This article is in response to Mr. Osuji’s article: Nigerians in the USA are mostly takers not givers (http://centerformindscience.org/nigerians-in-the-usa-are-mostly-takers-not-givers). Mr. Osuji has written in this vein before as has Mr. Onuorah, et all. The theme is that Overall Nigerians (Africans) take much more than they contribute to their host countries. Contrary to Mr. Onuorah, Osuji admits that some Nigerians contribute to their village communities as against Onuorah’s belief that Nigerians neither contribute to America nor to Nigeria. Like all generalizations the truth is somewhere in the middle.
Let us first look at the history of Africans in the West. Western migration out of Europe to USA, Canada, Australia, South Africa, etc., was to found a new home. They left Europe without any plans to go back. They took their families with them and their capital and everything that could fit in their rickety boats with them. The first Africans came as slaves without any knowledge of where they were headed or any plans on how to survive in their new homes. So the mindsets were quite different.
Fast ward to the later arrivals like Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe. Up to my generations (1960-2000). The goal was to go to American/UK/Canada etc., to get education and to return to Nigeria or other African countries to contribute their newly acquired education to solving the problems of their country. As appropriately noted in Osuji’s article, the attitude was to take and not to invest.
And as soon as the education was received, these students went back and did indeed contribute: Zik, Awo, Mbonu Ojike, etc., contributed handsomely to the development of Nigeria. And others who were just educators, road builders, civil servants.
That was the standard operating procedures until recently when the governments in Africa became the governments of the people. Unfortunately many (far too many) of these leaders became servants of themselves rather than the servants of the people.
Slowly the attitude of get the education and go home to serve changed. The new African migrants are now settling down in the west and are beginning to contribute to both America and their countries of origin. Come with me if would please to Boston, Massachusetts. You will find a lot more than African food stores that Mr. Onuorah derided but also consulting firms, insurance agencies, gas stations, pharmacies, house and Office cleaning businesses, medical clinics, general merchandise stores, franchises, owned and operated by Nigerians and employing Nigerians and non-Nigerians and making payrolls week in and week out. There are professors in both community colleges and elite private and public schools. They are employed in fancy corporations in executive levels and so make contributions to the benefit of their host countries. This year there are two Nigerians running for House seats. Others have run and won as deputy mayors in large cities. In UK there are now Nigerians in British House of Commons and a Ghanaian in the House of Lords.
Africans are catching up with the rest of immigrants. They are beginning to see themselves as natives and are beginning to do what the natives do. And the West is gaining and Africa is losing.
It shall be noted that African immigrants are less likely to be on welfare than other groups, that their successes in all fields are unmatched by other population groups including the whites, higher college graduation rates, higher degrees, lower unemployment, etc.
The tragedy is that the higher contributions they make to USA/UK the less contributions they make to Africa.
The brain drain is real.
Written by Benjamin Obiajulu Aduba.
