By Daniel Daudu Makolo
Barr. Daniel Daudu Makolo served as an Immigration Officer at different points and states in Nigeria. He was in the service from 1988 to 2018. He now practices as a private legal practitioner while pursuing a PhD at the Faculty of Law, University of Abuja. His research interest is on Trans-border migration and the challenges of national security in Nigeria.
Introduction
Our present legal framework on Nigerian citizenship and acquisition can be found in Chapter III, Sections 25 -32 of the Constitution Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 As Amended by the 1st, 2nd & 3rd Alteration ACT 2011.
LEGAL ISSUES OF CITIZENSHIP IN NIGERIA
Section 25, (1 (A) provides as follows;-
“The following persons are citizens of Nigeria by birth;-
EVERY PERSON BORN IN NIGERIA BEFORE THE DATE OF INDEPENDENCE,
(1st October, 1960 italics mine)
- Either of whose parents,
OR
- Any of whose grandparents,
- Belongs to
OR
d. Belonged to
- A community indigenous to Nigeria.”
BRIEF LEGAL ANALYSIS OF OUR PROVISIONS FOR NIGERIAN CITIZENSHIP
Every person born in Nigeria before the date of independence, either of whose parents or any of whose grandparents belongs or belonged to a community indigenous to Nigeria as presently constituted is a Nigerian citizen.
Every person born in Nigeria after the date of Independence either of whose parents or any of whose grandparents is a citizen of Nigeria is a Nigerian citizen and
Every person born outside Nigeria either of whose parents is a citizen of Nigeria is equally a Nigerian citizen.
LITERARY MEANING OF THE ABOVE
In view of the above, any person born in Nigeria provided that either of the parents or any grandparent are themselves citizen of Nigeria by birth is a citizen. Grandchildren of Nigerians are citizens, even though they are born outside Nigeria, provided they did not renounce their Nigerian citizenship at full age and capacity.
THE PROBLEM WITH OUR LEGAL PROVISION ON NIGERIA CITIZENSHIP
The problem with this section is that for practical purpose, immigration officers at the land border in Nigeria, have problem implementing the constitutional provision of the phrase;
“BELONGS TO OR BELONGED TO A COMMUNITY INDIGENOUS TO NIGERIA”
The map below is Nigeria Immigration Service duty map, showing the immigration service personnel’s presence surrounding the whole country Nigeria.
Some places, we have immigration control post in the forest or in the centre of town that spans from Nigeria into neighbouring countries.
Identifying, separating and managing Nigeria citizen identity as duty calls by the Nigeria immigration official is a hard task because of similarities in look, common ancestors or linage, common markets, culture and socio-economic interactions by border communities who are intermarrying and civilizing together.
According to (WDR) Late Prof. Jadesola Akande, in her book “Introduction to the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999”, stated that;
Presumably a Cameroonian could claim to have belonged to a community indigenous to Nigeria, after all; some part of Cameroon was previously part of Nigeria.
My View
All Africans are Nigerians?
I think that Indeed, any African from any part of the continent especially Sahelian and Sudano Sahel region who are from communities, similar to communities indigenous to Nigeria can claim to be a Nigerian because he “belongs or belonged” to a community that is indigenous to Nigeria as well.
Many of the people in the border communities are members of communities indigenous to both countries and as such are legally free to take advantage of the constitutional provision without any measure of legal commitment or loyalty to Nigeria or belief in her values and aspirations.
This is because there is affinity, cultural and linguistic homogeneity among them.
For example, a Chadian Fulani who joins the Fulani community of Nigeria could claim “belonging” to a community indigenous to Nigeria although he is a Chadian.
The same thing goes for a Cameroonian Fulani when in Nigeria.
Likewise, Egun people in Benin Republic having similar community of their kiths and kins in Badagry area of Lagos.
The same goes for Barubas in Borgu, Kwara State they have theirs kiths and kins in northern Benin Republic around the Paraku area.
The same thing goes for the communities around the Nigerian border in Kebbi State like the Zabarama people.
