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Why Nigeria Immigrant Are The Most Successful Ethnic Group In Us by Cybercop2002: 8:01am On Feb 16, 2021 |
I was on a flight to Nova Scotia on
which I met Chiasoka, a Nigerian
international student, living in St. John’s.
She was studying nursing, having
graduated in engineering.
We began discussing our parents’,
albeit, rigorous but potent parenting
methodologies.
Coming from a Caribbean family,
education in my family is celebrated at
every stride, regardless how minutia
the feat may be. My parents have
insisted on being part of every
ceremony that celebrated my scholastic
performance, may it be a Dean’s list
reception, kindergarten mini-
graduation service or my
undergraduate graduation ceremony.
And every chance they had to express
my academic attainment to their friends
and family, they would do so.
Whereas, for Chiasoka, certain academic
achievements were nothing, but
expected. Therefore, they were not
worthy to be praised, let alone, noted.
So much so that her mother refused to
attend her graduation ceremony. She
did not perceive her daughter’s
academic accomplishment as an exploit,
despite being among the top 10
percent of her graduating class. It was,
in her mother’s eyes, the bare minimum
that was expected from her. “Until I
earn a post-graduate degree, I will have
to content myself with a family-less
graduation ceremony” she confessed.
For many westerners, such attitude
toward one’s accomplishment would
be perceived as callous and sadistic, at
best. Yet, for Chiasoka, it is what fueled
her, knowing that more is expected as
the sky is far from being the limit. And
every time she meets or exceeds an
expectation, she would, with zeal and
valor, vied the next echelon.
Though crude, this “high expectation
attitude” that Nigerian parents have
toward their children in everything they
undertake is very much conventional in
Nigerian households, and part of the
rationale, explaining the success of the
Nigerian-American diaspora.
A’s, and nothing but A’s
Now that I think of it, the Nigerian
friends that I made in university, all of
them, excepted for one, was on the
Dean’s list. Subsequently, many of them
won several awards and accolades for
their academic achievements. They all
winded up working for reputable firms
or being accepted at competitive post-
graduate programs.
Buzzfeed.com — High Academic
achievement is compulsory in an
African household, not an alternative.
Education is indeed paramount to
everything in Nigerian households. So
much so that there is ubiquitous
aphorism within the Nigerian
community which asserts that the best
inheritance that a parent can give to
their children is not jewelry nor any
other material things, but it is a good
education.
The best inheritance that a parent can
give to their children is not jewelry nor
any other materials things, but it is a
good education.
Such regard for higher education helps
to explain why Nigerian-Americans are
more likely to be educated than the
average American.
Indeed, Nigerian-Americans have more
post-graduate degrees than any other
racial or ethnic groups. Albeit, they
represent a minutia portion of the U.S.
population, 37 percent of them hold a
bachelor’s degree and 17 percent a
master’s. 29 percent of Nigerian-
Americans aged 25 and plus, have a
graduate degree, compared to 11
percent of the US population. Nigerian
accounts for less than 1 percent of the
black population in the United States,
yet, they make up nearly 25 percent of
all Black students at Harvard Business
School. It comes to no surprise that
Nigerian-Americans’ achievements in
the world of education top any other
U.S. immigrant groups, including Asian-
Americans. Today, a growing number
of Nigerian-Americans are
entrepreneurs, CEOs and founders of
tech companies across the U.S. and
abroad.
“You must be a Doctor, Lawyer,
Engineer, or a Disgrace to the family…”
Nigerian parents also tend to push their
children into profitable but arduous
careers such as medicine, engineering
and law. Recently, Harvard University
elected the first black woman to be
president of the Harvard Law Review.
This black woman happens to be
Nigerian, and her name is Imelme A.
Umana. Hence why the median annual
income of Nigerian diaspora
household, according to the Migration
Policy Institute, is about $ 52,000,
slightly higher than the average
$50,000 in the US. They are also more
likely to be counted in the higher
income brackets as 35% of Nigerian-
American households earn the US
$90,000 per year.
Imelme A. Umana, Nigerian-American,
became the first Black woman to be
elected as president of the Harvard Law
Review. Image from
Face2FaceAfrica.com
“Artistic Nigerian-Americans” is a thing!
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Image
from the Harvard Crimson.
Even those who don’t adhere to such
career choices, also exhibit high
success in their fields and are expected
to do by their elders. For instance,
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, a Nigerian-
American novelist, Yale graduate, and
author of the New York Time Best
Selling, Americanah, was listed in 2015
in Time Magazine as one of “the 100
Most Influential People”. And Tomy
Adeyemi, Nigerian-American, Harvard
graduate, became at the age of 24, the
youngest American to have scored a
significant book and movie deal,
netting in the seven-figures.
Tomy Adeyemi. Image from ABC.com
And as we speak, Nigerians-Americans,
such as Chiweteley Ejiofor and Uzo
Aduba, are also taking Hollywood as
part of their new terrain of excellence.
Ejiofor played the role of Solomon
Northup in 12 Years a Slave which was
nominated as Best Actor by the
Academy Awards and won the best
actor in a leading role by the British
Academy Film awards in 2014. Image
from RottenTomatoes.com
Uzo Aduba, Nigerian-American, who
plays the role “Crazy Eyes” from Orange
is the New Black. She won several
awards including an Emmy Award for
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a
Drama Series and Outstanding
Performance by a Female Actor in a
Comedy Series. Image from
Biography.com
Sports are okay too in a Nigerian
household, but…
Apart from the world of arts and
engineering, the Nigerian diaspora is
now linked among the top American
athletes. What is interesting is that
sport for Nigerian parents is secondary,
never the priority as education is. What
they look for in sport, is the opportunity
to earn scholarships, which leads to
free education. If a Nigerian child
happens to make it through a
professional league draft, good. But
above all things, education is the goal.
All things can follow suit. 2 Likes |
Re: Why Nigeria Immigrant Are The Most Successful Ethnic Group In Us by Freestainworld(m): 8:06am On Feb 16, 2021 |
Nigerians love education, if not for bad governance, we would have even become more world class than we are currently perceived. 4 Likes |
Re: Why Nigeria Immigrant Are The Most Successful Ethnic Group In Us by parkervero(m): 8:39am On Feb 16, 2021 |
I didn't read the epistle... Where would you place Chinese and Indians? 1 Like |
Re: Why Nigeria Immigrant Are The Most Successful Ethnic Group In Us by Cousin9999: 8:58am On Feb 16, 2021 |
Doctor, Lawyer, Engineer, or a Disgrace [img]https://media1./images/ba8e7418b2233bbfe6cbba50ee9b8cf7/tenor.gif[/img] |
Re: Why Nigeria Immigrant Are The Most Successful Ethnic Group In Us by Cybercop2002: 9:27am On Feb 16, 2021 |
parkervero:the first and fourth most successful black man and woman are from naija |
Re: Why Nigeria Immigrant Are The Most Successful Ethnic Group In Us by ImDStar: 9:30am On Feb 16, 2021 |
Nice thread |
Re: Why Nigeria Immigrant Are The Most Successful Ethnic Group In Us by Cybercop2002: 9:31am On Feb 16, 2021 |
parkervero:there are many successful naija than those folk just that some change there nationality and some dont represent nigeria bahrain and most arab country have nigerian athlete in there country who are a citizen not by birth but by signing them to represent there country |
Re: Why Nigeria Immigrant Are The Most Successful Ethnic Group In Us by parkervero(m): 10:11am On Feb 16, 2021 |
Cybercop2002: First and fourth successful black man and woman in which country? |
(1) (Reply)
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