world news

Slavery (17th century – 1865)
The first people of Nigerian ancestry in
what is now the modern United States were
imported as slaves or indentured laborers
from the 17th century onwards. [5] Calabar,
Nigeria, became a major point of export of
slaves from Africa to the Americas during
the 17 and 18th centuries. Most slave ships
frequenting this port were English.[6] Most
of the slaves of Bight of Biafra – many of
whom hailed from the Igbo hinterland –
were imported to Virginia (which accounted
for 60% of the Biafra´s slaves imported to
United States, as well most of all slaves of
Virginia [citation needed] ). Under conditions
in the European colonies, most English
masters were not interested in the tribal
origins, and often did not bother to record
them at all, or if they did, accurately. After
two and three centuries of residence in the
United States and the lack of
documentation because of enslavement,
African Americans have often been unable
to track their ancestors to specific ethnic
groups or regions of Africa. More to the
point, like other Americans, they have
become a mixture of many different
ancestries. Most slaves who came from
Nigeria were likely to have been Igbo ,[7]
Yoruba, and Hausa. Other ethnic groups,
such as the Fulani and Edo people were
also captured and transported to the
colonies in the New World [citation needed ] .
The Igbo were exported mainly to
Maryland [8] and Virginia .[9] They
comprised the majority of all slaves in
Virginia during the 18th century: of the
37,000 African slaves imported to Virginia
from Calabar during the eighteenth century,
30,000 were Igbo[ citation needed ]. In the
next century, people of Igbo descent were
taken with settlers who moved to Kentucky.
According to some historians, the Igbo also
comprised most of the slaves in
Maryland, [9] although other sources say
that most there were from
Gambia .[citation needed ] This group was
characterized by rebellion and its high rate
of suicide, as the people resisted the
slavery to which they were subjected.
Some Nigerian ethnic groups, such as the
Yoruba, and some northern Nigerian ethnic
groups, had tribal facial identification
marks. These could have assisted a
returning slave in relocating his or her
ethnic group, but few slaves escaped the
colonies. In the colonies, masters tried to
dissuade the practice of tribal customs.
They also sometimes mixed people of
different ethnic groups to make it more
difficult for them to communicate and
band together in rebellion. [10]
Modern Immigration
According to the United Census Bureau, 4
percent of Nigerians hold the Ph.D. degree
compared to 1% of the general US
population. 17% of Nigerians hold the
Master degree and a whopping 37% have
the Bachelor's degree. Since the mid-20th
century particularly, after Nigeria gained
independence, many modern Nigerian
immigrants have come to the United States
to pursue educational opportunities in
undergraduate and post-graduate
institutions. In the 1960s and 1970s after
the Biafra War , Nigeria's government
funded scholarships for Nigerian students,
and many of them were admitted to
American universities. While this was
happening, there were several military
coups, interspersed with brief periods of
civilian rule. The instability resulted in
many Nigerian professionals emigrating,
especially doctors, lawyers and academics,
who found it difficult to return to
Nigeria. [11]
During the mid- to late-1980s, a larger
wave of Nigerians immigrated to the United
States [citation needed ]. This migration was
driven by political and economic problems
exacerbated by the military regimes of self-
styled generals Ibrahim Babangida and
Sani Abacha . The most noticeable exodus
occurred among professional and middle-
class Nigerians who, along with their
children, took advantage of education and
employment opportunities in the United
States.
This exodus contributed to a "brain-drain"
of Nigeria's intellectual resources to the
detriment of its future. Since the advent of
multi-party democracy in March 1999, the
former Nigerian head-of-state Olusegun
Obasanjo has made numerous appeals,
especially to young Nigerian professionals
in the United States, to return to Nigeria to
help in its rebuilding effort. Obasanjo's
efforts have met with mixed results, as
some potential migrants consider Nigeria's
socio-economic situation still
unstable. [citation needed ]
Education
According to the 2016 American
Community Survey, 62% of Nigerian
Americans age 25 and higher hold
bachelor's degrees (or higher) and 29%
hold graduate or professional degrees. [12]
Of 75 national origins listed, only Iranians,
Russians, and Bulgarians have a higher
share with graduate or professional
degrees.
