American singer and Grammy Award winner Ciara has officially become a citizen of the Republic of Benin under a landmark law that grants citizenship to descendants of enslaved Africans.
The move, celebrated with a ceremony in the coastal city of Cotonou, positions Benin as a growing player in a continent-wide effort to reconnect with the African diaspora and repair centuries-old wounds inflicted by the transatlantic slave trade.
Ciara’s acquisition of Beninese citizenship is part of a growing political and cultural momentum sweeping across parts of West Africa, led by countries like Benin and Ghana.
Both nations are placing diaspora reconnection and citizenship at the heart of their national identity and tourism development strategies.
In September, last year, Benin enacted a law that grants citizenship to any person above 18 who can prove descent from Africans enslaved and deported through the sub-Saharan slave trade.
DNA testing, family records, and documented testimonies are accepted as proof. Applicants must also not hold another African nationality.
US Grammy winner Ciara becomes citizen of Benin
The digital platform “My Afro Origins” was launched to streamline applications, inviting global Afro-descendants to claim legal belonging in the land of their ancestors.
The significance of Benin’s move is rooted in its history. Known as part of the “Slave Coast,” the Bight of Benin saw more than 1.5 million Africans forcibly taken to the Americas.
Unlike some nations that have remained silent about their involvement in the slave trade, Benin has taken an honest and active approach to reconciliation.
From hosting an international slavery conference in the 1990s to a formal apology issued to African Americans by former President Mathieu Kérékou in 1999, Benin’s leadership has consistently acknowledged its role and worked toward healing.
This open reckoning has become the backbone of what officials call “memorial tourism.” Sites like the Door of No Return and the Slave Route in Ouidah have been restored as spaces of remembrance, providing emotional and educational experiences for visiting Afro-descendants.
For Ciara, whose trip included a walk along this path of history, the visit marked a personal and symbolic return to ancestral roots.
This new law and its ceremonial launch come at a time when Ghana’s own efforts to draw the diaspora home are gaining traction.
Ghana’s “Beyond the Return” initiative, launched in 2019 after the widely acclaimed “Year of Return,” similarly aims to reconnect descendants of enslaved Africans with their homeland.
The programme has since become a cornerstone of Ghana’s international identity, positioning the country as a leading destination for African-Americans and other diaspora communities seeking to rediscover their roots.
Already, Ghana held its own historic swearing-in ceremony in Accra, during Nana Akufo-Addo’s administration, where 524 members of the African diaspora took the Oath of Allegiance to become Ghanaian citizens.
Ghana’s approach to diaspora engagement is both cultural and developmental. By encouraging skilled professionals, creatives, and entrepreneurs in the diaspora to invest in and contribute to Ghana’s future, the government is reshaping what post-slavery reconciliation can mean in practical terms.
The parallel efforts of Ghana and Benin show an emerging trend: African nations are no longer waiting to be remembered, they are actively extending a hand to reconnect with their global family.
Where Ghana offers a formal integration into national development, Benin adds an emotional layer of ancestral remembrance. Together, these strategies form a modern Pan-African vision grounded in belonging, justice, and economic revival.
For many in the diaspora, including public figures like Ciara, the decision to claim African citizenship is more than an identity marker, it is a political act. It challenges centuries of displacement and erasure and reclaims the right to be African on African soil.
As more African nations consider similar policies, the region could see a growing number of dual citizens, expanded cultural exchanges, and strengthened economic partnerships.
By: Joshua Narh