Foreign Affairs › Re: Putin Inspects New Russian Fighter Jet Unveiled At Air Show by atonement12: 11:43am On Jul 21, 2021 |
sam564: Beyold the heart of man is wickedness continually...... Inventing and creating all manner of arsenals of war for whaaatttt nah ?? That which u greatly fear most will diffinitely come upon u...
I meeeuuuuvvveeee If you want peace, prepare for war...That is not wickedness. The fulani terrorists all over West Africa are coming very soon. Prepare to defend yourself and your family-It is not a sin. I have warned you! |
Politics › Re: Sunday Igboho: ‘juju Has Failed’ – Joe Igbokwe Mocks Agitator by atonement12: 11:31am On Jul 21, 2021 |
In a bid to make himself relevant to his employers, this man has constituted himself into a public nuisance'. At this stage, it is pertinent to have his mental well-being evaluated. |
Politics › Re: How Sunday Igboho Was Arrested In Cotonou - LEADERSHIP by atonement12: 12:57pm On Jul 20, 2021 |
FreeStuffsNG: The land will bless those who bless it and curse those who curse it. Watch the fate the land will throw at you sir. Because of bigotry and hatred for PMB, you chose the wrong and innocent foe; the Land. Have you not wondered why it's a harvest of losses so far in the camp of enemies of Nigeria ? That's God proving His sovereign. Imagine what Ighoho would have been doing from overseas and how many lives would have been consumed sir? The land is not at fault, it's the inhabitants of the land , especially the enemies of Nigeria who want to bring down the roof one instead of using legitimate means to get power. They will always lose sir. God bless Nigeria. Hypocrite! You equate those concerned about the evil in the land as "haters"! Your political rulers by their actions have already brought curse on the land, which is very evident even to the blind. I know what the "fate" of the land will throw at people like you who call evil good. Manipulator, deceiver and accuser- the land was never my foe. My foes have always been selfish and evil individuals that have made themselves gods to the detriment of the poverty-sricken masses. It may appear wicked rulers are prospering now, but we know how it will all end. Hypocrite! You think you can deceive us with false patriotism and "legitimacy". What is legitimate about disenfranchising ethnic nationalities, and insulting them when they call for a system that will encourage inclusion. What is legitimate about rulers that refused to abide by the Laws when it doesn't suit their agenda? What is legitimate about rulers that carry out human rights abuses on opposing voices? What is legitimate about extra judicial killings, and denial of Justice to victims and their love ones? What is legitimate about denial of self expression, speech, and press censorship using different guise? What is legitimate about tyrannical rulership? FYI, I'm indifferent about whoever is president, they will all receive their reward when the time comes. Whether you like it or not, blessing will only come to Nigeria after the judgement! |
Politics › Re: How Sunday Igboho Was Arrested In Cotonou - LEADERSHIP by atonement12: 12:11pm On Jul 20, 2021 |
FoolaniHellman: It’s a Norms for a Freedom fighter to end up in a cell most especially when you have a Dictator as a President. It’s happened in Russian, South-Africa just to mention few. In fact Vladimir had his oppressor poisoned with a nerve agent (google is your friend)! So right now I must say Nnamdi Kanu & Sunday Igboho are on the right path, they aren’t the first to be treated like this and they won’t be the last and believe me there’s always light at the end of the Toilet Sorry Tunnel!
Stay Strong OmoAkin!!! You’re fight a big course for us and we will support you in whatever which way we can!
I WANT A DANGEROUS FREEDOM THEN A PEACEFUL-SLAVERY
God bless Oduduwa Republic! God bless Biafra Nation God bless all the Freedom fighters all over the world! " Vladimir had his oppressor poisoned with a nerve agent (google is your friend)! " -Big Western media propaganda lies! |
Politics › Re: How Sunday Igboho Was Arrested In Cotonou - LEADERSHIP by atonement12: 12:08pm On Jul 20, 2021 |
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Politics › Re: How Sunday Igboho Was Arrested In Cotonou - LEADERSHIP by atonement12: 12:05pm On Jul 20, 2021 |
Racoon: Well said.Evil murderers like bandits/BH terrorists are celebrated as repentant killers but seperatist agitators are looked upon as terrorists.
