₦airaland Forum

gidgiddy:
I'm here today to burst this myth which many Nigerians have that should Igbos and some other tribes in the south of Nigeria become independent as Biafra, they will lose their right to live in Nigeria. Some even said that there will be mass deportation of Biafrans back to their home land and that the government will have the right to seize their properties and assets.

None of these things will be possible because all Biafrans will have 'retained rights of Nigerian citizenship'

In layman's terms, all the Biafrans will still hold Nigerian citizenship despite being Biafrans and a Nigerian cannot be deported from Nigeria. The constitution gives 4 ways by which an individual can become a Nigerian citizen.

1) By Birth: Anyone born after October 1st 1960 in any territory of Nigeria automatically becomes a citizen

2)Parentage: Anyone who has either parents or Grand-parents are Nigerians or who's either parents or Grand-parents were born in any Nigerian territory, before or after October 1st 1960 is a citizen.

The other two ways of being a Nigerian citizen is by registration and naturalization but these are not as important as the first two. The Nigerian constitution also states that the only way a person can renounce their Nigerian citizenship is for them to apply directly to the President of Nigeria, and only if the President agrees.

It is virtually Impossible to enact a law that will retroactively strip people of their right of citizenship by birth or parentage. If this is done, not even Buhari will be able to prove he is a citizen of Nigeria.


So please, in the event that Biafra becomes independent, all Biafrans will still hold Nigerian citizenship, as stated by the constitution of Nigeria, and live anywhere in Nigeria they like.