Several traditional arguments are the following:

1. we would be voting on issues, the effect of which we would not be around in Nigeria to be impacted. Nigerians might be "shuffering" inside Nigeria, while we are "shmiling" abroad!

2. certain political circumstances may make us all MORE LIABLE to vote in certain ways. The government favored by such an expatriate tendency would therefore support citizens abroad voting, while an unfavored government would oppose it.

3. Item ii would only matter if the number of such citizens resident abroad are such that their numbers would ACTUALLY change the outcome of a referendum or voting in Nigeria. If this did not matter, then we would merely be voting for sentimental reasons - merely to exercise our democratic right to vote, which is okay!

   A cynical fourth reason is that:

4. Nigerians living abroad may come in to take part in the political process, and shove aside (ie win elections over) those who living at home.

   Finally, just yesterday, a Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria at a Washington DC public forum of Nigerians added another wrinkle which I had never thought about before:

5. he claimed that his winning argument against the vote on the Senate floor was that if we are allowed to vote, that would be a disincentive for us resident abroad to return to Nigeria! Thus, denying us the vote is an incentive to return to Nigeria.

Taking on Item (i), if we vote only in Federal elections, in this global age, the impact of federal policies in Nigeria affect Nigerians everywhere: who our president is, for example, affects our international image; the foreign policy of his party and government affect our international stature, and our own ability to do commerce and our decision to return permanently to Nigeria are all dependent largely on federal government policy.

I do not, of course, remove the right of states to allow its "citizens" abroad to vote in their state elections, but my primary concern right now is with federal elections.

Item (ii) - the political tendencies of the Nigerians living abroad - is a little bit trickier. Nigeria's political landscape is non-ideological, so it is virtually impossible to say whether most Nigerians living abroad are capitalistic, socialist, conservative, liberal, republican or what not. But this much I know: there are more SOUTHERN NIGERIANS living abroad than NORTHERN NIGERIANS! [We could break the Southern Nigerians even further - but we won't go there for now! :-)]

If that is the case - and it is - then you might expect Southern Nigerians inside Nigeria to favor Nigerians abroad voting, while the opposite would be for Northern Nigerians. In fact, there have been some hints already that we are having problems in the Legislature because there are more Northern legislators in the National Assembly than Southern legislators.

The fact of the matter is that this is debatable, precisely because of Item (iv): that in fact SOUTHERN LEGISLATORS who wish to remain in power, or potential SOUTHERN CANDIDATES feel more threatened by Nigerians resident abroad than Northern legislators and people. This is at the same time paradoxical and non-paradoxical. Short of us renouncing our rights to contest in elections in Nigeria, this is not a fear that can be allayed.

Item (iii) cannot be overlooked: when you read of numbers like 1 million - 3 million Nigerians resident abroad, if just 30% of those people vote, that could have an impact on the elections back home. Again, that is another fear that need not be allayed: if we vote in numbers, then we should have an impact, period.

Item (v) need not be dignified: in short it punishes us Nigerians living abroad by withdrawing a voting right, with the hope that we would therefore come home simply because we are so enamored to vote. That is ridiculous: to vote in order to create an environment for me to return home is a greater surety for me to return than to emasculate my ability to vote. I told the Senator of the Federal Republic just that, and he seemed to understand my logic - I think - and he asked me to give him a call to discuss it further! Having also handed him a petition by "Concerned Nigerians Citizens Abroad," I will give him a call to see whether I can turn him from a self-described MAJOR OPPONENT (and chief argumentator on the Senate floor) to even a MINOR SUPPORTER.

Dual Citizens and Voting