Kemi Badenoch erred! Our constitution makes her foreign-born children automatic citizens, By Prof. R.A.C.E Achara

The learned Prof. Joy Ezeilo, SAN, has been tenacious in her erudite advocacy for a long time now over what she considers the unequal treatment our constitution metes to Nigerian wives in relation to the non-existent citizenship registration protocols for their alien husbands. She has consistently pointed with erudition to the fact that for Nigerian husbands, section 26 of the 1999 Constitution allows citizenship by registration only for alien wives of Nigerian husbands, ignoring foreign spouses of Nigerian women.

According to the report, Kemi Badenoch was addressing a similar but ontologically different citizenship matter under our constitution. In the one, the question was automatic acquisition by a child of Nigerian citizenship (by birth) through the mother or father. In the other, the issue was the discretionary acquisition by a foreign spouse of Nigerian citizenship (by registration) through a husband or a wife.

The reason why Badenoch was downright wrong is that she complained in relation to her children, not her husband. But our constitution in fact, makes her foreign-born children automatic citizens by birth through her. This is under a different section (Section 25), which comes immediately before the section on registration (Section 26), which the learned Prof. Joy Ezeilo, SAN, had brilliantly and hitherto challenged.

Kemi Badenoch erred.

In an X post (formerly Twitter), Joy Ezeilo, SAN, Law teacher and Senior Advocate of Nigeria said “Kemi Badenoch: A Broken Clock is Right Twice a Day.”

The post further reads:

“The issue of citizenship in Nigeria affects all citizens, particularly women, by creating identity crises and hindering national development. The concept of “indigeneship” often limits women’s rights in both their home states and those of their husbands.

“Chapter III of the 1999 Constitution further complicates this by treating women as inferior citizens, as citizenship is primarily granted based on descent rather than place of birth, unlike in countries like the U.S.

“Section 26(2)(a) exemplifies sex discrimination by denying husbands of Nigerian women the right to citizenship by registration. 

“Kemi Badenoch’s critique of this provision is valid: it unfairly disadvantages Nigerian women with foreign spouses, violating the anti-discrimination guarantee outlined in Section 42 of the Constitution and other ratified international human rights treaties by Nigeria.

“Unfortunately, amendments proposed by the 9th National Assembly to resolve these issues failed to pass in the Constitution Review process. It’s hoped that the 10th National Assembly will grant Nigerian women equal rights to confer nationality on their foreign spouses.

“For further reading, see my article, Joy Ezeilo, “The 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Woman Question,” published in NJR, Vol. 8, 2000/2001, pp. 161–177. Prof. Joy Ezeilo, (SAN, OON, Life Bencher)”