A chance meeting with an old friend from my London days at the funeral of the former first lady, Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings, is the catalyst for this week's article.
After exchanging the usual courtesies and reminiscing about our time during and after university, the conversation developed into the pros and cons of dual citizenship.
My old friend, now a renowned and very senior consultant dentist who is the head of the dentistry school at a top university in England, was circumspect about relocating to Ghana, not least because he was reluctant to relinquish his acquired British citizenship.
This was because he was being asked to come home and, being a political animal, put his expertise at the service of Ghana, since he offered quite innovative solutions to some of the problems confronting our country.
He noted the problems encountered by dual citizens who came down and attempted to become parliamentarians. Specifically mentioned were Adamu Sakande and Gyakye Quayson, who were both prosecuted on similar charges relating to their dual citizenship status.
Adamu Sakande was jailed and died in prison, whilst Gyakye Quayson escaped prison by the skin of his teeth.
Citizens
Citizens of another country other than Ghana have to renounce their foreign citizenship if they want to enter politics, courtesy of Article 94 (2) (a) of the Constitution.
Having seen the absurdity of this own-goal legislation, the National Democratic Congress, during the campaign for the 2024 elections, vowed to scrap that legislation to pave the way for illustrious and highly qualified Ghanaians in the diaspora to come down and contribute to our national development.
The NDC argued, quite persuasively, that the law is outdated and inconsistent with modern democratic principles of inclusivity and equal participation in government.
I believe that in the current global dispensation of interconnectedness, Ghana can jettison the backward thinking of barring from office her highly skilled professionals who hold dual citizenship, largely on the baseless and unproven concerns of loyalty and national security, and embrace dual citizenship which can yield immense social, economic and intellectual benefits.
Aside from politics, economic reasons alone make embracing dual citizenship a no-brainer. Most Ghanaians abroad acquire citizenship of their host countries for purely practical purposes in order to enjoy the benefits of citizenship as they are already contributing to the economic development of those countries.
At the same time, they maintain emotional and familial ties to Ghana whilst enjoying the financial, social security and business advantages which citizenship of their adopted countries bestow on them.
Remittances from Ghanaians abroad, according to the World Bank, reached over $4.7 billion in 2023, trailing only gold, cocoa and oil in foreign exchange earnings.
Investments
Further, major investments in technology, education, health care, tourism etc have Ghanaians with dual citizenship at the forefront. Asheshi University, which is fast becoming a top university in Ghana and beyond, was established by Patrick Awuah, a former executive of Microsoft. Dr Elsie Effah Kaufmann, the host of the National Science and Maths quiz, is a famous biomedical engineer who is contributing immensely to the unearthing of the future scientists of our nation.
International actor and film star, Idris Elba, who is of British and Ghanaian heritage, is seriously involved in putting Ghana’s film industry on the global map with major projects in the pipeline.
Andrew and Jordan Ayew and Marcel Desailly have all contributed to the development of football. I can go on and on but these few examples demonstrate the sine qua non contributions dual citizenship brings.
Another area worth mentioning is the direct transfer of skills, expertise and technology which Ghanaians of dual nationality bring to the development of Ghana.
When, in the past, there was talk of the ‘brain-drain’ ‒ movement of skilled, highly-trained Ghanaians to advanced countries ‒ there is now a ‘brain -circulation’ or ‘brain-return’ - the dynamic exchange of knowledge and expertise of Ghanaians with dual citizenship returning home.
Many Ghanaian dual citizens serve as informal diplomats who promote our image globally and massively influence foreign policy decisions beneficial to Ghana.
There are very famous Ghanaians holding top and strategic positions in global corporations, academia and international organisations, whom the country can easily tap through the conduit of dual citizenship.
It would be criminal, if not suicidal, for Ghana not to harness and tap the benefits of dual citizens, as some countries such as the Philippines and indeed South Korea have utilised them in transforming their countries.
I urge President Mahama to make good his promise of making dual citizenship work for Ghana.
The writer is a lawyer.
E-mail: georgebshaw1@gmail.com