This is time for all sane humanity to fully understands the evil intention of all the satanic elements under this sitting government. They will ultimately fail woefully! |
Politics › Re: How Sunday Igboho Was Arrested In Cotonou - LEADERSHIP by atonement12: 12:02pm On Jul 20, 2021 |
AkalaJ: Chief Sunday Igboho should have gone farther than anywhere in East or West Africa to travel out. All West African countries (in particular) are Nigerian lapdogs when it comes to this kind of situation. Being a German residency holder could have allowed him to travel from a North African country or used the Libya route. Nigeria government was really out to get him. He should have been more cautious. Stop judging and lamenting. The Nigeria tragi-comedy is just about to begin... |
Politics › Re: How Sunday Igboho Was Arrested In Cotonou - LEADERSHIP by atonement12: 11:58am On Jul 20, 2021 |
FreeStuffsNG: “We have strict laws here in Benin Republic. Those peope who helped him obtained a Beninese Passport misled him because they didn’t tell him the danger ahead being a fugitive. Most of them causing problems within Nigeria have strong political affiliation with vicious state actors playing politics at the expense of lives of other people and our national security, they have more than one passport and they have homes outside Nigeria.
Thank God for his parents who gave him authentic Oyo tribal marks so that no other passport than the Nigerian passport will suit him. Our neighbouring countries have been tremendously helpful to us to rein in these terrorist politicians causing problems for innocent Nigerians because of 2023 election. All the enemies of Nigeria will lose las las.They always lose. God bless Nigeria. God is not going to bless Nigeria now. He is bringing a major judgement on Nigeria! People like you supporting false democracy and evil rulership will receive your reward soon. WATCH THIS SPACE!!  |
Crime › Re: Generator Thief Caught And Tied To An Electric Pole In Abuja (Photos) by atonement12: 11:48am On Jul 20, 2021 |
Perhaps the next step is to activate a firing squad.  |
Foreign Affairs › Re: China Threatens To NUKE Japan On Eve Of Olympics If It Intervenes In Taiwan(Pix) by atonement12: 3:13am On Jul 20, 2021 |
dermmy: China understands what it is doing. It is a deliberate attempt to scare the Japanese public so that they can exert more pressure on their government to close the U.S military base at Okinawa. Okinawans have been calling on the government for years to close that base because they see it as a flash point for U.S and China's war in the future and they don't want Okinawans to be caught in between when the war breaks out.
Japan is under U.S nuclear umbrella under U.S policy of Extended Deterrence & Allied Assurance . I doubt if China would do that even if a war breaks out between her and Japan. This threat is part of China's competitive coercion. The Chinese can and will! A war between China and Japan, is a war between U.S and China! The Chinese will be left with no option, but to nuke all U.S bases in Japan and it's immediate radius. This, they believe, will limit the intensity and and response time of a US retaliatory strike on China ! |
Christianity Etc › Re: Bishop Oyedepo: I Warned Nigerians In 2015 About This ‘Evil’ Government by atonement12: 11:08am On Jul 19, 2021 |
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Christianity Etc › Re: Bishop Oyedepo: I Warned Nigerians In 2015 About This ‘Evil’ Government by atonement12: 11:25pm On Jul 18, 2021 |
Okoroawusa: Na so this one go die sara one day too... forming prophet in the midst of people who can't afford transport fare to his church. No support Buhari...u no support...no drag God enter the matter If you no understand sey God dey inside naija matter, abeg make you go back to ya Mama's womb  |
Christianity Etc › Re: Bishop Oyedepo: I Warned Nigerians In 2015 About This ‘Evil’ Government by atonement12: 11:21pm On Jul 18, 2021 |
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Christianity Etc › Re: Bishop Oyedepo: I Warned Nigerians In 2015 About This ‘Evil’ Government by atonement12: 11:15pm On Jul 18, 2021 |
YorubaKinging: The end is near
So also we have Been warning the people that you're a false prophet, a very evil man.
