What's your take on this issue? I personally think it would strengthen the value of our green passport.

People should be given the right to completely opt out of remaining Nigerians by giving up their citizenship for that of their host countries

If this is done it will increase patriotism as a few Nigerians in diaspora may actually prefer to maintain their citizenship and this means they are more likely to return later to invest in the country or imbibe our cultures and traditions in their children's lives either way it is a win win situation for the country


It will also minimize abuse of our passport by those who commit crime and soil our national image. Presently this is not the case as someone who has lived in e. g. UK for over ten years of his life commits a crime and is labeled a 'Nigerian' because he is privileged to have dual nationality.

Government will make more money on visa application as many folks will still have family in Nigeria and will require Visas to visit.

God bless Nigeria

You can add your own advantage

I really don't see how that will strengthen the value of Nigerian passport. That can only mean that few people will be willing to return home to invest or even bothered to apply for Nigerian visa.

I don't know about anybody else but if that happens I will never denounced British citizenship to that of Nigerian because sometimes holding Nigerian passport is like been caught with drug at the airport

Value of our green passport? Really?? What value

justwise:
I really don't see how that will strengthen the value of Nigerian passport. That can only mean that few people will be willing to return home to invest or even bothered to apply for Nigerian visa.

I don't know about anybody else but if that happens I will never denounced British citizenship to that of Nigerian because sometimes holding Nigerian passport is like been caught with drug at the airport

Although I think this statement is exaggerated but this is one of the issues that will be addressed once people can no longer posses dual citizenship. Right now it is easy to commit crime and be labeled a Nigerian even when the individual is also a chinese, Malaysian, American etc citizen.

If people are no longer allowed dual nationality in this country we shall have less people soiling our image abroad

You said you will never give up your British citizenship but I guess you might not have strong ties to Nigeria if you did you might give it more thought as you will need to apply for visa each time you want to visit them, you cannot aspire for any political posts since you are not a Nigerian, you might not even be considered to moderate a Nigerian focused forum such as this because you are not a Nigerian

What I am trying to say is that the advantages of being a Nigerian citizen is dual nationality is banned will outweigh that of being a British citizen

more respect will be accorded to you abroad when you have nothing linking you to be a Nigerian

please fix your country and forget about citizenship or passport, when you have good economy you passport and visa becomes relevant

Pidgin2:


Although I think this statement is exaggerated but this is one of the issues that will be addressed once people can no longer posses dual citizenship. Right now it is easy to commit crime and be labeled a Nigerian even when the individual is also a chinese, Malaysian, American etc citizen.

If people are no longer allowed dual nationality in this country we shall have less people soiling our image abroad

You said you will never give up your British citizenship but I guess you might not have strong ties to Nigeria if you did you might give it more thought as you will need to apply for visa each time you want to visit them, you cannot aspire for any political posts since you are not a Nigerian, you might not even be considered to moderate a Nigerian focused forum such as this because you are not a Nigerian

What I am trying to say is that the advantages of being a Nigerian citizen is dual nationality is banned will outweigh that of being a British citizen

I actually think you make 2 valid points...

1. In the case of crime... it is true. When you achieve success, you're nigerian-born British or American. When you commit a crime, you're simply Nigerian! That's unfair.

2. At last! This would be the perfect antidote to government officials who live all their lives abroad, come back home for a few years in a political capacity to rob is blind, then run back abroad once their term is over with their loot. With no dual citizenship, they are forced to make a decision... if they love Nigeria enough to serve, then they should love it enough to give up foreign citizenship and live permanently in Nigeria.

Pidgin2:


Although I think this statement is exaggerated but this is one of the issues that will be addressed once people can no longer posses dual citizenship. Right now it is easy to commit crime and be labeled a Nigerian even when the individual is also a chinese, Malaysian, American etc citizen.

If people are no longer allowed dual nationality in this country we shall have less people soiling our image abroad

You said you will never give up your British citizenship but I guess you might not have strong ties to Nigeria if you did you might give it more thought as you will need to apply for visa each time you want to visit them, you cannot aspire for any political posts since you are not a Nigerian, you might not even be considered to moderate a Nigerian focused forum such as this because you are not a Nigerian

What I am trying to say is that the advantages of being a Nigerian citizen is dual nationality is banned will outweigh that of being a British citizen

I think before you make such assumption you need to find out first if i have any remote political interest in Nigeria.

Moderating travel section got nothing to do with nationality, i don't need work permit to do so and this is purely a volunteering.

Nigerian tarted image has very little to do with crime committed by Nigerians abroad so you don't have a point there.

