Biya petitioned to review 'anti-developmental' Nationality Law

President Paul Biya has been petitioned to review the 1968 Nationality Law which “promotes brain drain and causes Cameroon enormous losses in terms of remittances, re-investment and integration with other countries of the world.”

In an open letter addressed to the head of state on Monday November 9, a copy of which The Cameroon Journal obtained, Prince Michael Ngwese Ekosso, National President of United Socialist Democratic Party, USDP, is pressurizing Biya to embrace dual nationality by revising Law No. 1968-LF-3 of June 11, 1968 to set up the Cameroon Nationality Code. Prince Ekosso says the law is “anti-developmental.”

The young political leader is calling on Biya, in the same way he changed Article 6(2) of the Constitution to remain in power after his mandate expired in 2011, to abrogate Article 3 of Cameroon’s Nationality Code under which once a citizen acquires the nationality of another country, he or she instantly loses the Cameroon nationality. Prince Essoko said so in the spirit that such a clause imposes a limitation of the people’s will, a limitation which is out of tune with the very idea of democratic choice.

“As you are aware Mr. President, Cameroon Nationality Law as laid forth in Law No. 1968-LF-3 of June 11, 1968, and supplemented by procedural Decree No. 1968-DF-478 of December 16, 1968 has been a subject of several calls from Cameroonians of all walks of life to be changed for the purpose of national unity and national integration and for the social and economic prosperity of our country,” the open letter reads in part.

Ekosso instanced a case where in 1985, Saudi Arabia refused to hand over to Cameroon a trophy won during the Afro-Asian football finals simply because Roger Milla showed up in the game with a French passport. He said Cameroon only had the matter resolved by FIFA after government insisted that Roger Milla though carrying a French passport was still a bona fide Cameroonian citizen. Ekosso also mentioned the case of Mongo Beti who was barred from running for parliamentary elections as well as Ndedi Eyango who was threatened to be arrested.

Going by the politician, the rejection of dual nationality robs the country of huge human capital resources as born Cameroonians find it difficult to come back into the country. “Many Cameroonians in the Diaspora have acquired and/or developed capacities in many areas including medicines, research, accountancy, engineering, politics, education and administration and even in the area of technology. All these human resources are indispensable for economic development of Cameroon,” Ekosso said. He also cited the political and socio- cultural ramifications.

Noting that other countries have embraced dual citizenship, the USDP leader said the Nationality Law of Cameroon passed in 1968 which refuses to recognize dual citizenship has lost its relevance and should be revised.