Kwara State Association of Nigeria, North America (KSANG.ORG)

Tuesday, March 02, 2010              

The proposed bill on indigene-settler conflict

THE move by the House of Representatives to consider a bill seeking to address the recurrent indigene-settler controversy in the country may not be necessary, as the 1999 Constitution already has taken care of the issues being raised. The indigene-settler problem subsists not because there is no law that addresses it but because states and local government authorities across the country have refused to abide by the law that recognises every Nigerian as a citizen with inalienable rights wherever he or she may reside. The treatment of some Nigerians as if they were non-citizens in their own country is deplorable.

The root of the conflict can be traced to deep-rooted ethnic sentiments and primordial claims in different parts of the country. Tragically, this results in a situation whereby even government institutions brazenly ignore the law and instead draw segregatory lines between indigenes and so-called settlers. Such practices inform the recurrent ethno-religious crisis in the country. The challenge, therefore, is not in enacting a new law but in promoting actions and policies that create the environment that would make Nigerians feel at home wherever they live in the country.

Hon. Sama'ila Mohammed (ANPP, Plateau State) sponsored the "Bill for an Act to provide the right of Nigerians to be indigenes of any local government area or area council in Nigeria". Accordingly, the Bill seeks to ensure that persons whose parents migrated to any local government on or before October 1, 1960, are indigenes of that local government.

Besides, the Bill seeks to restrict the authority for the issuance of indigeneship certificates to the Ministry of Internal Affairs as against the current practice whereby only states and local government councils issue the certificate. Under the extant framework, a person must prove beyond reasonable doubt that he or she is an indigene of a place by, for instance, getting a letter of identification from the traditional ruler or councillor before a local government council or state could issue a certificate of indigeneship (not citizenship).

What this means is that persons who may have lived in an area all their life but who the traditional ruler or councillor does not identify as indigenes are denied basic rights. It is this category of Nigerians that Hon. Mohammed seeks to defend.

But the 1999 Constitution already takes care of this matter in chapters 3 and 4. While Chapter 3 of the Constitution dwells on the issue of citizenship and the different ways by which a person could become a citizen of Nigeria, Chapter 4 spells out fundamental human rights, including the right to freedom from discrimination (section 42). Section 25 thereof clearly states that "every person born in Nigeria before the date of independence" is a citizen of Nigeria by birth, provided either of the parents or grandparents belong or belonged to a community indigenous to Nigeria.

By virtue of this Constitutional provision, it amounts to a flagrant breach to brand or tag any persons within the purview of Section 25 (1) as a settler in any part of the country as is currently the practice. In virtually every part of the country, so-called non-indigenes are not allowed to contest for political office, acquire property; they are compelled to pay discriminatory fees in schools, and so on. This is illegal, for Section 42 (1) and (2) of the Constitution expressly forbids discrimination against any Nigerian, on the grounds of ethnicity, religion, sex or circumstances of birth. This practice is so pervasive that even in some parts of the country where there is cultural homogeneity, people are still being discriminated against along mundane ethnic lines. This however was not always the case.

In 1951, the elections held in the Eastern Region produced Eyo Ita from Cross River State as leader of government business in the Eastern House of Assembly. Similarly, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe won election in the Western House of Assembly and was made leader of the opposition. There were other Nigerians who occupied positions of influence in different parts of the country without being classified as settlers. The concept of indigeneship has since been introduced as a vehicle of mindless discrimination.

The proposed Bill refers to persons born after independence in 1960. What happens to those born before 1960? Is the Bill saying that such persons are not citizens of Nigeria? There is need to reaffirm citizenship and make it stronger as a uniting force. The country can never be united so long as people are more committed to ethnic and primordial affiliations. A situation whereby persons claim to be indigenes of this or that state with too many persons unprepared to respect citizenship rights underscores the extent of disunity in the country.