Nigerian Americans (; ; ) are
Americans
Americans are the Citizenship of the United States, citizens and United States nationality law, nationals of the United States, United States of America.; ; Law of the United States, U.S. federal law does not equate nationality with Race (hu ...
who are of
Nigerian
Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was derived from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jo ...
ancestry. The number of Nigerian immigrants residing in the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
is rapidly growing, expanding from a small 1980 population of 25,000.
The 2022
American Community Survey
The American Community Survey (ACS) is an annual demographics survey program conducted by the United States Census Bureau. It regularly gathers information previously contained only in the long form of the United States census, decennial census ...
(ACS) estimated that 712,000 residents of the US were of Nigerian ancestry.
The 2012–2016 ACS placed the Nigerian-born population at 277,000.
Similar to its status as the most populous country in
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...
, Nigeria is also the African country with the most migrants to the US, as of 2013. In a study which was carried out by consumer genetics company
23andMe
23andMe Holding Co. is an American personal genomics and biotechnology company based in South San Francisco, California. It is best known for providing a direct-to-consumer genetic testing service in which customers provide a saliva testing, sali ...
which involved the DNA of 50,281 people of African descent in the United States,
Latin America
Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...
, and
Western Europe
Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's extent varies depending on context.
The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the Western half of the ancient Mediterranean ...
, it was revealed that Nigeria was the most common country of origin for testers from the United States, the
French Caribbean, and the
British Caribbean.
Most Nigerian Americans, like
British Nigerians, predominantly originate from southern Nigeria, as opposed to the
Islamic northern half of the country.
History
Atlantic slave trade (17th century – 1808)
The first people of ancestry from what is now modern
Nigeria
Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...
to arrive in what is now the modern
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
were brought by force as
slaves
Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...
. These enslaved people were not called Nigerians but were known by their ethnic nations due to Nigeria not being a country until the early 1900s, after the slave trade was over.
Calabar
Calabar (also referred to as Callabar, Calabari, Calbari, Cali and Kalabar) is the capital city of Cross River State, Nigeria. It was originally named Akwa Akpa, in the Efik language, as the Efik people dominate this area. The city is adjac ...
and
Badagry
Badagry, also spelled Badagri, (Gun language, Gun: Gbagli) is a coastal town and Local Government Areas of Nigeria, Local Government Area (LGA) in Lagos State, Nigeria. It is quite close to the city of Lagos, and located on the north bank of Po ...
(
Gberefu Island), Nigeria, became major points of export of enslaved people from
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...
to the
Americas
The Americas, sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America and South America.''Webster's New World College Dictionary'', 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio. When viewed as a sing ...
during the 17th and 18th centuries. Most slave ships frequenting this port were English. Most of the slaves of
Bight of Biafra
The Bight of Biafra, also known as the Bight of Bonny, is a bight off the west- central African coast, in the easternmost part of the Gulf of Guinea. This "bight" has also sometimes been erroneously referred to as the "Bight of Africa" because ...
– many of whom hailed from the Igbo hinterland – were
trafficked to
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...
. After 400 years in the United States and the lack of documentation because of enslavement,
African Americans
African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa ...
have often been unable to track their ancestors to specific ethnic groups or regions of Africa. Like Americans of other origins, at this point most African Americans have ancestors of a variety of ethnic backgrounds. Most of the people who were stolen from Nigeria were likely to have been
Igbo or
Yoruba.
Other ethnic groups such as the
Fula and
Edo
Edo (), also romanized as Jedo, Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of Tokyo.
Edo, formerly a (castle town) centered on Edo Castle located in Musashi Province, became the '' de facto'' capital of Japan from 1603 as the seat of the Tokugawa shogu ...
peoples were also captured and transported to the colonies in the New World. The Igbo were exported mainly to
Maryland
Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...
and
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...
.
They comprised the majority of all enslaved Africans in Virginia during the 18th century: of the 37,000 Africans trafficked to Virginia from Calabar during the eighteenth century, 30,000 were Igbo. In the next century, people of Igbo descent were taken with settlers who moved to
Kentucky
Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...
