Yet another Professorship for highly decorated Prof Mike Ozekhome, SAN,CON, OFR, LL.D. Findings show that this is Ozekhome’s 8th Visiting Professorial appointment across the globe.

7th of August, 2025.

Posted by: Prince Ahmed Hassan (TOHA)

BY PROF MIKE A. A. OZEKHOME, SAN, CON, OFR, LL.D.

However, her remarks (though maybe politically expedient, having regard to her past negative statements about Nigeria) reflect a deeper frustration that is not entirely unfounded. While Section 25 affirms gender equality in theory, other provisions particularly Section 26, which governs citizenship by registration expose persistent gender biases in Nigeria’s nationality laws. The exclusion of foreign men married to Nigerian women from the registration pathway to citizenship demonstrates a clear constitutional imbalance. This asymmetry not only reinforces patriarchal assumptions but also undermines Nigeria’s commitment to international human rights obligations.

Badenoch’s experience, viewed through this lens, underscores the dissonance between constitutional promises and practical enforcement, especially for Nigerian women in the diaspora. It illustrates how systemic, bureaucratic and cultural barriers often prevent women from fully exercising the rights that the Constitution guarantees them.

In sum, while the law on its face protects the right of women to pass on citizenship, the structure around it does not always support or respect that equality. Kemi’s statement, though flawed in legal substance, serves as a catalyst for broader reflection and reforms; a reminder that constitutional rights must be matched with equal access, unbiased implementation and an unambiguous commitment to gender justice in law and in practice. Nigerian women, whether resident in Nigeria or in the diaspora, must be accorded equal rights, gender equity and equality within the Nigerian space. They remain our daughters, sisters and mothers.