For an alien to become a citizen of a country, the person must have lived in an area for a long period of time ranging from ...... years.

Analyzing the question: The question asks about naturalization, the process by which a foreigner (alien) becomes a citizen. One requirement is a minimum period of residence in the country.

Decoding the options: The options look garbled because they were converted into dates by a spreadsheet:

• A. "5-Feb" = 2-5 years
• B. "10-May" = 5-10 years
• C. "15-Oct" = 10-15 years
• D. 15-20 years
• E. 20-25 years

The concept: Under Section 27 of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria, a person can be registered as a citizen if they are of full age, of good character, intend to live in Nigeria, and have been resident in Nigeria for a required period. Section 27 and the Nigerian Citizenship Act set the residence requirement at 15 years. Many other countries set shorter periods (for example, 5 years in the UK and USA), but the Nigerian requirement is 15 years.

Working through the options:

• 2-5 years is too short for Nigeria.
• 5-10 years is also too short.
• 10-15 years reaches 15 only at its upper limit. It is a range that mostly falls below the requirement.
• 15-20 years includes the 15-year requirement and sits at the "long period" the question describes.
• 20-25 years is too long.

**Disagreement with the key? The question says "a long period of time", and Nigerian law (15 years of residence) fits best with the range 15-20 years.

Answer: D (15-20 years)

Exam tip: Remember the ways of acquiring citizenship: birth, registration, and naturalization. For naturalization in Nigeria, remember "15 years residence, good character, and intention to stay." Also, when you see options that look like dates (such as "10-May"), read them as number ranges (5-10).