Grammy-winning American singer Ciara has officially become a citizen of Benin, making her one of the first high-profile figures to receive nationality under the country’s new law aimed at reconnecting with the descendants of enslaved Africans. The “My Afro Origins” law, passed in 2023, offers citizenship to individuals who can trace their ancestry to Africans forcibly taken during the transatlantic slave trade. The initiative is part of Benin’s broader efforts to strengthen ties with the African diaspora and promote cultural tourism.
In a heartfelt Instagram post, Ciara said she was “honoured” and thanked the West African nation “for opening your arms and your heart to me.” The citizenship ceremony took place in Cotonou, Benin’s largest city. In an official statement, the government called the act “symbolic, humane and historic… a return to one’s roots, a hand extended to those whom history, in its brutality, had torn from this land.”
Benin, once a major hub of the slave trade, was home to the Kingdom of Whydah, which between the 16th and 18th centuries, exported more than a million enslaved Africans to the Americas via what was known as the Slave Coast. Applicants seeking Beninese nationality under the new law can now do so through a dedicated government portal.