. According to some historians, the Igbo also comprised most of the slaves in Maryland.
This group was characterized by high rates of rebellion and suicide, as the people resisted and fought back against enslavement. Many Nigerians of Igbo origin were also brought into the US in the late 1960s as war refugees during
Nigerian Civil War
The Nigerian Civil War (6 July 1967 – 15 January 1970), also known as the Biafran War, Nigeria-Biafra War, or Biafra War, was fought between Nigeria and the Republic of Biafra, a Secession, secessionist state which had declared its independen ...
.
Some
Nigerian ethnic groups, such as the Yoruba, and some northern Nigerian ethnic groups, had traditional, cultural identification marks, such as tattoo and scarification designs. These could have assisted a kidnapped and enslaved person who escaped in locating other members of their ethnic group, but few enslaved people managed to escape the colonies. In the colonies, slavers tried to dissuade the practice of traditional tribal customs. They also mixed people of different ethnic groups to make it more difficult for them to communicate and band together in rebellion.
US President
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson (, 1743July 4, 1826) was an American Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He was the primary author of the United States Declaration of Indepe ...
officially
outlawed the Atlantic slave trade in 1808, although some enslaved Africans continued to be illegally smuggled into the country and the institution of slavery persisted until the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...
.
Modern migration (1960s–present)
In modern times, most Americans of unambiguous Nigerian ancestry are voluntary immigrants and their descendants. Various leaders of the Nigerian independence movement such as
Eyo Ita,
Mbonu Ojike
Mazi Mbonu Ojike (c 1914 - November 29, 1956) was a Nigerian nationalist and writer. He advanced from a choirmaster, organist, and teacher in an Anglican school to become a student in America and then a cultural and economic nationalist. He was t ...
, and
Nnamdi Azikiwe
Nnamdi Benjamin Azikiwe, (16 November 1904 – 11 May 1996), commonly referred to as Zik of Africa, was a Nigerian politician, statesman, and revolutionary leader who served as the 3rd and first black governor-general of Nigeria from 1960 ...
were educated in the United States during the 1930s-1940s. When President
Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), also known as LBJ, was the 36th president of the United States, serving from 1963 to 1969. He became president after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, under whom he had served a ...
signed the
Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965
The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, also known as the Hart–Celler Act and more recently as the 1965 Immigration Act, was a federal law passed by the 89th United States Congress and signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson. The ...
, US restrictions on immigration from regions outside of
Northwestern Europe
Northwestern Europe, or Northwest Europe, is a loosely defined subregion of Europe, overlapping Northern and Western Europe. The term is used in geographic, history, and military contexts.
Geographic definitions
Geographically, Northwestern ...
were eliminated, allowing for a greater number of Nigerians in the United States.
The modern generation of Nigerian migrants was initially motivated by the desire to pursue educational opportunities in undergraduate and postgraduate institutions in the United States. During the 1960s and the 1970s aftermath of the Nigerian Civil War, the Nigerian government funded the education of Nigerian students attending US universities. While this was occurring, 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.
["Nigerians in Chicago"](_blank)
Posted by Charles Adams Cogan and Cyril Ibe, ''Encyclopedia of Chicago''; Retrieved May 2, 2013
During the 1980s, a larger wave of Nigerians immigrated to the United States. This migration was driven by political and economic problems exacerbated by the military regimes of self-styled generals
Ibrahim Babangida
Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (born 17 August 1941) is a Nigerian statesman and military dictator who ruled as military president of Nigeria from 1985 when he orchestrated a coup d'état against his military and political arch-rival Muhammadu ...
and
Sani Abacha
Sani Abacha (; (20 September 1943 – 8 June 1998) was a Nigerian military dictator and statesman who ruled Nigeria with an iron fist as military head of state from 1993 following a palace coup d'état until his death in 1998.
Abacha's seiz ...
. Other émigrés comprised a large number of refugees, fleeing on account of religious persecutions, endless political unrests and ethnic/tribal conflicts, the presumption of Nigeria as a failing state, or just to enhance the quality of lives for themselves and their families (Ogbuagu, 2013). 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.
