No Nigerian Court can Stop Obanikoro from Earning a Living Because of Dual Citizenship, Constitutionally It Amounts to Labor Discrimination
We all need jobs to earn a living and support our families, and should the court side against Musiliu Olatunde Obanikoro, this decision could become a precedent for employment abuse, prejudice and discrimination, and only serves to compound the individual's emotional pain, suffering, troubles, and mental anguish, especially when such individual is a national by birth, irrespective of a secondary citizen registration. Rightly, many in the media, in the civil society groups or among ethically mixed Nigerians might have grave concerns about Senator Obanikoro's role in the audio recording marked with the purported rigging of Ekiti State gubernatorial election; but to stop him from earning a living as a potential Minister, especially as it relates to the case in court over his dual citizenship, makes a mockery of our judicial system.
Biologically, the court is aware he is a Nigerian by birth and by upbringing, which naturally allows him to run for any elected or appointment related office in Nigeria.
Bio-legally, every other section of the Nigerian Constitution, original or amended, becomes non-primary in regards to Obanikoro voluntarily acquiring paper citizenship from another country.
As long as the National Assembly still regards the birth place as a primary criterion to employment, then the Constitution is on the side of Obanikoro.
In addition to the reality that past similar cases proved to be positive to the victim's side, the Nigerian judiciary, unlike our excessively slow-moving parliament, should again make a bold judicial pronouncement on the issue that, as long as the individual was born in Nigeria, holding dual citizenship of Nigeria and another country will not subject the holder to labor discrimination.
The only way the court can subject Obanikoro to a nonworking status in Nigeria is to rule that he is not a Nigerian citizen by birth, but that he is a Nigerian citizen by acquisition.
From the point of legal psychology, as long as Obanikoro is only a volunteer American, a declared American by allegiance but a Yoruba by his birth in Nigeria, no Presidency, legislature and, of course, judiciary can invalidate his birthright and make him ineligible to earn a living, which includes serving as a Minister or President in his motherland.
Dr. John Egbeazien Oshodi is a Forensic/Clinical Psychologist, a Consultant in National Psychology, and a former Secretary-General of the Nigeria Psychological Association. [email protected]