Politician calls on Biya to recognise dual nationality

The National President of United Socialist Democratic Party (USDP) on December 12, 2015, called on President Biya to recognise dual nationality.

USDP President, Prince Michael Ngwese Ekosso ,raised the issue in a petition dated November 9 and addressed to Biya.

The petition titled: “Review of Law No 1968-LF-3 of the 11th June 1968 to set up the Cameroon Nationality Code,” was presented to the media at a press conference in Yaounde.

In the document, Ekosso reminds Biya of the measures he took to get article 6 (2) of the Constitution limiting the term of office of the Presidency of the Republic amended in 2008.

He highlighted the various arguments that were brought forth then to get the amendment through including a declaration by the President that “many calls in favour of a revision are reaching me from all our provinces. I am obviously not indifferent to them.

“In fact, there are arguments for a revision, particularly of article 6 which indeed imposes a limitation of the people’s will, a limitation which is out of tune with the idea of democratic choice...”

So Prince Ekosso argues, “Mr. President just as you changed article 6 (2) of the Constitution to remain in power after your mandate expired in 2011, the people of Cameroon are actually calling on you again to abrogate article 31 of Cameroon’s Nationality Code under which once a citizen acquires the nationality of another country, he/she instantly loses the Cameroonian nationality”.

Reiterating that the Cameroon nationality law of 1968 has been the subject of several calls from Cameroonians of all walks of life requesting for its amendment for purposes of national unity and national integration, Ekosso mentioned the fairly recent call by over 100 MPs, a majority from the CPDM, in favour of the amendment.

He also talked of the SDF Private Members’ Bill that requested for a change of the Code with a new and all-inclusive dual nationality law.

The petitioner recalled a scenario in 1985 where Saudi Arabia refused to hand over to Cameroon a trophy won during the Afro-Asian football finals to Roger Milla because he went to the games with a French passport and the matter was only resolved by FIFA when it was attested that Milla was a bona fide Cameroonian citizen.

Ekosso told Biya that his government barred another Cameroonian, Mongo Beti, from contesting the 1997 parliamentary elections because he used a French passport to enter the country; hence, he was not a Cameroonian.

“Mr President, in yet another incident, Prince Ndedi Eyango, a Cameroonian-born musical superstar based in Louisiana, USA, was threatened with arrest by your government either for partly ‘overstaying’ his three months visa and/or for participating in and winning the presidency of SOCAM,” Ekosso recalls.

Referring to the 1968 Code as anti-development and outlining the urgency and necessity for amendment, Ekosso said the current dual nationality law limits the country’s economic growth through remittances, re-investment and integration with other countries of the world.

“It should be noted that at a time of globalisation, no country can afford to claim to emerge by cutting off from the rest of the world,” Ekosso argues, stating further that such a law robs the country of huge human capital resources.

“Many Cameroonians in the Diaspora have acquired and developed capacities in medicines, research, accountancy, engineering, politics, education, administration, technology, etc, and all these human resources are indispensable for the economic development of Cameroon,” Ekosso notes.

According to him, Cameroonians who naturalise in destination countries lose civic and political rights and thus cannot run for political office or vote in their country of origin, are therefore suffering huge violation of citizen’s rights.

Socio-cultural considerations such as children born of Cameroonian parents choosing the nationalities of other countries coupled with adoption of cultures of destination countries, places Cameroon more often at the losing end of such choices, given the limited opportunities Cameroon offers.

“The dual nationality law is discriminatory in practice. It is an open secret in the country that while some Cameroonians are refused the right to own dual nationality, others have acquired foreign citizenship and yet retain the Cameroonian citizenship with impunity. This discrimination only increases the level of social injustice that the country is already suffering from,” Ekosso tells Biya.