Many cite a combination of factors that
have contributed to the large number of
educated Nigerians in America. Seeking
chances for better job opportunities and
economic stability has led many educated
Nigerian professionals to migrate to
America over the years. Similarly, the
Diversity Lottery Program increased the
number of Nigerians who were able to
receive visas in America to
study[ citation needed ]. Finally, Nigerian
culture has long emphasized education,
placing value on pursuing education as a
means to financial success and personal
fulfillment. [13] Famous Nigerian Americans
in education include Professor Jacob
Olupona , a member of the faculty at
Harvard College of Arts and Sciences as
well as Harvard Divinity School . Migrating
to the US from Nigeria more than 40 years
ago, Professor Olupona has furthered the
academic study of traditional African
religions, such as the Yoruba traditional
religion, and has been a vocal advocate for
Nigerian Americans and education
initiatives. [14]
A disproportionate percentage of black
students at highly selective top universities
are immigrants or children of immigrants.
Harvard University , for example, has
estimated that more than one-third of its
black student body consists of recent
immigrants or their children, or were of
mixed-race parentage. [15] Other top
universities, including Yale , Princeton,
Penn , Columbia, Duke and Berkeley , report
a similar pattern.[16] As a result, there is a
question as to whether affirmative action
programs adequately reach their original
targets: African Americans who are
descendants of American slaves and their
discriminatory history in the US. [15]
According to the 2016 Open Doors report,
the top five U.S. institutions with the
largest student population of Nigerian
descent (in no particular order) are Texas
Southern University , University of Houston ,
University of Texas at Arlington , University
of North Texas , and Houston Community
College[17] [better source needed ]. According
to the 2017 report, 11,710 Nigerian
immigrants studied in the U.S. in the
2016-17 academic year, the 12th highest
country of origin and highest of any African
country [18] . 4,239 of these (36%) are
pursuing graduate degrees [19] .
Demography and areas
of concentrated
residence
See also: History of Nigerian Americans
in Dallas–Fort Worth
As of 2013, the World Bank estimated that
252,172 Nigerian migrants live in the US.
This is 23% of all Nigerian migrants, the
most of any destination country. Nigerian
migrants represent 0.5% of all migrants in
the US, the 32nd highest of all US source
countries [20] .
Based on DNA studies, an estimated 80
percent of African Americans (about 35
million) could have some Igbo or Hausa
ancestry. Therefore, 60 percent of them,
according to historian Douglas B.
Chambers, could have at least one Igbo
ancestor. [21]
US states with the largest
Nigerian populations
The 2016 American Community Survey
estimates that 380,785 US residents report
Nigerian ancestry [22] .
The 2012-2016 ACS [23] estimates that
277,027 American residents were born in
Nigeria. It also estimates that these states
have the highest Nigerian-born population:
1. Texas 60,173
2. Maryland 31,263
3. New York 29,619
4. California 23,302
5. Georgia 19,182
6. Illinois 15,389
7. New Jersey 14,780
8. Florida 8,274
9. Massachusetts 6,661
10. Pennsylvania 6,371
Religious
demographics [citation needed]
In terms of religion the Nigerian community
is split, with the majority of Nigerians
practicing Christianity (70%) and many
others following Islam (23%) and other
religions (7%).
Traditional attire
Historically, Nigerian fashion incorporated
many different types of fabrics. Cotton has
been used for over 500 years for fabric-
making in Nigeria. Silk (called tsamiya in
Hausa , sanyan in Yoruba , akpa-obubu in
Igbo , and sapar ubele in Edo ) is also
used. [24] Perhaps the most popular fabric
used in Nigerian fashion is Dutch wax print,
produced in the Netherlands. The import
market for this fabric is dominated by the
Dutch company Vlisco, [25] which has been
selling its Dutch wax print fabric to
Nigerians since the late 1800s, when the
fabric was sold along the company's
oceanic trading route to Indonesia. Since
then, Nigerian and African patterns, color
schemes, and motifs have been
incorporated into Vlisco's designs to
become a staple of the brand. [26]
Nigeria has over 250 ethnic
groups[ citation needed ] and as a result, a
wide variety of traditional clothing styles.