Yoruba’s are all over the West Africa e.g. in Benin, Togo, Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire, likewise Fulani’s and Hausa’s in these countries and Cameroon, Niger, Mali, Burkina Faso, Kanuri’s in Bornu and Chad Republic and the Fulani’s in Nigeria and Cameroon Border towns.
The same thing in Adamawa, Tarabas’ Marbella Plateau, Jato- Aka in Benue State, Mfum, Obudu Catle ranch, Ekan, Ekon in Cross Rivers State having border with Cameroon. It is the same thing in Abana, Atabong in Akwa Ibom State and many islands in the Bakassi Peninsula.
We have Ijaws in the coastal areas all across the West Africa.
All these people are, intermarrying and civilizing together regardless of any legal framework in place for or against them by anybody or institution in Nigeria.
CASES DECIDED
It was on the basis of this provision that the case of SHUGABA DARMAN V THE MINISTER OF INTERNAL AFFAIRS & ORS (1981) 2 NCLR 459, decided and the challenge succeeded.
The Plaintiff was a principal member of Bornu State House of Assembly in the 2nd Republic. He had a problem then and the government decided to deport him. He accepted in Court that his father was a Chadian but Claimed that his mother is a Nigerian of the Kanuri tribe, a community or tribe equally indigenous to both Chad and Nigeria.
Once this was proved, he was accorded the rights and privileges of being a Nigerian citizen, even when such a person is a notorious or wanted criminal or terrorist globally.
According to Oye Adefila in Shugaba’s case, the court held that once it is proven that a person is a Nigerian citizen, he cannot be deported from Nigeria.
And it is further held by Lord Devlin, in ROOKES V BENARD (1964) 1 ALL N.L.R that any unlawful deportation or unlawful interference of fundamental rights of a Nigerian citizen attracts compensatory and exemplary damages.
In the event of any legal friction and challenges by this kind of “citizens”, their successful challenge will attract exemplary damages and heavy compensation from our financial resources as a nation.
EFFECT OF OUR CITIZENSHIP CONSTITUTIONAL PROVISIONS ON OUR NATIONAL SECURITY
The problem area for national security is where any member of this type of community appears before an immigration officer, without any proof of Nigerian citizenship in the face of any environmental disaster, conflict or terrorist attack or climate change induced transborder migration etc, such a person cannot be prevented from entering Nigeria.
So the dilemma of Immigration Service Officials at the border towns across Nigeria in the discharge of their Statutory functions are better imagined in the face of the affinity, homogeneous socio-cultural relationships, language and common ancestors of border communities.
THE IMERATIVES OF NIGERIAN IDENTITY MANAGEMENT
Nigerians need to carry out a national discussion on these issues in other to be able to understand, appreciate and enhance the countries security by a proper citizenship acquisition, identification and protections.
This national discussion is necessary because, we must not only protect our sovereignty against domestic, foreign terrorist and criminal entities, we must also protect it jealously against those who wish or are intent on breaching our Border laws out of envy which is a common attitude of insurgents, sometimes promoted by some nations or their nationals towards Nigeria especially in these border communities.
The Nigerian Chief of Defence Staff Air Chief Marshal Alex Badeh was reported in the Guardian newspaper on Wednesday January 7th, 2015 page 3 lamenting the non – cooperation of the neighbouring African countries, especially Chad and Niger in dealing with the insurgents as they attack Baga town in Bornu state recently.
Yet Nigerienes and Chadians are found all over Nigerian cities, towns and villages mostly as security guards and gate men, keeping the gates in most houses in Nigeria today. You 8 find them in almost every city street in Nigeria as motor cycle riders, truck pushers, cattle rearers, farmers, harbingers of scrap materials, Muslim Missionaries.
Many of them can be found in highly sensitive government establishments as security guards etc. They are in all the nooks and crannies of Nigeria to the extent that they know our villages and forests better than we do. Where is our collective security and safety in their hands?
