silent when some politician is trying to visit him with much worse in the land of his birth – the land of his ancestors from the beginning of time? No way.
If I may add, it is dubious of anyone (a Godwin Akinwande or any other) to harass any Diasporan who has spoken out against this suit. Akinwande tried to do that by resorting to some time-worn allegation that Iwu or INEC were the ones that encouraged the Diasporan backlash against the suit. It is unlikely that such tactics will back-off the Nigeria Diaspora from tackling a lawsuit that portends real danger to all Diasporans presently in service of the motherland and those still aspiring to serve because any Diasporan opposed to this suit is most probably propelled by nothing else but fear – real fear that the odds are good that Atiku/AC might prevail to the partial disenfranchisement of Nigeria’s multitudes sojourning hard in foreign lands. Fear of partial loss of citizenship is a greater motivation than money and partisanship combined.
Wale wrote in from the US waleodusote@yahoo.com
1 comment:
Dear Brother Wale Odusote,
I call you brother even though I have not met you yet. By the virtue of the views you have so boldly expressed in your write up, I can relate with you as my own blood brother- I totally agree with your views and your final submissions.
I am a Nigerian citizen by birth with my roots in a village of the South Midwest, EDO STATE, Esan ethnic origin to be precise. My family and I are dual citizens of Nigeria and United Kingdom as we have have now settled here (UK) for years. One thing I can tell you straight away, is that I SHALL NEVER SURRENDER MY NIGERIAN CITIZENSHIP TO ANY BOGUS COURT.My rights and obligations as a citizen by birth is well protected by the current 1999 constitution. It all depends on how the judge in this landmark case choose to interpret the document. Only Nigerians who are not citizens by birth can forfeit their citizenship if they acquire the citizenship of another country. From the literary interpretation, it does not appear to exclude any Nigerian citizen who can demonstrate that he/she is a citizen by birth.
I have the desire to return to Nigeria at some point to give her my best. It is my way of appreciating what God did by making me a citizen of our Great Motherland - Nigeria.I will not allow people who ought to be questioned as to the sources of their wealth and probably sent to jail for defrauding our motherland to determine my fate in Nigeria.The have constituted themselves into oligarchy with our vast wealth at their personal disposal to manipulate the political terrain of our beloved country. I can only assure you that the "modern apartheid" "home-based and foreign based" shall not succeed. Mark my word on this. They shall surely fail woefully!!!
How come that we employ foreign coaches who are not even Nigerians in any form to manage our National football teams on international campaigns? Why is this not the preserve of "Home based coaches"? Why do the rich oil companies and government Establishments employ foreigners as "expatriates" in Nigeria? I can go on for ever to ask relevant questions but I shall only say this now; Whether or not the corrupt politicians back home want it, we shall one day soon have a "foreign based Nigerian President." Like we did with our football, when our home based could not deliver at the Senior level because of the so called 'Nigerian factor', we exported them abroad to learn the game and now we can compete better with the rest of the world. We shall soon have "foreign based politicians" from the Diaspora come together to form the war against the intended apartheid in our homeland. It is time for "foreign based politicians" to begin to re-write the history and constitution of Nigeria.
We shall start by supporting Maurice Iwu morally and financially to ensure that he does not loose this battle. I have the promise of my God that I shall see the New Dawn of a New Nigeria where ALL shall be treated equally irrespective of whether or not they are based in Nigeria or Abroad. We are all Nigerians and remain faithful and loyal to her well being. If we don't fight and win this legal battle, then we shall soon be banned from visiting our relatives in Nigeria except through visa application. God forbid!!! Who is more guilty of treason against our motherland? Is the corrupt politicians defying the corridors of power in Nigeria as we see them disgraced on the News (television, newspaper, radio and Internet) or faithful Nigerians who have be forced into sojourns abroad for mostly harsh political, economic and social climate forced on them? Nigerian who by the "sweat of their brow" are making a living abroad rather than waiting to loot and impoverish our beloved country? We contribute a lot economically as stated by the world bank, which is a conservative estimate and deserve to be treated with more respect than degrading treatment that is intend to be visited on Maurice Iwu (and the rest of us).
If the grounds on which Atiku and co stand is purely on the question of election irregularities which is being challenged in various courts in Nigeria, then I have my reservation because I believe it was "selection" that took place and not election (judging by the number that has been overturned by the courts recently). But to challenge his citizenship is a travesty that will surely fail.I propose that we form a solidarity campaign straight away to generate funds to fight this campaign without any further delays.I dread to think of the fact that I may soon be made an alien in my own country of birth.
I remain forever faithful and loyal to my beloved country of birth.Long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria!
Kind regards,
Sebastian Townsend Ukegheson
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