If you see what this man do in secret, he's worse than the devil
Inside his private jet, he's always balling drinking alcohol, with the stewardess
But God is against the false prophets and will not be named in the congregation of the saints You have to be absolutely sure of what you're saying, not rumours! Else, you will be in a grave spiritual danger! |
Christianity Etc › Re: Bishop Oyedepo: I Warned Nigerians In 2015 About This ‘Evil’ Government by atonement12: 11:09pm On Jul 18, 2021 |
Tinububalls: Tales by moonlight. It is, if you are one of the terrorists sympathisers!  |
Politics › Re: Bandits Kill 13 Police Officers In Zamfara by atonement12: 11:02pm On Jul 18, 2021 |
Joromi1: Handiwork of ESN members. Is this how they plan to get their Biafra? No, but this is how they will get their caliphate!  |
Politics › Re: Garba Shehu Accuses Kukah Of Falsehood, Slams Him With Biblical Passages by atonement12: 10:34pm On Jul 18, 2021 |
Buckeyemedia1: It is their work, that is how they make money. Wash wash Papals.  |
Politics › Re: Garba Shehu Accuses Kukah Of Falsehood, Slams Him With Biblical Passages by atonement12: 10:32pm On Jul 18, 2021 |
Buckeyemedia1: Almijiri, how has the Governor in your state promoted harmony amongst ethnic bigots? Charity they say begins @ home. Hypocrite! You mean like the "Almajiri" you religious hypocrites created in the North-now become metamorphed into bandits and Boko Boys terrorising you. Political nuisances like you always living in denial of the obvious!  Go away! You are a time waster! |
Politics › Re: Garba Shehu Accuses Kukah Of Falsehood, Slams Him With Biblical Passages by atonement12: 10:24pm On Jul 18, 2021 |
Buckeyemedia1: I wish you were bold enough to say this in front of Bishop Oyedepo, you would explain who told you that. Devil's advocate! Go and work on saving your own soul. Leave the pastors to save theirs.  |
Politics › Re: Garba Shehu Accuses Kukah Of Falsehood, Slams Him With Biblical Passages by atonement12: 10:19pm On Jul 18, 2021 |
alfsalami: Kukah is a sinking man working hard to creat mistrust among citizens , shame will be his portion at last If he's creating mistrust, I wonder what we can say about the extent your Abuja daddy has gone! |
Politics › Re: Garba Shehu Accuses Kukah Of Falsehood, Slams Him With Biblical Passages by atonement12: 10:16pm On Jul 18, 2021 |
Buckeyemedia1: Just like homo father cooker? You're still there? You've not crawled back to your hole?  |
Politics › Re: Garba Shehu Accuses Kukah Of Falsehood, Slams Him With Biblical Passages by atonement12: 10:14pm On Jul 18, 2021 |
Even demons are quoting scriptures! No surprise here. It was said even Satan will appear as an angel of light!  |
Politics › Re: Garba Shehu Accuses Kukah Of Falsehood, Slams Him With Biblical Passages by atonement12: 10:09pm On Jul 18, 2021 |
Buckeyemedia1: Let Father use you as a pawn to collect foreign donations from Oyibos, Mumu reverend all the children your church people killed in Canada what is your opinion? Useless Hypocrite. Warped and delusional fellow, fly away! |
Politics › Re: Garba Shehu Accuses Kukah Of Falsehood, Slams Him With Biblical Passages by atonement12: 10:04pm On Jul 18, 2021 |
Danzakidakura: the Bishop is better than the Terrorists occupying government house who invited a foreign Terrorist Fulani group to come kill Nigerians. Though I don't expect a Yoruba Muslim like you to reason well. Don't generalize! Some Muslims of Yoruba descent are objective and reasonable! |
Politics › Re: Garba Shehu Accuses Kukah Of Falsehood, Slams Him With Biblical Passages by atonement12: 9:56pm On Jul 18, 2021 |
"He said it was “unfortunate and disappointing” for citizens of Nigeria to bear witness to one of their Churchmen castigating their country in front of representatives of a foreign parliament.". -Manipulative hypocrite! |
Politics › Re: Garba Shehu Accuses Kukah Of Falsehood, Slams Him With Biblical Passages by atonement12: 9:51pm On Jul 18, 2021*. Modified: 11:36pm On Jul 18, 2021 |
Indigenous Peoples Of Nigeria Can Stop The Fulani-led Genocide Against Them, Right Now! By Ndidi Uwechue Sahara Reporters Jul 17, 2021 12:00 PM
Indigenous peoples of the South and Middle Belt formed an Alliance, the NINAS Movement so will ACTIVATE their right to armed self-defence, denied them in the imposed illegitimate 1999 Constitution. Tyrants tend to disarm their citizens before they unleash slaughter upon them. They use state power to confiscate the private weapons of their people to render them vulnerable and defenceless. That started happening in earnest in Nigeria in early 2018 when the Police chief, IGP Ibrahim Idris, directed state Commissioners of Police to immediately disarm militias in their states. By “militias” he really meant community vigilante groups and traditional hunters. This directive was met with much public condemnation, but their objections were ignored. Disturbingly, IGP Idris, a Fulani, was quite silent on whether his directive would apply to Fulani herdsmen known to carry sophisticated weapons, namely AK47s, and accused of killing indigenous peoples across the country.
