Contrary to the general impression that the status of ‘citizenship’ as accorded Nigerians by virtue of birth or naturalisation is correct, no Nigerian has that right; rather ‘indigeneship’ status is what all Nigerians enjoy as against citizenship; therefore, no one is a Nigerian citizen.
This is the view of Professor Kamaludeen Ahmadu Bello, a professor of Political Science at the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN).
He spoke in Abuja on Friday during the 15th inaugural lecture of the university at the headquarters of the institution located along the Airport road.
According to him, “There are no citizens of Nigeria but indigenes of numerous communities or ethnic groups in Nigeria. I subscribe to this notion because any country with citizens had to, in practical terms, have a lingua franca or an official language. Nigeria has no lingua franca; therefore she can never produce a Nigerian citizen; thus there are no Nigerians with Nigerian mentality, but Nigerians with Hausa, Fulani, Igbo, Yoruba, Tiv, Igala, Nupe mentalities. This is because it would be difficult if not impossible to adopt a lingua franca for the country at this stage of our existence due to the distrust among the various ethnic groups in the country,” he said.
In his contribution, the vice chancellor of the university, Prof Abdalla Uba Adamu, admonished Nigerians to look into the lecture seriously in view of the issue of citizenship that is currently rocking the country as propelled by politicians.
He admonished all Nigerians to defend their places of residence rather than what is now known as state of origin which, he said, is causing terrible divisions among the people.
“We acknowledge our differences which is created by God but we have to learn that our places of residence is superior to origin,” he admonished.