Nigerian image problem is home-made, Nigerian politicians living in Nigeria starts their thieving career in Nigeria and very few of them are dual citizens, boko haram started in Nigeria, kidnappers carry out their crime in Nigeria, yahoo yahoo started in Nigeria and exported to other part of the world.

Advantages of being a dual citizen does not in anyway outweigh that of being a British citizen, how many days or weeks do i spend in Nigeria in a year? The last time i touched my Nigerian passport was 2yrs ago and that was just to visit Nigeria. i can as well apply for Nigerian visa rather than traveling with the passport.

Don't forget that i was a Nigerian before becoming British so i know the value of those two passports

@Pidgin2

In as much as i try to be positive in my approach to things in general, I am sorry I can’t think of any advantage to add at this point

To start with, most of the top 10 countries of the world are countries that allow dual-nationality.

What you want to do is, increase the mobility of your nationals as this will add to their value as human capital. Denouncing people dual citizenship will reduce / limit the mobility of your nationals.

You mentioned that government will make more money on visa application, I beg to differ on this, the money Nigerian govt. will make as compared the foreign embassies in Nigeria will be peanuts. Even as it is presently with all the Nigerians with dual-nationalities, you might want to take a trip to the major embassies on a working day and see the queues there.

On the patriotism and the value of the green passport, I find that very irrelevant and has no proven correlation. As someone noted earlier, if Nigeria creates the atmosphere for its citizens to take pride in it and be patriotic, Nigerians will be encouraged to make such sentiments theirs. Until the 1980’ Nigerians could travel visa-free to the U.K. and majority of Nigerians who studied abroad then returned back home at the completion of their studies.

I think dual nationality also offers the chance to children born to Nigerians in diaspora who at some point in the future might want to come live & work in Nigeria and bringing along with them new insight, knowledge, exposure, technology etc to Nigeria.

apart from the revenue from visa applications. the other points are

How about we fight corruption. stop celebrating stolen wealth and actually jail politicians/thieves

What sort of rubbish is this? ?

A foreign passport like a Canadian, American, British, etc just carries too much advantage than a naija passport. No sane person would give that up and return to such a uncertain country filled with mass corruption. Also those with good foreign passport who can go almost anywhere Visa free are very spoiled. They won't be attempting to get a naija Visa unless they really have too. Like a parents burial or something. I feel the revenue argument would backfire. Have you ever been to a naija embassy abroad ? The insult is unreal. I personally wouldn't go through that just for a visa. A 5 year passport sure.

How would a sane individual even think of this?

carmag:
more respect will be accorded to you abroad when you have nothing linking you to be a Nigerian

please fix your country and forget about citizenship or passport, when you have good economy you passport and visa becomes relevant

So you don't think that stories like this and many more are to some extent responsible for our soiled image abroad. In this case the guys have never ever been to Nigeria before yet they are tagged "Nigerians" by Western media




http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2329089/Woolwich-attack-Two-men-hack-soldier-wearing-Help-Heroes-T-shirt-death-machetes-suspected-terror-attack.html

TWoods:


I actually think you make 2 valid points...

1. In the case of crime... it is true. When you achieve success, you're nigerian-born British or American. When you commit a crime, you're simply Nigerian! That's unfair.

2. At last! This would be the perfect antidote to government officials who live all their lives abroad, come back home for a few years in a political capacity to rob is blind, then run back abroad once their term is over with their loot. With no dual citizenship, they are forced to make a decision... if they love Nigeria enough to serve, then they should love it enough to give up foreign citizenship and live permanently in Nigeria.

Thank you for this candid response. They will no longer steal and lodge their funds in foreign accounts except their plan is to eventually give up their citizenship but here is where it gets better, their kids may also have to give up their own citizenship as there is a saying that "where your treasure is, is where your heart will be" this would spare us from having more of our wealth and position of influence stolen by the children of these wicked people

Another point is that they will be fewer reasons to acquire property abroad except such people are prepared to give up their Nigerian citizenship for that of their host countries(especially in countries where you have to be a citizen to own property) because once they accept their citizenship over there then they seize to be Nigerians. I think this will help us in reducing the effect of the wickedness of some of our thoughtless country men and women who steal here and invest the money abroad

fSociety:
How would a sane individual even think of this?

It's the best option, kindly read through my posts with an objective mindset

DisGuy:
apart from the revenue from visa applications. the other points are

How about we fight corruption. stop celebrating stolen wealth and actually jail politicians/thieves

Banning dual nationality is a good way of reducing corruption

Thesepoints ain't valid as they were not extensively researched to highlight theadvantages and disadvantages in this dual citizenship.
Developed countries allowing it are not dumb

after much consideration and debate, i will like to disagree with the op. Cos its easy for many to ditch their naija passport for their adopted country. Many children will never even step their feet on naija soil again as a result of that.

