One ­ enefits of citizenship even if their nationality is never formally b taken away. Members of these groups across Africa report diffi­ culties in getting travel documents, voting, holding on to their land, or accessing public services supposedly available to all. Frequently these problems are exacerbated by a gender discrim­ ination that means that the children of a woman who ‘married out’ are regarded as not being full members of the community. An absence of necessary documentation to prove citizenship then has the same effect as a formally adopted law denying citizenship; with the added disadvantage that each person affected has to fight separately for her rights, rather than being able to mobilize collectively in one single battle on the principles at stake. The same problems of citizenship at national level are ­often repeated within African states at provincial or local level. An individual from (or descended from parents who are from) ­another part of the country, or from an ethnic group that crosses the border between two provinces, will not be regarded as being eligible for full rights within that province. Just as at the national level, disputes over who ‘owns’ a province can lead to violence and breakdown of civil order. In some cases, well-intentioned efforts to address the challenges of multiethnicity have made the situation worse. In Nigeria, for example, the federal constitution has over the years been altered to create more and more federating states, now numbering thirty-six, effectively though not explicitly on the basis of ethnicity (though sometimes several ethnic groups have to share one state). There are also provisions requiring that each government structure reflect the ‘federal character’ of Nigeria, and include officials who are representative of all the groups that are ‘indigenous’ to the federation or to the state or local government area. But these measures intended to promote inclusivity have created a position where, within each state, those who are not members of an ethnic group ‘from’ the state – who have moved from another part of Nigeria or who are the children of those who have migrated – are not regarded as being ‘indigenous’ to the state, and not entitled to the state benefits resulting from 14