Cardi B pledges to get Nigerian citizenship

 Cardi B's announcement that she wants to seek Nigerian citizenship has set off a Twitter feud between her West African fans in friendly rivals Nigeria and Ghana.

The Grammy-winning rapper visited both countries last month on her African tour.

Her announcement in a tweet on Friday criticized the U.S. airstrike in Iraq that killed Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani and sent Middle East tensions soaring.

"Its sad this man is putting Americans live in danger. Dumbest move Trump did till date ... I'm filing for my Nigerian citizenship," she tweeted.

Many in West Africa saw her tweet as proof that she preferred Nigeria.

Ghanaians were quick to point out the pitfalls of living in Africa's most populous nation, where traffic jams and power cuts are more visible than opulent nightclubs and luxury hotels.

"Hope you have a generator to power your house (because) they don't have light but we do," one user tweeted, adding an emoticon of a Ghana flag.

Some fans in Ghana expressed concern for her safety, warning about the Nigeria-based Islamic extremist group Boko Haram.

Confusion, pride

But most Nigerian fans were quick to offer up a passport exchange, underscoring the mix of pride and confusion that the 27-year-old star would prefer Nigeria to America.

This week she asked fans to weigh in on whether her Nigerian name should be CHIOMA B or Cadijat.

Cardi B, who was born Belcalis Almanzar, is of Afro-Caribbean descent, tracing her roots to Trinidad and the Dominican Republic.

It was not immediately clear how the rapper might acquire citizenship in Nigeria, though a number of celebrities have recently been given honorary citizenship in other African countries.

British actor Idris Elba now has a passport from Sierra Leone, his late father's birthplace. And fellow rapper Ludacris recently acquired citizenship in Gabon after marrying a woman from the Central African nation.

AP

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Police in Nigeria on heightened alert after Soleimani's assassination by U.S.A

Nigerian police have been placed on a heightened state of alert after the U.S. killing of a top Iranian military commander in Iraq sparked fears of public disturbances in the West African country, the police said on Sunday.

Qassem Soleimani was killed on Friday in a U.S. drone strike on his convoy at Baghdad airport. The attack has prompted concern of ramping tensions between the U.S. and Iran.

Nigeria is split roughly evenly between Christians and Muslims, the latter of which are mostly Sunni. The government last year banned the country’s largest Shi’ite Muslim group, the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN), after violent clashes between its members and police.

IMN was heavily influenced by the Iranian revolution of 1979 which saw Ayatollah Khomeini take power.

“The Inspector General of Police, IGP Mohammed Adamu, has placed police commands and formations nationwide on red alert,” the Nigeria Police Force said in a statement on Sunday.

“This proactive measure follows intelligence report that sequel to the recent killing of an Iranian general; some domestic interests are planning to embark on massive public disturbances and sabotage,” it said.

It said senior police officials had been “directed to ensure maximum surveillance and security of lives and property across the nation.”

The statement did not name any specific groups or give further details. A police spokesman did not immediately respond to phone calls requesting comment.

Reuters was unable to independently verify claims that public events were planned.

Nigeria banned IMN and outlawed its demonstrations which its members held to call for the release of their leader, Ibrahim Zakzaky, who has been held since 2015 when government forces killed around 350 people in a storming of the group’s compound.

The group last year said more than 30 of its members were killed in police crackdowns on its protests. Police gave no death toll.

Global News

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