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
Chief Olusegun Matthew Okikiola Ogunboye Aremu Obasanjo (; ; born 5 March 1937) is a Nigerian former army general, politician and statesman who served as Nigeria's head of state from 1976 to 1979 and later as its president from 1999 to 200 ...
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 socioeconomic situation still unstable (Ogbuagu, 2013b).
Since 1980, the estimated population of foreign-born Nigerians has grown from 25,000 to 392,811 in 2019.
Socioeconomics
Education

The Migration Policy Institute reports that 29% of Nigerian Americans have a master's degree, PhD, or an advanced professional degree (compared to 11% of the US population overall).
Nigerian Americans are also known for their contributions to
medicine
Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for patients, managing the Medical diagnosis, diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, ...
,
science
Science is a systematic discipline that builds and organises knowledge in the form of testable hypotheses and predictions about the universe. Modern science is typically divided into twoor threemajor branches: the natural sciences, which stu ...
,
technology
Technology is the application of Conceptual model, conceptual knowledge to achieve practical goals, especially in a reproducible way. The word ''technology'' can also mean the products resulting from such efforts, including both tangible too ...
,
arts
The arts or creative arts are a vast range of human practices involving creativity, creative expression, storytelling, and cultural participation. The arts encompass diverse and plural modes of thought, deeds, and existence in an extensive ...
, and
literature
Literature is any collection of Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially novels, Play (theatre), plays, and poetry, poems. It includes both print and Electroni ...
. In 2023, 64.4% of Nigerian Americans had attained a bachelor's degree compared to 36.2% for the total population.
Nigerian culture has long emphasized education, placing value on pursuing academic excellence as a means to
financial security. Examples of Nigerian Americans in education include
Akintunde Akinwande,
Oyekunle Olukotun,
Jacob Olupona, and
Dehlia Umunna, professors at the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...
,
Stanford University
Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...
, and
Harvard University
Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...
, respectively. Recent famous examples include
ImeIme Umana, the first black woman to be elected president of the
Harvard Law Review
The ''Harvard Law Review'' is a law review published by an independent student group at Harvard Law School. According to the ''Journal Citation Reports'', the ''Harvard Law Review''s 2015 impact factor of 4.979 placed the journal first out of ...
,
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala (; born 13 June 1954) is a Nigerian economist, who has been serving as the Director-General of the World Trade Organization since March 2021. She is the first woman and first African to lead the World Trade Organization as d ...
, the first woman to become the head of the
World Trade Organization
The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an intergovernmental organization headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland that regulates and facilitates international trade. Governments use the organization to establish, revise, and enforce the rules that g ...
(WTO), and
Tanitoluwa Adewumi, a homeless child
refugee
A refugee, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), is a person "forced to flee their own country and seek safety in another country. They are unable to return to their own country because of feared persecution as ...
who went on to become a
chess prodigy
Chess is a board game for two players. It is an abstract strategy game that involves no hidden information and no elements of chance. It is played on a square board consisting of 64 squares arranged in an 8×8 grid. The players, referred to ...
. Examples of Nigerian Americans in popular media include Dr.
Bennet Omalu, portrayed in the 2015 film ''
Concussion
A concussion, also known as a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), is a head injury that temporarily affects brain functioning. Symptoms may include headache, dizziness, difficulty with thinking and concentration, sleep disturbances, a brief ...
'', and
Emmanuel Acho, former professional football player and host of the weekly activist webcast ''Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man''.
A large 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
The term multiracial people refers to people who are mixed with two or more
races and the term multi-ethnic people refers to people who are of more than one ethnicities. A variety of terms have been used both historically and presently for mul ...
parentage.
Other top universities, including
Yale
Yale University is a private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, and one of the nine colonial colleges ch ...
,
Princeton
Princeton University is a private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the Unit ...
,
Penn,
Columbia, Rice,
Duke
Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...
, and
Berkeley, report a similar pattern. As a result, there is a question as to whether
affirmative action
Affirmative action (also sometimes called reservations, alternative access, positive discrimination or positive action in various countries' laws and policies) refers to a set of policies and practices within a government or organization seeking ...
programs adequately reach their original targets: African Americans who are descendants of American slaves and their discriminatory history in the US.
