THE RIGHT CONCEPT OF CITIZENSHIP

THE RIGHT CONCEPT OF CITIZENSHIP

I read with concern a report on the front page of the Guardian of Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009 under the caption “After 10 years your state of origin may change” and the paper went on to report that according to a Bill sponsored by Gozie Agbakoba, a member of the House of Representatives from Anambra State titled ‘A Bill for an Act to Integrate Non-Indigenes into states other than their state’s of origin’, if a person stays in another state for about 10 years and fulfills all his obligations, he or she should be conferred all rights and benefits enjoyed by the indigenes.

According to the widely circulated and leading national daily, Section 1 of the Bill provides “A person who resides in a state other than his state of origin continuously, that is to say without a break for a period of 10 or more years, contributes to the development, lives in harmony with the people of the state; pays taxes to the state, shall be entitled to the rights and benefits accruing to the indigenes or people of that state notwithstanding the fact that he is not an indigene or citizen of that state”. Section 2 of the same Bill went on to extend the rights and benefits to appointments, scholarships, attainment of the highest political office in the state and other such perquisites of indigeneship.

Well it is a good thing that this is coming up now even though belated but those involved should do well to note that this is a fundamental Constitutional matter and treat it as such. Any Constitutional amendment such as the one the National Assembly is now undertaking must as a matter of urgency take this question of citizenship or indigeneship into critical consideration and make lasting constitutional provisions to exorcise the ghost of this divisive issue from our national life forever. No other issue has conspired more to derail Nigeria’s continued search for Unity and Nationhood than the wrong concept of citizenship or indigeneship as conceived in this clime. This Bill though a welcome relief is a mere palliative if what it seeks to correct is not recognized and entrenched in the Constitution. In doing this we must appreciate and understand what the right concept of citizenship is. To this right concept will I now turn.

What exactly is Citizenship? A right concept of citizenship should solve most if not all issues that have to do with patriotism and communal living. Our leaders know this and most commentators do but it is surprising no one has really made an issue of the point. The right concept of Citizenship will foster harmony, self esteem/worth, unity and coherence of the Nigerian state, regardless of our estimated 250 ethnic nationalities and 513 linguistic groupings and their divergent group interests.

The 1999 Constitution in Chapter III provides for Citizenship and what do we find in its provisions. It merely prescribes how Nigerian citizenship may be acquired, exercised and renounced. It did not in any way make any telling provision on how these citizens shall live in the space they choose within the larger Nigerian society. The only provision that remotely comes close to doing so is again contained in the non justiciable provisions of Chapter II of the Constitution thus ‘it shall be the duty of every citizen to respect the dignity of other citizens and the rights and legitimate interests of others and live in unity and harmony and in the spirit of common brotherhood; make positive and useful contributions to the advancement, progress and wellbeing of the community where he resides”.

Again much ado about nothing. How is the average Nigerian expected to live out these ideals in a community where he resides and is seen as a ‘stranger’, a ‘non native’, a ‘non indigene’, and a ‘bird of passage’, taking it to the extreme if you like. If we are all citizens of Nigeria, why is it so difficult for the various ethnic nationalities in Jos to live together in peace and harmony? Why are there so much ethnic flash points across the length and breadth of this country? Again the answer is simple, the Constitution was deliberately made tenuous and unworkable so those who have access to power and who know how to exploit the little differences and the insignificant issues that make for disunity can continue to keep their privileges and forever. No one should deceive us; the things that should unite us are far greater than those that divide us if only the generality of the people who bear the brunt of the mismanagement of this country were any wiser. As President Barack Obama said in his recent Cairo address to the Muslim world, ‘so long as our relationship is defined by our differences, we will empower those who sow hatred rather than peace, those who promote conflict rather than the cooperation that can help all of our people achieve justice and prosperity’. We have sacrificed merit on the alter of Federal Character in this country, entrenching ineptitude and mediocrity under the guise of balancing the equilibrium. What equilibrium? As if Nigerian’s care who their Leaders are if this country is run properly.

In 1992 when Bill Clinton was sworn in as President of the United State’s, his Vice President, Albert Gore was from a neighbouring Southern State. Who cared? No one. President George Bush was Governor of Texas before he became President of the United State’s in the year 2000 and while he was President; his younger brother, Jeb Bush, was Governor of Florida. Again who cared? No one. Rodham Hillary Clinton was first lady at Little Rock when Bill Clinton was Governor of Arkansas and when it was time for her senate seat run; she ran from New York and thus represented New Yorkers in the Senate until recently when she was appointed Secretary of State by President Barack Obama. Now, this is the example of a nation which is serious about Citizenship, Patriotism and Unity. Just what are the examples we have here?

How did the United State’s achieve this? Simple, the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United State’s solved the problem of ethnicity, indigeneship in one simple sentence when while extending Citizen rights to all Americans (Black, White, Hispanic, Caucasian, and Indian) provided that “all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws”. Brilliant you might say. So it does not matter where an American was born or where he resides, for where ever he is/lives in the United State’s at any point in time, he is a citizen of that place so questions of ‘indigeneship’, ‘stranger’, ‘non native’ or whatever which has led to violence and avoidable deaths in this clime will never arise.

Imagine how much good this singular provision in one sentence will do to our nation if we have the necessary political will to incorporate same into our constitution. Our leaders know this but because they seek to divide us so they can continually exploit us and feather their nest they will not allow it but any genuine effort at constitutional review must provide that anyone born or naturalized in Nigeria is a citizen of Nigeria and of the state wherein he resides and that he is entitled to the equal protection of the laws of the state. This provision will not solve all the problems in one day but it will be a constant reminder to all involved of our resolve to ensure the protection of Nigerian lives and property, our resolve to ensure that every Nigerian who will thrives, find happiness and fulfillment no matter where he resides in the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

STEPHEN O. OBAJAJA is a Partner at the Lagos Law Firm of Fountain Court Partners.