An American married to a Nigerian has raised the alarm over what he perceives as a significant inequality in Nigeria’s citizenship laws.
The couple, after navigating the legal processes, discovered a striking disparity: while a Nigerian man can quickly sponsor his foreign wife for citizenship, a Nigerian woman must endure a 15-year wait before her foreign husband is eligible to apply for citizenship.
In a viral video, the American man was heard saying: “I beg, Naija people, make Oona tell me, how do I become Nigerian?” he asked at the beginning of the video. “I was doing some online research, and I learnt that according to the Nigerian constitution, a Nigerian man, when he marries a foreigner, can allow her to apply for citizenship immediately. But a Nigerian woman, when she marries a foreigner, that man has to live in Nigeria for 15 years before he’s eligible to apply for citizenship.”
The woman voiced her surprise and frustration, expressing inability to comprehend why the law would apply differently to men and women.
She said: “Yeah, it’s kind of like really funny because we were reading about the whole thing. It says that if I, as a Nigerian woman, get married to a foreigner, the man cannot become a Nigerian unless he lives in Nigeria for 15 years. But if a Nigerian man marries a foreigner, the woman can apply to become a Nigerian immediately. Make it make sense”.
The couple disclosed that they were planning to move to Nigeria for five to six years and began researching the requirements for the man to obtain legal residency and citizenship. However, they were surprised by what they found.
He added: “That’s alright in my country,you can apply immediately,” the man said, comparing the situation to U.S. citizenship laws. “Why shouldn’t I be able to travel freely in and out without stress? I don’t think that is right. I don’t think that should be so.
“So, I’m telling my husband that maybe we just read the wrong information because we need explanation. That cannot be right,” she said.
“I don’t know who has Tinubu’s DMs, his email, his social media. We should see about this. It’s not right”, he jokingly added.
The couple’s concerns have ignited a widespread debate regarding the fairness of Nigeria’s citizenship laws.
In response to a viral video on X, Hon. Akin Alabi, Chairman of the House Committee on Works and representative for Egbeda/Ona Ara Federal Constituency, weighed in on the issue.
He criticised Section 26 of the 1999 Constitution, calling it discriminatory and advocating for a revision that would grant both men and women equal rights to confer citizenship on their foreign spouses.
He wrote: “Section 26 of the 1999 Constitution lists the conditions under which individuals can become Nigerian citizens. One of them is “any woman who is or has been married to a citizen of Nigeria”.
“My opinion: This should be amended to “any person…”. My constitutional amendment bill on this just scaled second reason.
“I believe that if we do not want to do citizenship by marriage, that’s fine, but if we are doing it, it shouldn’t be just one way. Men and women should be able to pass citizenship to their spouses. This smacks of patriarchy and discrimination,” Alabi said, adding that his constitutional amendment bill on the matter has just passed its second reading.
“I attempted this in the 9th assembly but came short. I hope to see it to the end this time.
“I must, however, mention that constitutional amendments are hard to achieve. Not impossible, but the extra step of 24 Houses of Assembly needing to agree makes it extremely difficult. We will continue to try.”
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