A former Governor of Lagos State and immediate past Minister of Works, Babatunde Fashola, has dismissed claims that he holds dual citizenship, insisting that he remains exclusively Nigerian by choice, conviction and identity.
Fashola made the declaration on Tuesday in Abuja while delivering the keynote address at the Nigeria Reputation Summit 2026, organised by the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations, where he spoke on national identity, migration, patriotism and Nigeria’s global image.
Naijaonpoint reports that the former governor urged Nigerians at home and in the diaspora to take collective ownership of the country and its challenges, stressing that shared responsibility is key to national progress.
“I don’t think we own Nigeria enough. So, I hear some of our colleagues and our compatriots who, by virtue of the 1999 Constitution, have dual citizenship. But I have only one,” he said.
“And when they talk to me, they say, your country. I say, stop. It’s our country. Your problem is our problem. There must be a common ownership on every platform. If we have common ownership, we will solve it.”
Fashola described his attachment to Nigeria in emphatic terms.
“From my childhood experience, I tell people I’m not just a proud Nigerian, I’m an arrogant one. I’m arrogant about my country,” he added.
Reflecting on his upbringing, the former minister said his entire education was acquired within Nigeria, reinforcing his confidence in the country’s capacity to produce global excellence.
“I tell people that I have not received one day’s education outside this country. All my education was here. So, proudly made in Nigeria. Arrogantly, too.
“Everything, every inch that we think that we have lost, we can get back if we decide to,” Fashola noted.
‘Japa Is Not New’
Fashola traced the current wave of emigration, popularly known as Japa, to earlier decades, noting that Nigerians have long sought opportunities abroad.
“When we graduated from the University of Benin, not a few of our colleagues left Nigeria. The wave of the movement at that time, in the 80s, was checking out,” he recalled.
“Now it’s Japa, 35 years after. So the more things change, the more they seem to remain the same. But you know what has happened? Almost all of them have come back.”
Despite its challenges, Fashola insisted that Nigeria remains a country of vast opportunities and remarkable social mobility.
“Nigeria is a land of opportunities. This is a land of unending possibilities. This is where the biggest rags-to-riches stories have happened and where people of the most humble beginnings have risen to the top of leadership,” the former Governor of Lagos State noted.
He challenged Nigerians to rethink the way they view success abroad.
“Look at Nigeria’s history. Which son of a king or a billionaire ever made it to our presidency? Think about it. We spend so much time valorising other people’s dreams,” Fashola said.
He cautioned against allowing the actions of a few individuals to shape Nigeria’s global image.
“Yes, there are a few people amongst us who choose a path that gives us cause for concern. But they do not define us. They do not reflect what right-thinking and well-meaning people believe about us,” Fashola added.
He recalled an encounter in London, where a shop owner expressed excitement upon discovering that his visitors were Nigerians.
“He left us in the shop, went upstairs, excited, brought his wife and his children down, and asked if we would please take photographs with them,” he said.
According to Fashola, the incident happened at a time when Nigeria was battling serious internal security challenges.
Drawing lessons from global experiences, Fashola stressed that every nation faces difficulties, noting that reputation is determined by how such challenges are handled.
“There is no country without its challenges. And how we embrace those challenges is what defines us, not the challenges themselves,” the former Minister said.