Kingsley Nweze in Abuja
President Muhammadu Buhari has conferred citizenship on 385 foreign nationals, declaring them worthy Nigerians after meeting all necessary conditions.
The conferment was conducted on behalf of the President by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, at the General Abdulrahman Danbazzau Conference Hall, Nigeria Correctional Service (NCoS), Headquarters, Abuja.
Buhari said his administration gave citizenship to more foreigners than any administration so far, asserting that the gesture was to encourage foreign investment and boost the nation’s economy.
He described those conferred the citizenship as worthy of the honour, saying they have contributed in various fields of human endeavours to the development of the country.
The Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, said those conferred with citizenship met the stringent conditions attached to it and called for the review of the Nigerian Constitution to allow more foreign nationals to apply for citizenship.
He said in Europe and the United States, foreigners who had lived there could apply for citizenship after five years, but wondered why in Nigeria foreigners would have to wait for 15 years before they could apply for Nigeria citizenship.
“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.
“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.
“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 – who after four years of schooling and working for just one year – through easy pathways, to obtain quality migration to their countries.
“I will therefore urge the relevant institutions of state to reconsider this in the next effort at an amendment to the constitution. We ought to have easier pathways to citizenship for foreigners than currently obtains.”