Police chief Idris had made it clear which document had empowered him to issue his directive. It was the imposed and illegitimate 1999 Constitution. Idris had said,
“… No State government in this country has the responsibility to approve prohibited firearms to any Nigerian under any guise.
And I think it is the responsibility of CP’s of commands to put close watch to the activities of some of these governors that are arming individuals against the laws of this country.
All of us are aware about these prohibited firearms.
You cannot give approval to any individual to own a pistol. You cannot give an approval to any individual to own an AK-47, rifle.
These are prohibited weapons and only the government has that authority to give that approval…”
(Source: “Police IG, Idris Declares War On Vigilantes, Militias In Nigeria”, Daily Post, 02/02/2018)
We know that several genocides had been preceded by gun control and gun confiscation. The Ottoman Empire, today’s Turkey, spent two years killing Armenians, a mainly Christian people after first disarming them to make them defenceless. Armenians needed government permission in order to carry guns, and were “rigorously prohibited from possessing firearms.”
Similarly, Jews in Nazi Germany had been ordered to hand in their guns. Once disarmed and defenceless, Kristallnacht (Night of the Broken Glass) took place. Nazi mobs attacked Jews, killed many, and destroyed their businesses and Synagogues. Jews were blamed, and 30,000 were sent to concentration camps. Life conditions worsened for Jews in Germany as Hitler’s “Final Solution” of genocide was carried out.
In the Rwandan genocide of 1994, Hutus began arming themselves and observers could see that something sinister and deadly was about to happen. When the time came, Hutus started to slaughter the mainly unarmed Tutsi civilians. In just 100 days between 800,000 – 1 million Tutsis were massacred.
In Nigeria, various foreign observers have analysed what is going on, and their views coincide with what Nigerians can see is happening, and are experiencing. Using just one example, in December 2019, renown French philosopher- writer Bernard-Henri Lévy having visited Nigeria warned that, “A slow-motion war is under way... It’s a massacre of Christians, massive in scale and horrific in brutality.” He described the perpetrators as “Fulani raiders” and “Fulani extremists” in his article titled, “The New War Against Africa’s Christians” published in the respected Wall Street Journal. He mentions “Fulanization” where a village originally belonging to indigenous Christians had been taken over by nomadic Fulani, who now claimed the land as theirs.
To appreciate the Fulani menace to Nigerian communities, here is more from Lévy:
“…Westerners here depict the Fulani extremists as an extended, rampant Boko Haram. An American humanitarian says the Fulani recruit volunteers to serve internships in Borno State, where Boko Haram is active. Another says Boko Haram “instructors” have been spotted in Bauchi, another northeastern state, where they are teaching elite Fulani militants to handle more-sophisticated weapons that will replace their machetes. Yet whereas Boko Haram are confined to perhaps 5% of Nigerian territory, the Fulani terrorists operate across the country.
Villagers west of Jos show the weapons they use to defend themselves: bows, slings, daggers, sticks, leather whips, spears. Even these meager arms have to be concealed. When the army comes through after the attacks, soldiers tell the villagers their paltry weapons are illegal and confiscate them.
Several times I note the proximity of a military base that might have been expected to protect civilians. But the soldiers didn’t come; or, if they did, it was only after the battle; or they claimed not to have received the texted SOS calls in time, or not to have had orders to respond, or to have been delayed on an impassable road…”
What Lévy describes has been corroborated by witnesses and surviving victims, plus by several UK and USA government reports and hearings. The countrywide killings by armed Fulani herdsmen and Islamist terrorists is happening when Nigeria has a Fulani majority in government leadership positions and they head essential national civil service agencies. Critically, the heads of all security services are Fulani. Not surprisingly, the Fulani-led central government denies all accusations of ongoing genocide. However, leaders whose people are facing the slaughter such as retired Brigadier General David Mark (former Senator) and retired Air Commodore Jonah Jang (former Senator) have insisted that a genocide is happening after the massacres of Agatu, and Barkin-Ladi respectively. In addition, former defence minister and retired Lieutenant General T.Y. Danjuma called the killings "ethnic cleansing," and charged Nigerians, especially Christians to defend themselves, saying, "If you depend on the armed forces to protect you, you will all die."
More recently, Newsweek’s article of 21st June 2021, titled, “Why the West Ignores the Nigerian Genocide” stated,
“…The Fulani are cattle herdsmen working with Boko Haram, a radical Islamist group intent on ridding Nigeria of Christians.”