In the Yoruba tradition, women wear an iro
(wrapper), buba (loose shirt) and gele
(head-wrap). [27] The men wear buba (long
shirt), sokoto (baggy trousers), agbada
(flowing robe with wide sleeves) and fila (a
hat). [28] In the Igbo tradition, the men's
cultural attire is Isiagu (a patterned shirt),
which is worn with trousers and the
traditional Igbo men's hat called Okpu
Agwu. The women wear a puffed sleeved
blouse, two wrappers and a headwrap. [29]
Hausa men wear barbarigas or kaftans (long
flowing gowns) with tall decorated hats.
The women wear wrappers and shirts and
cover their heads with hijabs (veils). [30]
Among Nigerian Americans, traditional
Nigerian attire remains very
popular [citation needed ] . However, because
the fabric is often hard to acquire outside
of Nigeria[citation needed ], traditional attire
is not worn on an everyday basis but
rather, reserved for special occasions such
as weddings, Independence Day
celebrations and birthday ceremonies. For
weddings, the fabric used to sew the outfit
of the bride and groom is usually directly
imported from Nigeria or bought from local
Nigerian traders and then taken to a local
tailor who then sews it into the preferred
style. Due to the large number of Nigerians
living in America and the cultural
enrichment that these communities provide
to non-Nigerians, the traditional attire has
been adopted in many parts of the country
as a symbol of African ethnicity, for
example, clothes worn during Kwanzaa
celebrations are known to be very
influenced by Nigerian traditional attire. In
recent years, the traditional fabric has
attracted many admirers especially among
celebrities such as Solange Knowles [31]
and most notably Erykah Badu. On the
fashion runway, Nigerian American
designers like Boston-born Kiki Kimanu[32]
are able to combine the rich distinct
colours of traditional attire with Western
styles to make clothes that are highly
sought after by young Nigerian
professionals and Americans alike. [33]
Nigerian American
ethnic
groups [citation needed]
Igbo American
Main article: Igbo Americans
Igbo Americans are people in the United
States that maintain an identity of a
varying level of Igbo ethnic group that now
call the United States their chief place of
residence (and may also have US
citizenship). Many came to the US
following effects of the Biafran War (1967–
1970). The Igbos used to live in small clans
during pre colonial era.
Yoruba American
Main article: Yoruba American
Yoruba Americans are Americans of Yoruba
descent. The Yoruba people (Yoruba : Àwọ̀n
ọ́mọ́ Yorùbá ) are an ethnic group originating
in southwestern Nigeria and southern Benin
in West Africa.The first Yoruba people who
arrived to the United States were imported
as slaves from Nigeria and Benin during
the Atlantic slave trade. This ethnicity of
the slaves was one of the main origins of
present-day Nigerians who arrived to the
United States, along with the Igbos. In
addition, native slaves of current Benin
hailed from peoples such as Nago (Yoruba
subgroup, although exported mainly by
Spanish, when Louisiana was Spanish),
Ewe, Fon and Gen. Many slaves imported to
the modern United States from Benin were
sold by the King of Dahomey, in Whydah.
The native tongue of the Yoruba people is
spoken principally in Nigeria and Benin,
with communities in other parts of Africa,
Europe and the Americas. A variety of the
language, Lucumi, is the liturgical language
of the Santería religion of the Caribbean.