There is no correlation between patriotism and single nationality. In addition, there is no proof whatsoever that citizens of countries where dual citizenship is banned are in any way more patriotic than citizens of dual nationality countries. In any case, if Nigeria bans dual nationality, 99.9% of Nigerian dual citizens will drop their Nigerian passports. The only 'advantage' of a Nigerian passport is that a visa isn't a requirement to visit Nigeria, the disadvantages of carrying a Nigerian passport outweigh the perceived advantages. My Nigerian passport expired a few years ago, and I will never renew it. If I ever choose to visit Nigeria, I will apply for a visa. There is no point in carrying 2 valid passports when one of them isn't worth anything, neither can you use it in applying for anything significant.

I will only be patriotic to the country I call 'home'. My 'home' is a country that has provided me opportunities to achieve career goals, my personal safety is secured, healthcare is world-class, and I have peace of mind.

MAURI:
@Pidgin2

In as much as i try to be positive in my approach to things in general, I am sorry I can’t think of any advantage to add at this point

To start with, most of the top 10 countries of the world are countries that allow dual-nationality.

What you want to do is, increase the mobility of your nationals as this will add to their value as human capital. Denouncing people dual citizenship will reduce / limit the mobility of your nationals.

You mentioned that government will make more money on visa application, I beg to differ on this, the money Nigerian govt. will make as compared the foreign embassies in Nigeria will be peanuts. Even as it is presently with all the Nigerians with dual-nationalities, you might want to take a trip to the major embassies on a working day and see the queues there.

On the patriotism and the value of the green passport, I find that very irrelevant and has no proven correlation. As someone noted earlier, if Nigeria creates the atmosphere for its citizens to take pride in it and be patriotic, Nigerians will be encouraged to make such sentiments theirs. Until the 1980’ Nigerians could travel visa-free to the U.K. and majority of Nigerians who studied abroad then returned back home at the completion of their studies.

I think dual nationality also offers the chance to children born to Nigerians in diaspora who at some point in the future might want to come live & work in Nigeria and bringing along with them new insight, knowledge, exposure, technology etc to Nigeria.

Thank you for your insightful post but I have issues with the bolded statement. Let's take India as an example, their government doesn't allow dual nationality and we can see how the Indians act in business especially. They travel to other countries, establish businesses but a good number of then they maintain their nationality as Indians

Because of this they send money back home to establish their families, some of them don't even open bank accounts in their countries of residence instead they are paid into their Indian accounts but live on estates instead.

What this means is that their economy often benefits from this positively.

Isn't this an obvious advantage that can possibly happen if we also practice this

Pidgin2:


Thank you for your insightful post but I have issues with the bolded statement. Let's take India as an example, their government doesn't allow dual nationality and we can see how the Indians act in business especially. They travel to other countries, establish businesses but a good number of then they maintain their nationality as Indians

Because of this they send money back home to establish their families, some of them don't even open bank accounts in their countries of residence instead they are paid into their Indian accounts but live on estates instead.

What this means is that their economy often benefits from this positively.

Isn't this an obvious advantage that can possibly happen if we also practice this

I'm not sure you know jack about Indians maybe not the same Indians I know

claremont:
There is no correlation between patriotism and single nationality. In addition, there is no proof whatsoever that citizens of countries where dual citizenship is banned are in any way more patriotic than citizens of dual nationality countries. In any case, if Nigeria bans dual nationality, 99.9% of Nigerian dual citizens will drop their Nigerian passports. The only 'advantage' of a Nigerian passport is that a visa isn't a requirement to visit Nigeria, the disadvantages of carrying a Nigerian passport outweigh the perceived advantages. My Nigerian passport expired a few years ago, and I will never renew it. If I ever choose to visit Nigeria, I will apply for a visa. There is no point in carrying 2 valid passports when one of them isn't worth anything, neither can you use it in applying for anything significant.

I will only be patriotic to the country I call 'home'. My 'home' is a country that has provided me opportunities to achieve career goals, my personal safety is secured, healthcare is world-class, and I have peace of mind.

Do you need a soothsayer to tell you that people with dual citizenship also have divided loyalty issues?

Even reading your post says a lot about this issue. I am 100% glad you say that you will never renew your passport because it doesn't seem like you want to offer anything here.

This is why we need this single citizenship more now than ever, we really don't need unpatriotic people as citizens of this country, people who only want to take but never give back.

justwise:


I think before you make such assumption you need to find out first if i have any remote political interest in Nigeria.