That assertion matches up with the Fulani agenda declared by Bello, a Fulani and Premier of the Northern Region in 1960, when he said that Nigeria would be an “estate” of the Fulani and the south would be a “conquered territory” whose people would never be able to control their future. The 1999 Constitution, a forgery imposed on Nigerians and with suspect origins, does just that. It empowers the stated Fulani agenda, and is being used to execute genocide against the indigenous peoples. That has been made easy by using the 1999 Constitution to disarm the people, since only the security agencies can carry arms and ammunition. Under Buhari, a Fulani, all heads of security agencies are also Fulani.
Nigerians must obviously repel the Fulani, settlers and immigrants who are intent on killing them in order to grab their lands. Indigenous peoples of the South and Middle Belt formed an Alliance, the NINAS Movement so will ACTIVATE their right to armed self-defence, denied them in the imposed illegitimate 1999 Constitution. Having already Repudiated that Constitution by Declaration of Constitutional Force Majeure on 16th December 2020, the right to armed self-defence is achieved by insisting that preparations to general elections in 2023 be stopped since the peoples no longer tolerate living under the conditions spelled out in that Constitution, and will not renew its life, which is what elections do. |
Politics › Re: "Free Nnamdi Kanu" Protest In Geneva, Switzerland - Pictures by atonement12: 9:15pm On Jul 18, 2021 |
Almaigaa: You know them too well  That word should have been 'death row'! |
Politics › Re: "Free Nnamdi Kanu" Protest In Geneva, Switzerland - Pictures by atonement12: 9:01pm On Jul 18, 2021 |
9jah: 15 million Nigerians in the diaspora and an estimated $25 billion in annual remittances, Nigeria is the fifth largest receiver of diaspora remittances in the world.” AROUND THE WORLD THE MOST SUCCESSFUL ETHNIC GROUP IN THE U.S. MAY SURPRISE YOU
WHY YOU SHOULD CARE Because you don’t know what it means to hustle … until you meet a Nigerian-American.
At an Onyejekwe family get-together, you can’t throw a stone without hitting someone with a master’s degree. Doctors, lawyers, engineers, professors — every family member is highly educated and professionally successful, and many have a lucrative side gig to boot. Parents and grandparents share stories of whose kid just won an academic honor, achieved an athletic title or performed in the school play. Aunts, uncles and cousins celebrate one another’s job promotions or the new nonprofit one of them just started. To the Ohio-based Onyejekwes, this level of achievement is normal. They’re Nigerian-American — it’s just what they do.
Today, 61 percent of Nigerian-Americans over the age of 25 hold a graduate degree, compared to 32 percent for the U.S.-born population, according to the Migration Policy Institute. Among Nigerian-American professionals, 45 percent work in education services, the 2016 American Community Survey found, and many are professors at top universities. Nigerians are entering the medical field in the U.S. at an increased rate, leaving their home country to work in American hospitals, where they can earn more and work in better facilities. A growing number of Nigerian-Americans are becoming entrepreneurs and CEOs, building tech companies in the U.S. to help people back home.
It hasn’t been easy — the racist stereotypes are far from gone. In 2017, President Donald Trump reportedly said in an Oval Office discussion that Nigerians would never go back to “their huts” once they saw America. But overt racism hasn’t stopped Nigerian-Americans from creating jobs, treating patients, teaching students and contributing to local communities in their new home, all while confidently emerging as one of the country’s most succesful immigrant communities, with a median household income of $62,351, compared to $57,617 nationally, as of 2015.
NIGERIAN-AMERICANS ARE BEGINNING TO MAKE A MARK IN SPORTS, ENTERTAINMENT AND THE CULINARY ARTS. “I think Nigerian-Americans offer a unique, flashy style and flavor that people like,” says Chukwuemeka Onyejekwe, who goes by his rap name Mekka Don. He points to Nigerian cuisine like jollof rice that’s gaining popularity in the U.S. But more importantly, Mekka says, Nigerians bring a “connectivity and understanding of Africa” to the U.S. “Many [Americans] get their understanding of ’the motherland’ through our experiences and stories,” he adds.
