BY: Elikplim Agbemava<\/p>\n
An interesting discussion I had with a friend a couple of weeks ago has prompted me to delve into the issue of who is a citizen of Ghana by birth and whether members of every indigenous ethnic grouping found in Ghana can automatically regard themselves as Ghanaians by birth.<\/p>\n
The problem my friend had is that he being a Fulani, had his Passport application refused because the Fulani is not an indigenous tribe of Ghana. This refusal occurred even though he backed his application with a valid birth certificate that showed that he is Ghanaian.<\/p>\n
The question of who is a citizen of a country by birth in this modern world is always a legal question and an answer to this critical question must come from some law.<\/p>\n
In the case of Ghana it is the Citizenship Act, 2000 (ACT 591). By this law one can be a citizen of Ghana by birth, through adoption, marriage or naturalization. However, out of the four methods of acquiring citizenship in Ghana the most controversial has been citizenship by birth.<\/p>\n