Liberia: Lebanese Cultural Union President Hopeful of Dual Citizenship Passage In Upcoming Referendum

Monrovia – The president of the World Lebanese Cultural Union of Liberia Ahmed Wazni is optimistic that the forthcoming referendum – especially the provision on dual citizenship – will come to a reality.

Since his ascendancy to the nation’s highest seat, President George Manneh Weah has called for the removal of the “racist” clause in the Constitution which restricts citizenship to black people only.

Liberia’s Constitution defines black people in the language of the time, as “persons who are Negroes or of Afro-American descent”.

But nowadays, other minority communities, like the estimated 4,000 Lebanese people who have lived in Liberia for generations, are barred from citizenship and by extension, land ownership.

Speaking to FrontPage Africa after a program marking the induction of the Law School Student Association of the Louis Arthur Grimes School of Law at the University of Liberia over the weekend, the president of the World Lebanese Cultural Union of Liberia said he is hopeful that when Liberians go to the polls to cast their ballot in the upcoming referendum they will remove the restrictions on citizenship.

“Whether we have paper or not, trust me we are part of Liberia, and we are not going anywhere. Lebanese in this country have been here for more than 120 years and have contributed immensely to the human development in many aspects.”

– Ahmed Wazni, President of the World Lebanese Cultural Union of Liberia

 “We have hoped that things will change at some points in time,” said Wazni, who was born, raised and educated in Liberia.

Wazni, like many other foreign nationals, say that they have no other home outside Liberia.

“Whether we have paper or not, trust me we are part of Liberia, and we are not going anywhere. Lebanese in this country have been here for more than 120 years and have contributed immensely to the human development in many aspects,” he said.

“You see the Lebanese and the Indians, mainly the Lebanese, during the hard (war) time they lost, and they came back; we feel this is our home.”

Earlier, during the induction of the Law Student Association leadership induction ceremony which was held in the University of Liberia’s auditorium on Capitol Hill, many speakers hailed the Lebanese community, recognizing them as one of the “strongest partners” of the Louis Arthur Grimes School of Law.

This, the president of the World Lebanese Cultural Union of Liberia, said it’s an obligation of his organization to be supportive to the only Law school in the country.

“We the business people cannot work without the legal aspect. We have decided to know the law; applying the law to your business, ensure that you do your business within the law and when you have an issue you take to the law,” he said.