The Nigerian-American journey is still relatively new compared with that of other major immigrant communities that grew in the U.S. in the 20th century. The Nigerian-American population stood at 376,000 in 2015, according to the Rockefeller Foundation–Aspen Institute. That was roughly the strength of the Indian-American community back in 1980, before it emerged as a leading light in fields ranging from economics to technology. But Nigerian-Americans are already beginning to make a dent in the national consciousness. In the case of forensic pathologist Dr. Bennet Omalu, he’s helping fix hits to the brain. The 49-year-old Omalu was the first to discover and publish on chronic traumatic encephalopathy in American football players (Will Smith played him in the 2015 film Concussion). ImeIme A. Umana, the first Black woman elected president of the Harvard Law Review last year, is Nigerian-American. In 2016, Nigerian-born Pearlena Igbokwe became president of Universal Television, making her the first woman of African descent to head a major U.S. TV studio. And the community has expanded rapidly, up from just 25,000 people in 1980.
Traditionally, education has been at the heart of the community’s success. But success isn’t so easily defined within the culture anymore. Nigerian-Americans are beginning to make a mark in sports, entertainment and the culinary arts too — like Nigerian chef Tunde Wey in New Orleans, who recently made headlines for using food to highlight racial wealth inequality in America.
It was education that brought an early wave of Nigerians to the U.S. in the 1970s. After the war against Biafra separatists in the ’60s, the Nigerian government sponsored scholarships for students to pursue higher education abroad. English-speaking Nigerian students excelled at universities in the U.S. and U.K., often finding opportunities to continue their education or begin their professional career in their host country. That emphasis on education has since filtered through to their children’s generation.
Dr. Jacqueline Nwando Olayiwola was born in Columbus, Ohio, to such Nigerian immigrant parents. Her mother is a retired engineer, now a professor at Walden University; her father is a retired professor, now a strategist at a consulting firm focused on governance in Africa. “Education was always a major priority for my parents because it was their ticket out of Nigeria,” Olayiwola says. Her parents used their network of academics to get Olayiwola thinking about a career in medicine from a young age — by 11, she was going to summits for minorities interested in health care. Olayiwola was constantly busy as a kid doing homework and sports and participating in National Honor Society and biomedical research programs, but it was the norm, she says; her Nigerian roots meant it was expected of her.
Today, Olayiwola is a family physician, the chief clinical transformation officer of RubiconMD, a leading health tech company, associate clinical professor at University of California, San Francisco, instructor in family medicine at Columbia University, and an author. Her new book, Papaya Head, detailing her experience as a first-generation Nigerian-American, was published in 2018. Olayiwola’s siblings are equally successful – her older brother, Okey Onyejekwe, is also a physician, her younger brother, Mekka Don, is a lawyer turned rapper, and her sister, Sylvia Ify Onyejekwe, Esq, is the managing partner of her own New Jersey law firm.
But Olayiwola feels she needs to do more. She doesn’t want America’s gain to be Nigeria’s permanent loss.
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Olayiwola and her brother, Okey, stay active in the Nigerian-American community. In 1998, they co-founded the Student Association of Nigerian Physicians in the Americas, which organizes at least two medical mission trips to Nigeria each year. Between 2000 and 2004, the siblings often flew the nearly 8,000 miles to Nigeria to perform screenings for preventable diseases. They took blood pressure, advised patients on diabetes and obesity prevention, and provided prenatal counseling in rural areas.
“I feel a tremendous sense of wanting to go back [to Nigeria] and help,” says Olayiwola.
It’s a sentiment shared by many in the Nigerian-American community. But it’s easier said than done for some of America’s most qualified professionals to leave world-class facilities and a comfortable life to return permanently to a nation that, while Africa’s largest economy, remains mired in political instability and corruption.
In the 1970s and ’80s, some foreign-educated Nigerian graduates returned home, but found political and economic instability in a postwar country. In 1966, the country’s military overthrew the regime of independent Nigeria’s first prime minister, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa. It was the first of a series of military coups — again, later, in 1966, then in 1975, 1976, 1983, 1985 and 1993 — that were to deny the country even a semblance of democracy until 1999.
“My parents were expected to study in the U.S. or U.K. and then go back to Nigeria,” says Dr. Nnenna Kalu Makanjuola, who grew up in Nigeria and now lives in Atlanta. Her parents did return, but with few jobs available in the economic decline of the 1980s, many Nigerians did not. Within a few years of their return, Makanjuola’s parents too decided it was best to build their lives elsewhere.
Makanjuola, who has a pharmacy degree, works in public health and is the founder and editor in chief of Radiant Health Magazine, came to the U.S. when her father won a Diversity Immigrant Visa in 1995 — a program Trump wants to dismantle. Makanjuola’s father moved the family to Texas so his children could have access to better universities. Makanjuola intended to one day pursue her career in Nigeria as her parents had, but it’s too hard to leave the U.S., she says: “Many Nigerians intend to go back, but it’s impractical because there’s more opportunity here.”