Moderating travel section got nothing to do with nationality, i don't need work permit to do so and this is purely a volunteering.

Nigerian tarted image has very little to do with crime committed by Nigerians abroad so you don't have a point there.

Nigerian image problem is home-made, Nigerian politicians living in Nigeria starts their thieving career in Nigeria and very few of them are dual citizens, boko haram started in Nigeria, kidnappers carry out their crime in Nigeria, yahoo yahoo started in Nigeria and exported to other part of the world.

Advantages of being a dual citizen does not in anyway outweigh that of being a British citizen, how many days or weeks do i spend in Nigeria in a year? The last time i touched my Nigerian passport was 2yrs ago and that was just to visit Nigeria. i can as well apply for Nigerian visa rather than traveling with the passport.

Don't forget that i was a Nigerian before becoming British so i know the value of those two passports

Do you have any evidence to prove this? Because I know most of them own properties abroad and there will be little need for this if they are not citizens of these countries or plan to be in future.

You also said you have no need for your Nigerian passport this is my point, people like you and others in diaspora don't see any need to maintain your Nigerian citizenship this is why it should no longer be allowed to have double citizenship so that we can at least earn revenue from visa fees which should also be hiked as demand for it will increase

justwise:


I'm not sure you know jack about Indians maybe not the same Indians I know

I know a lot of them and most of them don't own bank accounts in Nigeria, like I said they live on estacodes but their salaries are paid directly into their accounts in India

Pidgin2:


I know a lot of them and most of them don't own bank accounts in Nigeria, like I said they live on estacodes but their salaries are paid directly into their accounts in India

Of course because Indian currency is stronger than that of Nigeria and Expats working in Nigeria has that arrangement.

Why would they have their money banked in Nigeria with the falling value of naira?

I'm talking of indians living in a developed country and not Nigeria.

Pidgin2:


Do you have any evidence to prove this? Because I know most of them own properties abroad and there will be little need for this if they are not citizens of these countries or plan to be in future.

You also said you have no need for your Nigerian passport this is my point, people like you and others in diaspora don't see any need to maintain your Nigerian citizenship this is why it should no longer be allowed to have double citizenship so that we can at least earn revenue from visa fees which should also be hiked as demand for it will increase

I think you should have done a bit of research before starting this topic because you don't seem to know much about it.

You don't need to be a British citizen to own a property here all you need is a business visa and many politicians buy through a 3rd party or a company.

If Nigerian govt hiked visa fees the British govt will do the same(that is how it works in diplomatic level) so if you hiked it Nigerians applying for UK visa will pay the price and as you know more Nigerians travel to the UK than the other way round.

Nice idea. But it should be limited to people who are running for any public office. That way, only serious candidates who truly love the country will contest.

@Pidgin2

Thank you for your insightful post but I have issues with the bolded statement. Let's take India as an example, their government doesn't allow dual nationality and we can see how the Indians act in business especially. They travel to other countries, establish businesses but a good number of then they maintain their nationality as Indians

Because of this they send money back home to establish their families, some of them don't even open bank accounts in their countries of residence instead they are paid into their Indian accounts but live on estates instead.

What this means is that their economy often benefits from this positively.

Isn't this an obvious advantage that can possibly happen if we also practice this

Thank you for your follow-up response too.

That is exactly the point my dear. India has put it’s house in order that is why they are in demand: India has a pool of young, educated people backed with the right infrastructures making India a very lucrative and highly affordably country for BPO activities for Western companies from Financials, IT, Legal, not to talk of call centers.

My opinion was and still remains that, eradicating dual-nationality will not improve the lots of the average Nigerian and add value to our pp. You mentioned India as an example, but unfortunately, you have not been able to show that the growth India has been experiencing can be linked to the fact that it does not accept dual-nationality.

Further, the companies that are migrating their business activities to India are not doing this because India does not accept dual-nationality. That is the least of their concerns. They are doing so cos of the reasons I mentioned above. I presently work with one such company.

If I may digress a little, I can categorically tell and prove it that the Indians are not more intelligent than the average Nigerian. I have trained them and still work with them. It is just that we miss the final mix necessary to make Nigeria an important hub to attract companies to come to Nigeria.

We have Nigerian Doctors, Engineer, IT experts who possess world class standard, but what happens is, most of the companies that require their services would rather take them out of Nigeria than bring the jobs to Nigeria for the obvious reasons.

