Dual Nationality Article 31 of Law No. 1968-LF-3 of June 11, 1968, “To Set up the Cameroon Nationality Code”, with supplementary procedural detail provided in Decree No. 1968 DF-478 of December 16, 1968, provides that any Cameroonian who acquires the nationality or citizenship of a foreign country, shall, upon that acquisition, cease to be a citizen of Cameroon. Recently, I picked a fight with a household-name-CRTV journalist who argued without proof that Cameroonians who pick up foreign nationalities are unpatriotic. Hear him, “… Akoson, the issue of dual nationality in Cameroon is not debatable. I HATE (emphasis intended) dual nationality…” It is an open secret that practically every European-based player on the Cameroon national team holds a foreign passport. Like other Cameroonian professionals in the Diaspora, footballers take up foreign citizenship for practical reasons (e.g., to avoid UEFA and national league quotas on foreign players that existed before the Bosman ruling of 1996, or current restrictions on non-EU players). It is equally an open secret that a good number of ministers and top ranking Cameroonian personalities have more than one passport. Why should only certain personalities enjoy the dividends that go with dual nationality? This is not, by the way, my bone of contention. The political reasons that Etoudi and others advance to reject dual citizenship in this age and time pales so much in comparison to the more powerful economic and cultural arguments in favor of dual citizenship. I strongly believe that increasing globalization of the markets -- international trade, economic integration – only leads to large scale migration and internationalization. I do not believe that most of those who pick up foreign nationalities are unpatriotic. Rather, Cameroonians who do that do so on the ticket of CONVENIENCE: a businessman with an American passport will fly to most economically viable countries visa free for urgent business transactions, cross cultural marriages leave the Cameroonian with a more convenient UK passport etc. The contribution of Cameroon’s Diaspora to national development has been very significant, and the color of a dual citizen’s passport has little or nothing to do with that citizen’s level of commitment and attachment to home and country. In fact, the Cameroonian Diaspora is contributing significantly in shoring up the Cameroonian economy. According to the International Organisation for Migration, 2010 remittances from Cameroonians abroad stood at some 218 million dollars, that is 5% of the annual budget. And to add, the diaspora has contributed enormously to job creation in diverse areas -- diaspora-owned business ventures employ thousands of Cameroonians at home; Cameroonian alumni, cultural, professional, and other Diaspora-based organizations carry out thousands of charitable ventures (from scholarships to communal development projects) in Cameroon each year. In the same vein, many prominent Cameroonians in the Diaspora have given the country a visibility on the international scene which it would otherwise not have had. It is time Cameroon started recognizing these great works and encourage our brothers and sisters out there who constitute, in my own language, the eleventh province (region) of Cameroon. In fact, a Department in charge of Diasporans at the Ministry of External Relations should be created. And the department head must be a Diasporan whose bureau should be in his country of residence. That CRTV journalist did not give me the opportunity to argue my support for dual nationality but he forgot that I’ve free cyber space at my disposal. In fact, one of my first private member’s bill to parliament would seek to compel members to refine our citizenship laws with keen interest on dual nationality. Akoson Raymond (30), PAP Parliamentary Candidate, Manyu. 78358029
Posted on: Fri, 16 Aug 2013 12:58:52 +0000