US Grammy winner Ciara becomes citizen of Benin under new slavery-descendants law

The American singer has become one of the first public figures to be granted the nationality of Benin, under a new law that presents the citizenship of slaves.

In a post on Instagram, Grammy Prize holder said she was “honored”, adding, “Thank you Benin for opening your arms and heart to me.”

Citizenship scheme is part of an initiative by a small West African country to build relations with African diaspora and increase cultural tourism.

Ciara, known as R&b Hits like Goadies and 1,2 STEP, became officially a citizen at a party in Coutono.

The government said in a statement on Monday after the ceremony: “This act, which is symbolic, human and historical, is not just an administrative gesture. It is a gesture of the soul, and the return to the roots of the individual, and a hand that has been extended to those who tear history, in brutality, from this land.”

Through the enactment of the My Africo Origels Law last year, Benin joined countries such as Ghana and Guinea -Bissau in submitting citizenship to people who have an African predecessor who was transferred from their homeland as part of the delayed slave trade.

Jobs can apply to become a citizen via a It was recently launched.

Only last week, Benin The famous American director Spike Lee and his wife, Tonya Lewis Lee, a seasoned producer and author, were appointed as African American ambassadors in the United States.

The Beenin coast is part of what was one day known as the slave coast – a large starting point for slave Africans who are shipped across the Atlantic Ocean to the Americas.

Between 1580 and 1727, it is estimated that the Kingdom of Whydah, a main center for the slave trade on what is now known as the coast of Benin, has been issued more than a million African to the United States, Caribbean and Brazil.