Interesting discussion though, I have been around a bit and it is my passion to discuss and rub minds on solution oriented discourse that can advance us as a people cos believe me, I am still of the opinion that we do possess the human and material capital it requires. We only need visionary people backed by the right mindset and enabling environment to connect the dots.

MAURI:
@Pidgin2



Thank you for your follow-up response too.

That is exactly the point my dear. India has put it’s house in order that is why they are in demand: India has a pool of young, educated people backed with the right infrastructures making India a very lucrative and highly affordably country for BPO activities for Western companies from Financials, IT, Legal, not to talk of call centers.

My opinion was and still remains that, eradicating dual-nationality will not improve the lots of the average Nigerian and add value to our pp. You mentioned India as an example, but unfortunately, you have not been able to show that the growth India has been experiencing can be linked to the fact that it does not accept dual-nationality.

Further, the companies that are migrating their business activities to India are not doing this because India does not accept dual-nationality. That is the least of their concerns. They are doing so cos of the reasons I mentioned above. I presently work with one such company.

If I may digress a little, I can categorically tell and prove it that the Indians are not more intelligent than the average Nigerian. I have trained them and still work with them. It is just that we miss the final mix necessary to make Nigeria an important hub to attract companies to come to Nigeria.

We have Nigerian Doctors, Engineer, IT experts who possess world class standard, but what happens is, most of the companies that require their services would rather take them out of Nigeria than bring the jobs to Nigeria for the obvious reasons.

Interesting discussion though, I have been around a bit and it is my passion to discuss and rub minds on solution oriented discourse that can advance us as a people cos believe me, I am still of the opinion that we do possess the human and material capital it requires. We only need visionary people backed by the right mindset and enabling environment to connect the dots.

Very interesting post I must say.

But I wonder if there is something i'm missing? Nigeria has been the number one economy in Africa for years and we have attracted several foreign investors to our shores so far. In particular, from 1999 to 2015 several foreign investors established companies here also our aviation industry boomed during this period and we were West Africa's aviation hub, I honestly think we were doing quite well and several economic statistics attest to this but of course, sentiments and choosing wrong leaders has affected us negatively. Like you, I'm optimistic that things can get better, your input on the way forward is highly welcome on this thread

I often get the impression that most of you out there do not want to be involved in moving this country forward, many are ready to castigate and criticize but not contribute.

Another thing that makes me wonder is that many Nigerians living abroad will vow never to chose Nigeria over their adopted countries but they love hanging around other Nigerians, chatting with us online, eating our dishes etc




http://www.africaranking.com/largest-economies-in-africa/

Well, dat might actually be to some people's advantage. Those that struggle to decide if to live the rest of their lives in western countries where they are currently settled or shud they come home to chaos in their old age.

Personally wen my 85yr old mum passes, what will be in Nigeria for me?

How am I going to convince my children who were born and bred abroad to come home and settle? or am I going to live my 70s alone without seeing my kids and grand kids ?

Stopping dual citizenship will help in making a quick decision as to where one shud settle.

Pidgin2:


Very interesting post I must say.

But I wonder if there is something i'm missing? Nigeria has been the number one economy in Africa for years and we have attracted several foreign investors to our shores so far. In particular, from 1999 to 2015 several foreign investors established companies here also our aviation industry boomed during this period and we were West Africa's aviation hub, I honestly think we were doing quite well and several economic statistics attest to this but of course, sentiments and choosing wrong leaders has affected us negatively. Like you, I'm optimistic that things can get better, your input on the way forward is highly welcome on this thread

Bad leadership (choosing presidents by quota rather than competency), tribalism, corruption...

Pidgin2:

I often get the impression that most of you out there do not want to be involved in moving this country forward, many are ready to castigate and criticize but not contribute.

Not true. But its hard to contribute to helping Nigeria when the vast majority of Nigerians don't think they have a problem. Just look at the number of crooks here seeking to go abroad to "hustle".

Pidgin2:

Another thing that makes me wonder is that many Nigerians living abroad will vow never to chose Nigeria over their adopted countries but they love hanging around other Nigerians, chatting with us online, eating our dishes etc

This makes zero sense to me. Nigerians living abroad have families and friends that are also Nigerians, hence they have a need to keep up with news about Nigeria. Nigerian dishes are not restricted to Nigerians living in Nigeria alone. As far as i'm concerned, this is a petty argument.

Here is the point... look around you in Nigeria, then ask yourself why anyone in his/her right senses would choose to live in Nigeria if they have the choice to live in a first world nation. Would you? Be honest...

Afam4eva:
Nice idea. But it should be limited to people who are running for any public office. That way, only serious candidates who truly love the country will contest.

This is the most logical point on this thread. Agreed.