In her new book Development, (Dual) Citizenship and Its Discontents in Africa: The Political Economy of Belonging to Liberia, Dr Robtel Neajai Pailey tells the story of two Liberians by birth. One a warlord-turned-president and one an army pilot, they allegedly stole money from the Liberian government nearly 30 years apart, before absconding to the US, their adopted home.
Given these stories – which are examples of how those with connections abroad can evade the law - it’s not hard to see why dual citizenship is a contentious issue for Liberians. Just one of seven countries in Africa to currently prohibit dual citizenship, Liberia has wrestled for more than a decade over whether to extend citizenship rights to those who hold nationality elsewhere…