THE FAILURE OF IDENTITY MANAGEMENT
The failure to create a full proof Nigerian national identification scheme that can clearly tell and identify a Nigerian easily has the consequence in the low rating for our fight against insurgents terrorizing us in Nigeria today.
The terrorist are aided by the homogeneous nature of our border communities around the whole Nigeria, and the near total neglect in infrastructural provision for border settlements, coupled with the extreme discretion given to security agencies at the border posts saddled with the responsibility of securing Nigeria territorial integrity with a flawed citizenship laws.
These account for the terrorist camps around the border areas. They attack us in Nigeria and retreat or slide across our border unnoticed to “their homes” living us in pains, shock and national anguish. Now this cycle is repeated often to the extent of national distress and embarrassment to Nigeria today
CONCLUSION
We don’t have to continue like this. We have to do something in the right direction by;
a. Amending our citizenship laws.
b. Create a proper legal frame work for citizenship acquisition, identification and provisions.
The failure to create a full proof Nigerian national identification scheme that can clearly tell and identify a Nigerian easily has the consequence in the low rating for our fight against insurgents, terrorizing us in Nigeria today.
The terrorist are aided by the homogeneous nature of our border communities around the whole Nigeria, and the near total neglect in infrastructural provision for border settlements, which demoralizes many members of the border communities into developing some soft spot for viral elements in their settlements.
These, coupled with the extreme discretion without clear cut uniform criteria given to security agencies at the border posts, saddled with the responsibility of securing Nigerian territorial integrity but with flawed citizenship laws, creating a monumental problem for national security in Nigeria.
In most cases, criminals incubate at the border communities, which is a haven for criminal activities, many of whom operate from these places conveniently against the rest of us in Nigeria.
These accounts for the terrorist camps around the border areas.
They attack us in Nigeria and retreat or slide across our borders unnoticed to “their homes” living us in pains, shock and national anguish.
Now that this cycle is repeated often today, to the extent of national distress and embarrassment to Nigeria, it is time to act.
We must all fight this monster collectively even though from different angles. Blame game will not help us in anyway.
MY SUGGESTIONS
I therefore think –
- It is time to get our citizenship laws correct through constitutional amendment.
- The fortification of our citizenship acquisition and identification scheme through proper legal frame work is a necessity.
- Reduce excessive discretionary powers of our security agencies within the border communities.
- Pay more attention to border communities,
- Create deliberately as a policy the consciousness of being a Nigerian citizen in body, soul and spirit in the life of Nigerian settlers at the border towns.
- We have to make them feel that, they are also a part of Nigeria as a whole. This way we can get them to contribute usefully to the peace, progress and general well-being of Nigeria, including providing assistance in our effort at creating a modern society in Nigeria, where contamination by viral human elements will be minimal especially from the border settlements all around Nigeria.
- We equally need to have a proper legal framework for our security agencies especially at the border post whereby the provision for excessive discretion in the enabling legal provision is replaced with a clear concise regulation standardizing and having a uniform functions or duty regulations around the country in line with the constitutional regulations and global best practice.
SUMMARY
The imperative of national identity management cannot be over emphasized.
The failure to create a full proof Nigerian national identification scheme that can clearly tell and identify a Nigerian easily has the consequence in the low rating for our fight against insurgents/banditry terrorizing us in Nigeria today.
This area of law needs amendment before we can effectively harvest citizenship data for identity card management scheme as being done by the National Identity Card Management Commission now.
As it is today, our constitutional provision on who is a Nigerian citizen is foggy.
We need to properly define who is a Nigerian citizen, in a very clear and definite constitutional manner. Until we are able to solve the legal riddle of who a Nigerian citizen is, harvesting individual data I think is a mirage and a colossal waste of the scarce national resources.
Our enemies are determined strategically prepared to wipe out of these space without a trace. God forbid.
Daniel Daudu Makolo, presented this paper at a webinar on Citizenship and the Imperative of Identity Management organised by the Nigerian Bar Association, Abuja Branch (Unity Bar) in conjunction with Commercial Intermediates
