Nigerian American
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A Nigerian-American is an American citizen of Nigerian ancestry. Since the late 1960s and early 1970s, approximately one million Nigerians are believed to have emigrated to the United States. As is the case with the population of the continent of Africa, Nigerian Americans are the single largest African immigrant group in the US, far outpacing smaller immigrant groups from Ghana and Liberia and rivaling those from Jamaica and Vietnam. Of Nigeria's current indigenous population of over 130 million, it is estimated that up to 5% reside outside Nigeria with the majority living in the US and United Kingdom.
Most Nigerian immigrants arrived in the United States to pursue educational opportunities in both undergraduate and post graduate insititutions across the US. Almost all of these immigrants came from the various tribes in the southern part of the country, primarily among the Igbo and Yoruba. Due to adverse economic conditions back in Nigeria, some stayed behind and began to raise their families as 1st generation American citizens. During the mid to late 1980s, a larger influx of Nigerians emigrated to the US as a result of political and economic problems exacerbated by the debilitating military regimes of self-styled Generals Ibrahim Babangida and Sani Abacha and rampant corruption in Nigeria. 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 US to emigrate. Some believe that this exodus has contributed to a "brain-drain" on Nigeria's intellectual resources to the detriment of its future. Since the advent of multi-party democracy in March 1999, the current Nigerian Head of State, Olusegun Obasanjo,has made numerous appeals, especially to young Nigerian professionals in the US, to return to Nigeria to help in its rebuilding effort. However, his efforts have been met with mixed results as some have deemed Nigeria's current socio-economic situation still unstable.
A growing number of Nigerian Americans are considered to be affluent and well educated. Many possess college degrees and have graduated with advanced diplomas in engineering, law, business and medicine from top institutions like Harvard, MIT, Stanford, Columbia University, UC Berkeley, University of Virginia among others. Today most affluent Nigerians are concentrated in the field of medicine, however, many are employed in many Fortune 500 companies and/or self made entrepreneurs.
Like other successful immigrant populations in the US, Nigerian Americans reside in virtually all the 50 states in the Union, however, a sizeable community reside in cities and suburbs in and around the following states and their respective counties:
1. Maryland: Prince Georges, Baltimore and Montgomery counties
2. New York: All boroughs of New York City, Nassau and Westchester counties
3. Texas: Harris, Fort Bend, Tarrant, Dallas counties
4. New Jersey: Hudson, Essex, Bergen and Union Counties
5. Illinois: Cook county
6. California: Alameda, Los Angeles, San Bernadino, Orange, San Diego, Sacramento, Contra Costa counties
