By Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa
The President of any country is the number one citizen of that nation, all things being equal. He is first amongst equals, being the one that all other citizens look up to for leadership and direction. The President is the first ambassador of the nation and so the rest of the world views the country through the President. It is no wonder therefore that most laws defining the qualifications of those who aspire to the office of the President have a major requirement that the aspirant must be a citizen of the country; he must carry the life and blood of the nation, which would be the engine of the patriotism that he takes with him to that exalted office.
You can imagine the embarrassment it will cause any nation to
discover that its President is a foreigner! In Nigeria, under and by virtue of
section 131 (1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999
(as amended), ‘a person shall be qualified for election to the office of
President if (a) he is a citizen of Nigeria by birth’. It is therefore an
anathema for anyone to aspire to be elected as the President of Nigeria when he
is not a Nigerian citizen through the bloodline.
The Constitution is deliberate in putting emphasis on the phrase ‘a citizen of Nigeria by birth’. In other words, Nigeria must run in the blood of the President and not just any type of citizenship. This is so because by virtue of section 26 of the Constitution, you can become a Nigerian citizen other than by birth, through registration or naturalization, but this category of citizens cannot aspire to lead Nigeria as its President. So, if it can be proved that anyone occupying the position of President of Nigeria is not a citizen of Nigeria by birth, then his presidency can be queried.