According to the 2021 Open Doors report, the top five US institutions with the largest student population of Nigerian descent (in no particular order) are
Texas Southern University
Texas Southern University (Texas Southern or TSU) is a Public university, public Historically black colleges and universities, historically Black university in Houston. The university is a member school of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund an ...
,
University of Houston
The University of Houston (; ) is a Public university, public research university in Houston, Texas, United States. It was established in 1927 as Houston Junior College, a coeducational institution and one of multiple junior colleges formed in ...
,
University of Texas at Arlington
The University of Texas at Arlington (UTA or UT Arlington) is a public research university in Arlington, Texas, United States. It is the second oldest university in the University of Texas System and was founded in 1895. It was in the Texas A& ...
,
University of North Texas
The University of North Texas (UNT) is a public university, public research university located in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. Its main campus is in Denton, Texas, Denton, with a satellite campus in Frisco, Texas, Frisco. It serves as the ...
, and
Houston Community College
Houston Community College (HCC), also known as the Houston Community College System (HCCS), is a community college that operates community colleges in Houston, Texas, Houston, Missouri City, Texas, Missouri City, Greater Katy, and Stafford, Texas ...
. According to
Institute of International Education
The Institute of International Education (IIE) is an American 501(c) non-profit organization that focuses on international student exchange and aid, foreign affairs, and international peace and security. IIE creates programs of study and training ...
's 2017 Open Doors report, 11,710 international students from Nigeria studied in the US during the 2016–2017 academic year, the 12th highest country of origin and highest of any African country.
Economics
56.9% of Nigerian Americans work in Management, business, science, and arts occupations compared to 43.2% for the total population. Nigerian Americans in 2023 had a median household income of $80,711 which was higher than the total population's. However, Nigerian Americans had a slightly lower per capita income ($43,030) than the total population ($43,313). Personal earnings for Nigerian American males was $67,475 and $61,208 for females, both of which were higher than the total population's which was $63,975 for males and $52,370 for females. Nigerian Americans had a slightly lower poverty rate than the total population. Nigerian American families also had a lower poverty rate then the total population. Nigerian Americans have a high labor force participation rate of 77.7%.
Relations with other African Americans
In 2017, sociologist Onoso Imoagene argued that second generation Nigerian Americans are forming a distinct "diasporic Nigerian ethnicity" rather than assimilating into the mainstream
African American culture
African-American culture, also known as Black American culture or Black culture in American English, refers to the cultural expressions of African Americans, either as part of or distinct from mainstream American culture. African-American/Bl ...
, in contrast to what should have been predicted by
segmented assimilation theory. Limited sociological research suggests that Nigerian Americans may have a more positive opinion of the American police compared to the broader black community.
The Marshall Project and
Prison Legal News have reported that the
Texas Department of Criminal Justice
The Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) is a department of the government of the U.S. state of Texas. The TDCJ is responsible for statewide criminal justice for adult offenders, including managing offenders in state prisons, state jails ...
heavily recruits Nigerians to serve as guards in Texas prisons, where a significant proportion of the prisoners are black.
Demography and areas of concentrated residence

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.
US states with the largest Nigerian populations
The 2016
American Community Survey
The American Community Survey (ACS) is an annual demographics survey program conducted by the United States Census Bureau. It regularly gathers information previously contained only in the long form of the United States census, decennial census ...
estimates that 380,785 US residents report Nigerian ancestry.
The 2012-2016 ACS
estimates that 277,027 American residents were born in Nigeria. It also estimates that these states have the highest Nigerian-born population:
# Texas 60,173
# Maryland 31,263
# New York 29,619
# California 23,302
# Georgia 19,182
# Illinois 15,389
# New Jersey 14,780
# Florida 8,274
# Massachusetts 6,661
# Pennsylvania 6,371
# North Carolina 3,561
Religious demographics

In terms of religion, the Nigerian community in the United States is split, as approximately 70% practice
Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...
while 28% follow
Islam
Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...
and the remainder practice other religions (2%).
