The Federal Government has granted citizenship to no less than 385 eligible foreign persons from various continents. Speaking during the event in Abuja on Saturday, the interior minister, Rauf Aregbesola, revealed that 671 foreigners in total received citizenship between 2011 and 2023, with the Buhari administration having the greatest number.
In addition, the minister called the conferral of the 385 a privilege. He further stated that not everyone who applied was granted.
According to him-
“Today’s conferment ceremony will be granted to 385 foreigners who have gone through diligent checks by the relevant agencies of state as stipulated by the constitution and have fulfilled all statutory and administrative requirements.
“I need to state that the acquisition of Nigerian citizenship is a great privilege and not everyone that applies becomes successful. However, that we have a high number of foreigners willing to become Nigerians is an indication that the ongoing efforts of the Federal Government to make Nigeria a destination for investment and peaceful coexistence are beginning to yield good fruits as we continue to welcome foreigners to do business here who, after interacting with us, is now desirous of becoming one of us.
“I must state also that it is under our administration that the largest number of foreigners have been naturalised. Between 2011 and 2013, a total of 266 foreigners became Nigerians. In 2017, 335 people took up Nigerian citizenship. But last year, 286 foreigners and today at this ceremony, 385, making a total of 671 have acquired Nigerian citizenship.”
He demanded that the criterion of continuous residence in Nigeria for 15 years be decreased in the upcoming constitutional reforms, noting that it had complicated the process of becoming a citizen.
Aregbesola said-
“I am still not pleased with this figure. In Europe and America, thousands of foreigners are inducted into citizenship every year. They do this to attract youths and people in their prime who would like to contribute to the development of their countries. Let’s face it. There is a limit to your expectations from a non-citizen and it is reasonable to expect an average person to be more loyal to his or her country.
“The bane of the smooth pathway to Nigerian citizenship however is the constitutional requirement of continuous residency in Nigeria for 15 years. This is a huge disincentive, considering that in the United States and most European countries, it is five years. Some of these countries have made a habit of snatching young and resourceful brains. After four years of schooling and working for just one year. Through easy pathways, they obtain quality migration to their countries.
“Also, while the foreign wives of Nigerian men can automatically become citizens through registration, this same privilege is not available to foreign husbands of Nigerian women. This discrimination has robbed us of the gains we could have gotten from this category of foreigners if there is a pathway for them through registration.”
cc: Punch Ng
