Publication Date: 2023/12/29
Abstract: In practical analysis, there are two categories of Nigerians cum Nigerians, to wit, the indigene and non indigene Nigerians. The indigenes of a particular locality are those who can trace their origin to the ancestors of the locality and they enjoy full citizenship rights therein, whereas the non-indigenes in the same locality are the latter-day settlers who are often denied those same rights irrespective of how long they have lived there. Invariably, the Nigerian Constitution is at the center of this citizenship quagmire. The Constitution provides and guarantees the citizens all the rights and privileges under the law - and it forbids any form of discrimination against citizens on ground of place of birth. However, in another stroke, the same Constitution contains certain provisions that endorsed indigeneity syndrome and other forms of discriminatory practices against Nigerian citizens who are residing in states and localities other than their ‘own’. Certain policies of the government institutionalized these discriminatory actions against non-indigenes such as in political appointments, public sector employment, scholarship, land ownership and acquisition, admission into the tertiary institutions, amongst others. Although, the United Nations has a convention protecting the rights of indigenous peoples, there is currently no legislation protecting the rights of non-indigenes in their places of sojourn in Nigeria. Conflict is an unpleasant but inevitable byproduct of the indigene-settler dichotomy, and many of Nigeria's worst conflicts pit the area's acknowledged ‘original’ inhabitants against the area's ‘later’ settlers. It is predicated on the above that this article embarked on the legal appraisal of the indigeneity syndrome and its implications on the political stability of Nigeria via the doctrinal system of research methodology. This article recommended that Nigeria should enact a residency law cum a residency rights commission that will enthrone and protect residency rights so that all citizens will enjoy equal rights irrespective of where they live in the country.
Keywords: Constitution, Indigeneity, Citizenship and Political Instability.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10441822
PDF: https://ijirst.demo4.arinfotech.co/assets/upload/files/IJISRT23DEC1208.pdf
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