Traditional attire
Among Nigerian Americans, traditional Nigerian attire remains very popular. However, because the fabric is often hard to acquire outside of Nigeria, traditional attire is not worn on an everyday basis but rather, reserved for special occasions such as weddings, Independence Day celebrations, birthday ceremonies and Muslim Eid celebrations. 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
Solange Piaget Knowles (; born June 24, 1986) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She expressed an interest in music from an early age and had temporary stints as a backup dancer for Destiny's Child, which featured her older sister ...
and most notably
Erykah Badu
Erica Abi Wright (born February 26, 1971), known professionally as Erykah Badu, is an American singer and songwriter. Influenced by rhythm and blues, R&B, Soul music, soul, and hip hop, Badu rose to prominence in the late 1990s when her debut al ...
. On the fashion runway, Nigerian American designers like Boston-born Kiki Kimanu are able to combine the rich distinct colors of traditional attire with Western styles to make clothes that are highly sought after by young Nigerian professionals and Americans alike.
Nigerian American ethnic groups
Nigerian-Americans can be subdivided into Nigeria's three largest ethnic groups - the
Igbo,
Yoruba, and
Hausa-Fulani.
Igbo American
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 moved to the US following the effects of the
Biafran War
The Nigerian Civil War (6 July 1967 – 15 January 1970), also known as the Biafran War, Nigeria-Biafra War, or Biafra War, was fought between Nigeria and the Republic of Biafra, a secessionist state which had declared its independence from N ...
(1967–1970).
Yoruba American
Yoruba Americans are Americans of Yoruba descent. The Yoruba people (') 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 US, 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.
Ibibio American
Ibibio Americans are Nigerian Americans from present day
Akwa Ibom State
Akwa Ibom is a States of Nigeria, state in the South South, South-South geopolitical zone of Nigeria. It borders Cross River State to the east, Rivers State and Abia State to the west and north-west, and the Atlantic Ocean to the south. The state ...
and
Cross River State
Cross River State is a state in the South-South geopolitical zone of Nigeria. Named for the Cross River, the state was formed from the eastern part of the Eastern Region on 27 May 1967. The state has its capital as Calabar and is bordered to ...
of Nigeria. They are identified by their common names and language that include the
Efik
The Efik are an ethnic group located primarily in southern Nigeria, and western Cameroon. Within Nigeria, the Efik can be found in the present-day Cross River State and Akwa Ibom state. The Efik speak the Efik language which is a member of the ...
,
Ibibio and
Annang dialects of the
Ibibio Language
Ibibio is the native language of the Ibibio people of Nigeria, belonging to the Ibibio-Efik dialect cluster of the Cross River languages. The name ''Ibibio'' is sometimes used for the entire dialect cluster. In pre- colonial times, it was written ...
. The main seaport where slaves were moved out of Nigeria is located in Calabar, the capital city of
Cross River State
Cross River State is a state in the South-South geopolitical zone of Nigeria. Named for the Cross River, the state was formed from the eastern part of the Eastern Region on 27 May 1967. The state has its capital as Calabar and is bordered to ...
and the first British Administrative Headquarter in southern Nigeria.
Fulani and Hausa American
Fulani and Hausa Americans are people in the United States that maintain a cultural identity of various levels from the Fulani and Hausa ethnic groups and now call the United States home. Most speak Hausa, Fulfulde as well as English fluently and Arabic on various levels. The first wave of Fulani immigrants arrived as a result of the Atlantic slave trade. Recent Fulani and Hausa arrivals immigrated to the United States during the 1990s. They now make up a large percentage of the Muslim communities across America.