Organizations
Nigerian-American organizations in the US
include:
Houston, Texas-based Nigerian Union
Diaspora (NUD)
Houston, Texas-based Nigerian-American
Multicultural Council, NAMC
(namchouston.org) [34]
Washington, DC-based Nigerian-
American Council or Nigerian-American
Leadership Council[35]
The Alliance of Nigerian Organizations in
Atlanta, Georgia[36] National Council of
Nigerian Muslim Organizations in
USA; [37]
The Nigerian Association Utah [38]
The Nigerian Ladies Association of
Texas (NLAT) [39]
The Nigerian American Multi Service
Association, NAMSA (namsausa.org) [40]
First Nigeria Organisation [41]
United Nigeria Association of Tulsa [42]
The Alliance of Nigerian Organizations in
Georgia is an organization that tries to
satisfy the interests of the community,
and represents all Nigeria nonprofit
associations in the state (such as
Nigerian Women Association of
Georgia – NWAG- [43] ), in tribal issues,
ethnic, educational, social, political and
economic. Through the ANOG, the Office
of Nigerian Consulate in Atlanta reaches
the Nigerian community
associations. [36]
The National Council of Nigerian Muslim
Organizations is an organization that
teaches Islam, study the elements of
religion, favoring Muslim integration in
the US, creating a Muslim American
identity and promoting interpersonal
relationships. [37]
Nigerian Ladies Association of Texas
(NLAT) is an apolitical, non-profit
formed by Nigerian women that promote
fellowship, community and family
values. NLAT is looking for ways to
improve the lives of its members and
their families and contribute to
improving the life and development of
Nigeria and the United States of
America. The association teaches its
members on individual rights (especially
the rights of women, creating media to
promote respect for these rights, to
promote equality and peace between the
sexes) and establishes job opportunities
for Nigerians living in Texas, organizes
and provides resources to women and
children in Nigeria and the US, teaches
Nigerian culture to the new generations,
working with women's groups in the US
and drives programs to promote
education and health services. [39] and
the Nigerian American Multi Service
Association (NAMSA) provides services
to community members. [40]
NNAUSA is an organization for the Ngwa
Diaspora in America [44]
Nigerian American associations
representing the interests of determinated
groups include:
The Association of Nigerian Physicians
in the Americas[45] (ANPA)
Nigerian Nurses Association USA[46]
Notable people
Main article: List of Nigerian Americans
See also
Nigeria portal
United States portal
Africans in the United States
African immigration to Latin America
List of topics related to Black and
African people
References
1. ^ https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/
tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?
pid=ACS_16_1YR_B04006&prodType=table
2. ^ https://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/
table/1.0/en/ACS/16_5YR/
B05006/0100000US
%7C0100000US.04000
3. ^ https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/
SP.POP.TOTL?locations=NG
4. ^ http://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/
migrationremittancesdiasporaissues/brief/
migration-remittances-data
5. ^ "Nigeria – The Slave Trade" .
Retrieved 13 August 2015.
6. ^ Sparks, Randy J. (2004). The Two
Princes of Calabar: An Eighteenth-century
Atlantic Odyssey . Harvard University
Press. p. 39. ISBN 0-674-01312-3 .
7. ^ "Ethnic Identity in the Diaspora and
the Nigerian Hinterland" . Toronto,
Canada: York university. Retrieved
2008-11-23. "As is now widely known,
enslaved Africans were often concentrated in
specific places in the diaspora...USA (Igbo) "
8. ^ "Languages in America #25 along
with Kru and Yoruba" . U.S.ENGLISH
Foundation, Inc. Archived from the
original on 2009-05-25. Retrieved
2009-05-08.
9. ^ a b Chambers, Douglas B. (March 1,
2005). Murder at Montpelier: Igbo Africans in
Virginia. University Press of Mississippi.
p. 23. ISBN 1-57806-706-5 .
10. ^ "Ethnicity and the Slave Trade:
'Lucumi' and 'Nago' as Ethnonyms in West
Africa" ,
11. ^ "Nigerians in Chicago" . Posted by
Charles Adams Cogan and Cyril Ibe,
Encyclopedia of Chicago ; Retrieved May 2,
2013
12. ^ https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/
tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?
src=bkmk
13. ^ Adenle, Tola. "Why do immigrant kids
perform so well in America (2): The
Nigerian example" . Retrieved 14 April
2013.
