Popular American rapper, Cardi B, who visited Nigeria recently and declared her love for the country, on Friday ignited public interest after she said she was considering filing to become Nigerian citizen.
TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) report Cardi B, who visited Nigeria back in December 2019, was sharing her thoughts on US President Donald Trump ordering the killing of Iranian general Qasem Soleimani on Twitter when she inadvertently sparked interest of the public.
“Naaaaa these memes are fuckin ?? ?but shit ain’t no joke ! Specially being from New York .Its sad this man is putting Americans live in danger.Dumbest move Trump did till date …I’m filing for my Nigerian citizenship,” she tweeted.
Naaaaa these memes are fuckin 😅😅 😩but shit ain’t no joke ! Specially being from New York .Its sad this man is putting Americans live in danger.Dumbest move Trump did till date …I’m filing for my Nigerian citizenship.
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— Cardi B (@iamcardib) January 3, 2020
Ever since Cardi B made the statement, she has been trending in Nigeria, but our interest was also ignited, so we went on to consider what constitutional provisions are available for the American, whose father is Dominican and mother is Trinidadian to become Nigerian citizen.
Section 25 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) defines who a Nigerian citizen is. Section 25(1) of the Constitution provides that the following persons are citizens of Nigeria by birth-namely-
(a) 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;
Provided that a person shall not become a citizen of Nigeria by virtue of this section if neither of his parents nor any of his grandparents was born in Nigeria.
(b) every person born in Nigeria after the date of independence either of whose parents or any of whose grandparents is a citizen of Nigeria; and
(c) every person born outside Nigeria either of whose parents is a citizen of Nigeria.
Since Cardi B did not fall into the provision of this Section of the Constitution, one way she would be able to obtain Nigerian citizenship is via ‘naturalization’.
This requires that she must reside in Nigeria for at least 15 years, and be of good character, plan to remain in Nigeria, familiar with Nigerian language and customs, has a viable means of support, and has renounced previous citizenship.
Would Cardi B go on to tread this path? However, like any other country, Nigeria takes the time to grant citizenship to foreigners that meet certain requirements.
Section 26 of the Constitution provides for the requirement that must be fulfilled for a foreigner to register as a Nigerian.
Section 26(1) of the Constitution provides that subject to the provisions of section 28 of the Constitution, a person to whom the provisions of this section apply may be registered as a citizen of Nigeria, if the President is satisfied that –
(a) he is a person of good character;
(b) he has shown a clear intention of his desire to be domiciled in Nigeria; and
(c) he has taken the Oath of Allegiance prescribed in the Seventh Schedule to this Constitution.
(2) the provisions of this section shall apply to-
(a) any woman who is or has been married to a citizen of Nigeria; or
(b) every person of full age and capacity born outside Nigeria any of whose grandparents is a citizen of Nigeria.
Section 26 surreptitiously conferred on Nigerian men, the benefit of having their wives registered as Nigerians. So, is Cardi B married to a Nigerian that we are not aware of?
If Cardi B is not secretly married to a Nigerian, by provision of the Constitution, the next question to ask is, is Cardi B a person of good character?
Another question to ask is, has Cardi B shown a clear intention of her desire to be domiciled in Nigeria?
To answer this, Cardi B probably set the ball of her Nigerian citizenship rolling by adopting the name Chioma B in her last visit to the country.
It is obvious Cardi B has shown a clear intention of her desire to be domiciled in Nigeria, she can go ahead to register to become a citizen of Nigeria.
However, since it is not immediately obvious Cardi B is married to any Nigerian, the Bodak Yellow singer has to provide two persons, who would testify to her good character.
But even if she presents two persons to testify of her good character, that is still not enough. The Constitution expressly state that for Cardi B to be registered as a citizen of Nigeria, she has to be married to a Nigerian, or any of her grandparents is a citizen of Nigeria.