Organizations
Nigerian American organizations in the US include:
* Houston, Texas–based Nigerian Union Diaspora (NUD)
* Society for Africans in the Diaspora (SAiD Institute)
* Houston, Texas–based Nigerian American Multicultural Council, NAMC (namchouston.org)
* San Antonio Nigerian Nurses Association
* Nigeria Peoples Association of San Antonio
* Washington, D.C.–based Nigerian-American Council or Nigerian-American Leadership Council
* The Alliance of Nigerian Organizations in Atlanta, Georgia
* The Nigerian Association Utah
* The Nigerian Ladies Association of Texas (NLAT)
* The Nigerian American Multi Service Association, NAMSA (namsa.org)
* First Nigeria Organisation
* United Nigeria Association of Tulsa
* 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-), in tribal issues, ethnic, educational, social, political and economic. Through the ANOG, the Office of Nigerian Consulate in
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...
reaches the Nigerian community associations.
* National Council of Nigerian Muslim Organizations in USA;
[National Council of Nigerian Muslim Organizations in USA](_blank)
/ref>
* 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.
* 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. and the Nigerian American Multi Service Association (NAMSA) provides services to community members.
* Nigerian Lawyers Association (NLA): Incorporated in 1999, the NLA's principal objectives are to cultivate the science of jurisprudence. Its first president was John Edozie of Madu, Edozie, and Madu law firm.
* NNAUSA is an organization for the Ngwa Diaspora in America
Nigerian American associations representing the interests of determined groups include:
* The Association of Nigerian Physicians in the Americas (ANPA)
* Igbo Studies Association Inc., USA
* Nigerian Nurses Association of USA, Inc.
* Ogbakor Ikwerre USA, Inc. is a non–profit organization of Ikwerre indigenes residing in the United States of America and Canada. We are committed to the survival and prosperity of the Ikwerre people and the entire Ikwerre community. OIUSA is an incorporate body that was founded on July 6, 1996 in Los Angeles, California. The organization is incorporated in the city of Atlanta, Georgia, but headquartered in Los Angeles. Membership comprises individuals and associations that subscribe to OIUSA vision. Members come from all over the 50 states in the US and Canada
* Nigerian Student Association
Notable people
See also
* Igbo Americans
* Yoruba Americans
* Africans in the United States
* African immigration to Latin America
* History of Nigerian Americans in Dallas–Fort Worth
* History of Nigerian Americans in San Antonio
* List of topics related to Black and African people
A list is a set of discrete items of information collected and set forth in some format for utility, entertainment, or other purposes. A list may be memorialized in any number of ways, including existing only in the mind of the list-maker, but ...
* Nigeria–United States relations
Bilateral relations between the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Nigeria and the United States, United States of America were formally inaugurated when Nigeria attained its independence from Britain in 1960. In the 21st century, they have entailed an ...
References
Further reading
* Emeka, Amon. "'Just black' or not 'just black?' ethnic attrition in the Nigerian-American second generation." ''Ethnic and Racial Studies'' 42.2 (2019): 272–290.
* Ette, Ezekiel Umo. ''Nigerian Immigrants in the United States: Race, Identity, and Acculturation'' (Lexington Books, 2012).
* Ogbaa, Kalu. ''The Nigerian Americans'' (Greenwood, 2003).
* Ogbuagu, B. C. (2013). “Diasporic Transnationalism”: Towards a framework for conceptualizing and understanding the ambivalence of the social construction of “Home” and the myth of Diasporic Nigerian homeland return. Journal of Educational and Social Research 3(2), 189–212; Doi:10.5901/jesr. 2013.v3n2p189; ISSN 2239-978X. http://www.mcser.org/journal/index.php/jesr/article/view/157.
* Ogbuagu, B. C. (2013). Remittances and in-kind products as agency for community development and anti-poverty sustainability: Making a case for Diasporic Nigerians. International Journal of Development and Sustainability 2(3),1828-1857. Online – www.isdsnet.com/ijds ISDS Article ID: IJDS13052905
* Rich, Timothy. "You can trust me: A multimethod analysis of the Nigerian email scam." ''Security Journal'' 31.1 (2018): 208–225
online
* Sarkodie-Mensah, Kwasi. "Nigerian Americans." in ''Gale Encyclopedia of Multicultural America,'' edited by Thomas Riggs, (3rd ed., vol. 3, Gale, 2014), pp. 329–341
online
{{Demographics of the United States
American
West African diaspora in the United States
African-American society