As an undergraduate student in Nigeria, Jacob Olupona, now a professor of African religious traditions at Harvard Divinity School, was a well-known activist in his community. He considered a career in politics, but a mentor changed his mind. The mentor told Olupona: “Don’t go into politics because you’re too honest and don’t join the military because you’re too smart.” So Olupona headed to Boston University instead, to study the history of religions — a subject he had always found fascinating as the son of a priest. Like Olayiwola, the importance of education was instilled in him from a young age but so too was the importance of spreading knowledge. “When you educate one person, you educate the whole community,” Olupona says. That belief is what translated into his career as a teacher.
Olupona stresses that Nigerians have also achieved a lot in their country of origin. Moving to the U.S. isn’t the only route to success, he says. Still, he believes the many academic opportunities in the U.S. have benefited Nigerians. “There’s something about America and education that we need to celebrate,” he says.
Marry those American opportunities with an upbringing that emphasizes education, a drive to serve the U.S. while not forgetting their roots, and a growing penchant for success, and you have a unique cocktail that is the Nigerian-American community today.
Anyone from the Nigerian diaspora will tell you their parents gave them three career choices: doctor, lawyer or engineer. For a younger generation of Nigerian-Americans, that’s still true, but many are adding a second career, or even a third, to that trajectory.
Anie Akpe works full time as vice president of mortgages at Municipal Credit Union in New York City, but she’s also the founder of Innov8tiv magazine, African Women in Technology (an education and mentorship program) and an app called NetWorq that connects professionals. Raised in the southern port city of Calabar, she had the Nigerian hustle baked into her upbringing. “There was no such thing as ‘can’t’ in our household,” she says. Akpe’s banking career fulfilled her parent’s expectations, but she wanted to do more. Four and a half years ago, she launched Innov8tiv to highlight success stories back home in Nigeria and throughout the African continent. Through her magazine and through African Women in Technology, which offers networking events, mentorship opportunities and internships, Akpe is helping propel women into careers like hers. “Africa is male-dominated in most sectors,” she says. “If I can show young women there are ways to do things within our culture that allow them to grow, then I’ve been successful.”
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Like Akpe, rapper Mekka Don took a traditional career route at first. He got a law degree from New York University and worked at a top-10 law firm, but he had always wanted to pursue music. At 25, Mekka, who is the younger brother of Jacqueline Olayiwola, and Sylvia and Okey Onyejekwe, decided to take the plunge.
Fellow attorneys ridiculed him, asking incredulously: “Who leaves a law career to become a rapper?” But his family was understanding — part of a shift in attitudes that Mekka says he increasingly sees in his parents’ generation of Nigerian-Americans. “My parents see how lucrative music can be,” he says, adding, “They also get excited when they see me on TV.”
The lawyer turned rapper has been featured on MTV and VH1, has a licensing agreement with ESPN to play his music during college football broadcasts and just released a new single, “Nip and Tuck.” He still has that law degree to fall back on and it comes in handy in his current career too. “I never need anyone to read contracts for me, so I save a ton on lawyer fees,” Mekka says.
The community’s drive to succeed sounds exhausting at times, particularly if you never feel you’ve reached the finish line. Omalu, the forensic pathologist, was recently in the news again after his independent autopsy of Sacramento youth Stephon Clark showed that the 22-year-old was repeatedly shot in the back by police officers, which conflicted with the Sacramento Police report.
But if you ask Omalu about his success, he’s quick to correct. “I’m not successful,” Omalu says, adding that he won’t consider himself so until he can “wake up one day, do absolutely nothing and there will be no consequences.” Part of Omalu’s humility is faith-based: “I was given a talent to serve,” he says. Omalu has eight degrees, has made life-changing medical discoveries and has been portrayed by a famous actor on screen, but he doesn’t revel in his accomplishments.
And what about Nigerians who come to the U.S. and don’t succeed? Wey, the activist chef, says there’s a lot of pressure to fit a certain mold when you’re Nigerian. Choosing the right career is only one part of that. “You have to be heterosexual, you have to have children, you have to have all of those degrees,” he says of the cultural expectations he was raised with. “It limits the possibilities of what Nigerians can be.”
