Currently, Article 9, Section 9.1, Subsections 3 and 4 of the Nigerian Scholars in Germany (NiSIG) constitution says that:
3. Candidates who wish to vie for any elective position must be enrolled at a university or a recognized institute of learning in Germany or must have studied in Germany no more than three years prior to the date of their (bachelor’s, master’s, or doctorate) graduation.
4. Candidates must provide proof of graduation or proof of enrollment, which shall be verified by members of the Electoral Committee or the Secretary General of the organization.
Unfortunately, this clause excludes Nigerians who live and work in Germany but who did not receive an education in Germany. It is a fact that every individual has a unique journey and the manner in which each person ends up in Germany is also unique to that person. As such, given our individual journeys, it is unreasonable to mandate that only Nigerians who have studied in Germany have a right to lead an association of Nigerians living in Germany.
Any Nigerian who is studying or has studied on Germany or is gainfully employed by a public or private institution within Germany should be eligible for membership within the association. Furthermore, such a person should be eligible to vote and be voted for. It should not matter whether a person who works in Germany has received their education outside of Germany. The critical factor is that they're a Nigerian legally residing and working or studying in Germany and have shown a desire to contribute to the association.
We kindly request the current NiSIG executive to look into this petition and make the necessary amendments. It is never too late.
29 Comments
The Constitution should be amended because Post docs are more than scholarly enough for the word scholar. Times has changed and laws have been amended in Germany.
It is unreasonable to limit electoral positions to those that have studied only in Germany. Others have received some form of education in Germany including research grants or exchange program. They live in Germany and should have the equal rights with everyone else. Most important thing should be that we are all Nigerians.
If someone who has been in Germany for the past two years but only joined NISIG this year is qualified to become the secretary within the same year, why should someone who diligently served the same organization in a chapter be disqualified simply because she didn’t study in Germany? That seems unfair.
The said section at the time the constitution was adopted did not envisage the kind of growth and diversity in terms of the membership of NiSIG. Restricting the eligibility to contest positions to only people who aquired their degree in Germany in my opinion should be reviewed as recent developments have shown that we could have those who acquired their degree from outside Germany come here to take up roles within research and the academia. For that reason the section needs to be reviewed to accommodate these categories of persons
NiSIG is an organisation for students and professionals. There is no reason why professionals shouldn't be qualified to be voted for.
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Currently, Article 9, Section 9.1, Subsections 3 and 4 of the Nigerian Scholars in Germany (NiSIG) constitution says that:
3. Candidates who wish to vie for any elective position must be enrolled at a university or a recognized institute of learning in Germany or must have studied in Germany no more than three years prior to the date of their (bachelor’s, master’s, or doctorate) graduation.
4. Candidates must provide proof of graduation or proof of enrollment, which shall be verified by members of the Electoral Committee or the Secretary General of the organization.
Unfortunately, this clause excludes Nigerians who live and work in Germany but who did not receive an education in Germany. It is a fact that every individual has a unique journey and the manner in which each person ends up in Germany is also unique to that person. As such, given our individual journeys, it is unreasonable to mandate that only Nigerians who have studied in Germany have a right to lead an association of Nigerians living in Germany.
Any Nigerian who is studying or has studied on Germany or is gainfully employed by a public or private institution within Germany should be eligible for membership within the association. Furthermore, such a person should be eligible to vote and be voted for. It should not matter whether a person who works in Germany has received their education outside of Germany. The critical factor is that they're a Nigerian legally residing and working or studying in Germany and have shown a desire to contribute to the association.
We kindly request the current NiSIG executive to look into this petition and make the necessary amendments. It is never too late.
29 Comments
The national constitution needs to be reviewed. Else, our great organization should be renamed "Nigerian Students in Germany". If affiliation with an organization, institution or University in Germany is sufficient proof of NiSIG membership entitlement why not candidacy for Presidency?
The Constitution should be amended because Post docs are more than scholarly enough for the word scholar. Times has changed and laws have been amended in Germany.
It is unreasonable to limit electoral positions to those that have studied only in Germany. Others have received some form of education in Germany including research grants or exchange program. They live in Germany and should have the equal rights with everyone else. Most important thing should be that we are all Nigerians.
If someone who has been in Germany for the past two years but only joined NISIG this year is qualified to become the secretary within the same year, why should someone who diligently served the same organization in a chapter be disqualified simply because she didn’t study in Germany? That seems unfair.
The said section at the time the constitution was adopted did not envisage the kind of growth and diversity in terms of the membership of NiSIG. Restricting the eligibility to contest positions to only people who aquired their degree in Germany in my opinion should be reviewed as recent developments have shown that we could have those who acquired their degree from outside Germany come here to take up roles within research and the academia. For that reason the section needs to be reviewed to accommodate these categories of persons
NiSIG is an organisation for students and professionals. There is no reason why professionals shouldn't be qualified to be voted for.
Allow HND HOLDERS to register for a builder
Review is necessary
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The national constitution needs to be reviewed. Else, our great organization should be renamed "Nigerian Students in Germany". If affiliation with an organization, institution or University in Germany is sufficient proof of NiSIG membership entitlement why not candidacy for Presidency?