170 Granted Nigerian Citizenship

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170 Granted Nigerian Citizenship

08.06.2008

No fewer than 170 people yesterday received certificates of Nigerian citizenship from the Minister of Interior, retired Maj.-Gen Godwin Abbe.
The naturalised Nigerians are 39 females and 131 males from different nationalities.
Speaking on the occasion, Abbe urged the beneficiaries to help create jobs for ``our teeming unemployed youths. ``You have the patriotic duty to ensure technology transfer to help make Nigeria one of the foremost countries in the world by 2020. ``Your new status as bona fide citizens of Nigeria confers on you, the fundamental rights, privileges and immunities applicable to any Nigerian by descent'' .
He further explained that, ``Nigerian Constitution allows dual citizenship. You are therefore, permitted to retain the citizenship of your respective countries of birth or descent''.
The minister said their status ``unofficially'' bestowed on them, the responsibility to ensure and sustain solid mutually beneficial responsibility between their countries of birth and Nigeria.
He asked beneficiaries with citizenships of other countries other than those acquired by birth or descent to renounce them within 12 months as required by the constitution.

http://www.thisdayonline.com/nview.php?id=118917

STILL UNDER THE CARPET!!!!!

http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=d87v66w_6fgzv6hft

Sometime this year some people 'braved' into this hot topic in the italo_naija and Nigerian_diaspora groups,but some people thought it was being over flogged therefore better stopped and swept under the carpet.

However, the next week CNN thought otherwise and ran a two weeks program on the Nigerian girls drama in Europe through the life of a Benin(Edo) girl. We all saw it.
The Italian govt also thought otherwise, and in their usual wrong but legitimate approach repatriated scores of our girls in one month, the Fed govt of Nigeria also thought otherwise and made some intelligent postings to the missions of countries concerned as reported by The Nigerian Guardian of 17/02/2008.

However, it is interesting to note that the Nigerian communities (esp. in italy) believe it is still not yet time to play a fundamental role. Let me be corrected.
I post here from our archive http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=d87v66w_6fgzv6hft&invite=dd99zcg a link of the discussions/debate that went through the forum. This is the first time we re-publish discussion in this form and we do it for the interest of the numerous new arrivals in the fora and as our little contribution to sensitizing and educating the public on this phenomenon.
THE MODERATOR.

http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=d87v66w_6fgzv6hft&invite=dd99zcg
NB. ONLY THE FIRST ARTICLE IS IN ITALIAN OTHERS ARE IN ENGLISH