While others agree it can be stressful at times, they say the high career bar isn’t a burden to them. “I don’t know anything else,” says Olayiwola about being raised to value education and success. Akpe feels the same. “You’re not thinking it’s hard, it’s just something you do,” she says.
Now that doctor, lawyer and engineer are no longer the only acceptable career options within the community, the path to professional achievement is rife with more possibilities than ever before. Sports, entertainment, music, the culinary arts — there are few fields Nigerian-Americans aren’t already influencing. And the negative stereotypes? Hold onto them at your own peril. Southerners our unity is very essential -Say no to The Jihadist-These Fulani Normads are strangers to our ancestoral lands -They cant and will not enslave us -Nigerians excels all over the world we are in Bidens government-we are government officials all over the world -Weve given the north 80% of our annual economic resources,now they want our land-They want a caliphate-I stand with Oduduwa Republic-I stand with Biafra-One united southern Nigeria. Nice one about the 'diasporeans'! What is of utmost urgency now is for them to use their wealth, experience, skills and connections to defend and protect Southerners from the genocide planned by the West African fulani terrorists on southern Nigerians. The genocide is very imminent-before the year is over. P.S. Biden and his deep-state friends are going to turn a blind eye... Don't ask me why! |
Politics › Re: "Free Nnamdi Kanu" Protest In Geneva, Switzerland - Pictures by atonement12: 8:42pm On Jul 18, 2021*. Modified: 9:03pm On Jul 18, 2021 |
Ibkhaleel: Southerners are embarassing themselves by their full support for criminals, terrorists on tribal sentimentalism. Don't be Hypocritical! Be specific on which group(s) of Southerners support terrorism! While you're at it, please tell us what ideology the fulani clerics and elites support and encourage. |
Politics › Re: "Free Nnamdi Kanu" Protest In Geneva, Switzerland - Pictures by atonement12: 8:33pm On Jul 18, 2021 |
uunwanaobong3: I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE PRESENT IGBO YOUTH WANT OR WHAT THEY ARE FIGHTING FOR.
I WATCH CUBANA AND OTHER PROMINENT IGBOS WASTING MONEY UP AND DOWN AND I SHED TEARS. I ASK MYSELF, IF THESE GUY WERE SERIOUS ABOUT FIGHTING FOR FREEDOM, WOULD THIS MONEY NOT HAVE BEEN USED TO LOBBY FORIEND GOVERNMENT AND OTHER INTERNATIONAL BODIES BOTH LOCALLY AND INTERNATIONALLY TO PUT PRESURE ON THE GOVERNMENT IN ORDER TO APPROVE AND IMPLEMENT RÈFERENDUM FOR THEM? OR BETTER STILL USED THESE MONEY TO BUY SUFFISTIGATED WEAPON IN PREPARGTION FOR THE RAINING DAYS AHEAD!
OJUKWU WITH ALL HIS MONEY DIDNT LAVISH THEM LIKE THE PRESENT CROP OF IGBO YOUTH ARE, INSTEAD HE USES HIS MONEY TO DEFEND HIS PEOPLE AGAINST EXTERNAL AGRESSION OF NIGERIA GOVERNMENT THOUGH HE LOST THE WAR.
NNAMDI KANU REALLY MEAN WELL FOR THE IGBOS, BUT HIS BROTHERS IN HIGH PLACES WHO SHOULD BE SUPPORTIVE OF HIM ARE SPENDING THEIR RESOURCE ON USELESS THINGS, INSTEAD OF JOINING HANDS TO FIGHT FOR THEIR FREEDOM. Don't mind them. They are oblivious of the genocide the West African fulani terrorists have in stock for them few months from now. Many of them are going to lose all their wealth, and lives soon, if they continue to reject the Lord's warning! |
Politics › Re: "Free Nnamdi Kanu" Protest In Geneva, Switzerland - Pictures by atonement12: 8:22pm On Jul 18, 2021 |
ezyy: Nigerians, try to love one another. It is all about LOVE. LOVE is the solution.
Considering our current state, I truly recommend this book for all Nigerians: THE YOUNG NIGERIAN GRADUATE BY ZION OCHERA Rubbish! This is not what the youths need now! Preparation to protect yourself and family members from planned fulani national genocide is of utmost urgency! |
Politics › Re: "Free Nnamdi Kanu" Protest In Geneva, Switzerland - Pictures by atonement12: 8:18pm On Jul 18, 2021 |
dreu2fine: Dnt worry anti biafra protest will come soon Organized by who? Fulani head-hunters? |