Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in my social media post here are solely mine as a bona-fide citizen of The Gambia who is directly affected by the enduring discourse on dual citizenship. I am not writing in my official capacity as Deputy Government Spokesperson.
Section 12A (1) of the 1997 Constitution of The Gambia recognizes dual citizenship. It says: “A citizen of The Gambia who acquires the citizenship of another country, may, if he or she so desires, retain his or her citizenship of The Gambia.” This is self-explanatory. I am organically, primarily and permanently Gambian. Nothing under the sun will ever entice or compel me to renounce my Gambian citizenship which is my inalienable right. As a nostalgic village patriot, my lovely Sotuma Sere settlement in present-day Upper River Region (URR) was founded by my great-grandfather, Sere Sankanu, during the reign of King Alpha Molloh Baldeh of Fulladu. Therefore, my patriotic roots are deeper and older than the young geopolitical creation called “The Gambia.” Regarding dual citizenship, I suffered and sacrificed eight (8) years of my youthful life to get my German citizenship and I subsequently ran for local government elections for the city of Cologne, Muelheim district, in 2016. Germany never preconditioned me to renounce my Gambian citizenship before acquiring its citizenship earlier or participating in its domestic political decision-making process. My loyalty to The Gambia or Germany was never questioned as I know how to strictly follow the rules of each jurisdiction. I represented Germany in international activities such as media pluralism sessions at the elite European University Institute in Florence, Italy; meetings on minority rights in Budapest, Hungary, organized by the Tom Lantos Institute and Eötvös Loránd University, to name a few. Interestingly, I am applying some of the relevant transferrable knowledge acquired during such high-level European engagements in my current domestic duties as university lecturer and senior state official. We are in a globalized world of “global citizenships” with shared knowledge and opportunities across national boundaries. Countries are competing over the best or smartest human minds to help them gain competitive advantages. For instance, The Gambia is spending millions of dalasis training nurses and doctors that the Western countries are massively recruiting without considering the negative effects on our national health care system. This is the tough game of global mobility of quality labour. What are our home-trained nurses and doctors being offered to stay home? The questions that should be asked are: what informed the declaration of the Diaspora as the 8th region of The Gambia? What is the purpose of having a Diaspora Directorate at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs? Every Gambian household that benefits from money transfers (remittances) has at least a member at home or abroad with dual citizenship. The discriminatory laws are closer and not abstract. It is about your children born in, or migrated to, Europe, the Americas, Africa, Middle East, Asia and elsewhere with the desire to contribute politically, economically and culturally to the advancement of The Gambia. Don’t celebrate that the discriminatory laws affect your political adversaries. Think of your family members with dual citizenships. Think of your female relatives who delivered their babies in USA. I have no interest or plans of becoming president of The Gambia. I can also, lead a successful life without becoming a Cabinet Minister. The discriminatory law barring dual citizens from becoming President or Cabinet Ministers will not define my fate. I will not give up my dual citizenship for any temporal position in this world no matter how prestigious or well-paid it is. If the man-made laws in a given jurisdiction cannot be changed to reflect the 21st Century reality of hyphenated identities, so be it. In fact, becoming the modest alkalo of my Sotuma Sere village is more satisfying to me than becoming a Gambian President or Minister. Fervently, I believe that I can become whatever I am predestined to be in life. “The pens have been lifted and the pages have dried”, to quote the famous Prophetic Hadith narrated by al-Tirmidhi on the permanency of the celestial “Book of Decrees” (Lawh al-Mahfooz). For the concerned reform activists, section 12A (2) of the 1997 Constitution states that: “An Act of the National Assembly may make provisions for the better implementation of this section.” I recommend that they engage the National Assembly on this matter or push for a new constitution. Alternately, they can approach the Supreme Court which per Section 127(1)(a) of the 1997 Constitution has the original jurisdiction “for the interpretation or enforcement of any provision of this Constitution other than any provision of sections 18 to 33 or section 36 (5) (which relate to fundamental rights and freedoms).” Together we can consolidate our new democratic dispensation.