14. ^ Alabi Garba, Kabir. "Ambali...
Pursuing human capital development
agenda" . The Guardian. Retrieved 14
April 2013.
15. ^ a b Rimer, Sara; Arenson, Karen W.
(June 24, 2004). "Top Colleges Take More
Blacks, but Which Ones?" . New York
Times . Retrieved 26 Jun 2011.
16. ^ Johnson, Jason B. (February 22,
2005). "Shades of gray in black enrollment:
Immigrants' rising numbers a concern to
some activists" . San Francisco Chronicle .
17. ^ https://www.thecable.ng/10674-
nigerians-studying-us-highest-30-years
18. ^ https://www.iie.org/Research-and-
Insights/Open-Doors/Data/International-
Students/Places-of-Origin
19. ^ https://docs.google.com/
spreadsheets/
d/14OXvjnDx8XOU3SnISlWVWe56Ue0ZaEk
676fSNveKGPk/edit#gid=116399785
20. ^ http://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/
migrationremittancesdiasporaissues/brief/
migration-remittances-data
21. ^ "Southern Miss history professor
made chief in Nigerian royal lineage" .
University of Southern Mississippi. April 15,
2005. Retrieved 2009-05-02.
22. ^ https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/
tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?
pid=ACS_16_1YR_B04006&prodType=table
23. ^ https://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/
table/1.0/en/ACS/16_5YR/
B05006/0100000US
%7C0100000US.04000
24. ^ "Textile" . Retrieved 13 August
2015.
25. ^ http://www.vlisco.com/home/en/
page/305/
26. ^ https://
www.nytimes.com/2012/11/15/
fashion/15iht-ffabric15.html?
pagewanted=1
27. ^ "Yoruba Clothing" . Retrieved 13
August 2015.
28. ^ "The Yoruba tribe of Nigeria and their
clothes rich in colors and textures" .
Retrieved 13 August 2015.
29. ^ "Umu Igbo Alliance" . Retrieved 13
August 2015.
30. ^ "Welcome to Amlap Publishing" .
Retrieved 13 August 2015.
31. ^ KaKKi. "KaKKi: Solange Knowles –
African Prints" . Retrieved 13 August
2015.
32. ^ http://www.onobello.com/index.php/
component/k2/item/2813-designer-
biography-kiki-kamanu-clothing
33. ^ "Kiki Kamanu" . Kiki Kamanu.
Retrieved 13 August 2015.
34. ^ "Nigerian-American Multicultural
Council" . http://www.namchouston.org .
External link in |website= ( help)
35. ^ Nigerian-American Council
36. ^ a b Itoro E. Akpan-Iquot. "Home Page
– Alliance of Nigerian Organizations in
Georgia, USA (ANOGUSA)" . Retrieved 13
August 2015.
37. ^ a b
National Council of Nigerian Muslim
Organizations in USA
38. ^ "Association of Nigerians in Utah,
USA" . Retrieved 13 August 2015.
39. ^ a b "Nigerian Ladies Association of
Texas" . Retrieved 13 August 2015.
40. ^ a b "NAMSA – Nigerian American
Multi Service Association" . Retrieved 13
August 2015.
41. ^ "Nigerians in Chicago Rise Against
Boko Haram" . Nigerian American
Business . Retrieved 31 August 2014.
42. ^ United Nigeria Association of Tulsa
43. ^ "Nigerian Women Association of
Georgia – NWAG" . Retrieved 13 August
2015.
44. ^ http://ngwanational.org/ Ngwa
National.
45. ^ Donia Robinson/Gold Star Web Sites,
LLC. "Association of Nigerian Physicians in
the Americas – Home" . Retrieved 13
August 2015.
46. ^ "Nigerian N