This thread may be my last thread I ever create on this site due to me probably never returning to this site(though I took a very long hiatus). And so I want to go out with a bang. The reason whyI created this thread is because when involving African-Americans from the United States it is a popular and celebrated talking point on not only this site, but in real life by Africans mostly Nigerians that, "African-Americans are THUGS!", "African-Americans are lazy and don't value education!", "Us Nigerians are successful meanwhile AA's aren't doing anything!"

A popular yet shrewd delusion among Nigerian immigrants living in the state. They claim AA's "need to stop whining to the white man", yet fail to realize that African-Americans unlike them are a minority group, a disenfranchised minority group like Palestinians, Afro-Brazilians, Native Americans and even Australian Aboriginals in Australia. But that's a talking point for another time.

But like I said it is popular for Africans specially Nigerians to boost and brag about how much better they are doing in education than AA's in the states while also trying to look down on AA's. But really their bragging rights are not even based on reality.

The African population in American in total is around 1.6 million according to this link.
http://immigrationpolicy.org/just-facts/african-immigrants-america-demographic-overview

That's INSIGNIFICANT. Meanwhile the total African-American population in the United States is 40 million according to this site!
http://blackdemographics.com/

That's more than the population of Canada itself! A population of 1.6 million vs a population of 40+million. This is NOT a fair or balanced comparison. Of course theres going to be more Africans being successful in the USA than AA's. The numbers are not stacked right. Hell the African population in America is even smaller than that of Asians which is 19k million!

What people on this site are essentially doing is that they have a skewed self perception of how great they think they are based on a tiny/small amount of people who became successful outside of their native lands in comparison to the full range (poor to upper class) of the African-American population without taking into consideration, their own self selection process. They don't realize how flawed it is when they do that.

But I'm not done yet. I'll go on even further. I'm part AA, but my other half is Haitian. My Haitian side were first gen immigrants, but they were first gen immigrants that already had a financial base back home(Haiti). In the area they lived in they were well off compared to the blacks that lived in that area. Same for the other Haitians. Does that mean Haitians are doing better than AA's in America? Maybe? Who knows, but what we do know is that the number of Haitians in America is much smaller than the African Americans in America. And the selective few Haitians that become success here does not represent how the average Haitian lives back in Haiti.

Also my sister is currently in Ethiopia where she is teaching English. She tells us that the people there almost consider her "rich", because she is living better than most of the citizens there. She lives in the nicest part of Adidas Abba and has more of the "luxury" compared to most of the citizens in the country. Again doesn't mean my sister represents all AAs back home.

But more importantly, I want to use Asians as an example since they are always thought to be the "model minority" in America.First and foremost Asian-Americans are not a monolithic group, but a branched together along with South Asians(Indians), Southeast Asians and East Asians. All three groups which are culturally different. All three populations which are still small compared to the larger Black American population in America, but back to the point... I remember having a discussion with an Asian-American on another site and he himself even admitted that the Asian success in America is a bit over-exaggerated. The point is Asian success like almost all immigrants who are successful in America or heck any other country is largely a matter of "selection". The main Asian immigrants to the US are Chinese, Indian and Korean, and a large portion of them went down the student visa->work visa->green card route; I don't know what things are like in the various Chinatowns, but one of my Indian friends said that his parents would invite other Indian families over from time to time, and all of them were engineers or doctors or managers because they came here to study those courses, got jobs and stayed back. It's not an easy thing to study in the United States; it requires a good deal of money and a decent degree of academic achievement. So the Asians who manage to come to the United States and stay back to form communities already have some foundation and some money to help them. It's easier to build successful communities when the people forming them already are successful or have some measure of success going for them from the beginning.

But hey if you guys don't believe me, here's a good article by forbes that backs up my point.

Most Americans know only one thing about Indians–they are really good at spelling bees. When Sameer Mishra correctly spelled guerdon last May to win the 2008 Scripps National Spelling Bee, he became the sixth Indian-American winner in the past 10 years. Finishing second was Sidharth Chand. Kavya Shivashankar took fourth place, and Janhnavi Iyer grabbed the eighth spot. And this was not even the banner year for Indian Americans–in 2005, the top four finishers were all of Indian descent.

It’s tempting to dismiss Indian-American dominance of the spelling bee as just a cultural idiosyncrasy. But Indian success in more important fields is just as eye-catching. Despite constituting less than 1% of the U.S. population, Indian-Americans are 3% of the nation’s engineers, 7% of its IT workers and 8% of its physicians and surgeons. The overrepresentation of Indians in these fields is striking–in practical terms, your doctor is nine times more likely to be an Indian-American than is a random passerby on the street.

Indian Americans are in fact a new “model minority.” This term dates back to the 1960s, when East Asians–Americans of Chinese, Japanese and Korean descent–were noted for their advanced educations and high earnings.

East Asians continue to excel in the U.S, but among minority groups, Indians are clearly the latest and greatest “model.” In 2007, the median income of households headed by an Indian American was approximately $83,000, compared with $61,000 for East Asians and $55,000 for whites.

About 69% of Indian Americans age 25 and over have four-year college degrees, which dwarfs the rates of 51% and 30% achieved by East Asians and whites, respectively. Indian Americans are also less likely to be poor or in prison, compared with whites.

[size=20pt]So why do Indian Americans perform so well? A natural answer is self-selection. Someone willing to pull up roots and move halfway around the world will tend to be more ambitious and hardworking than the average person. But people want to come to the U.S. for many reasons, some of which–being reunited with other family members, for example–have little to do with industriousness. Ultimately, immigration policy decides which kinds of qualities our immigrants possess.[/size]

Under our current immigration policy, a majority of legal immigrants to the U.S. obtain green cards (permanent residency) because they have family ties to U.S. citizens, but a small number (15% in 2007) are selected specifically for their labor market value. The proportion of Indian immigrants given an employment-related green card is one of the highest of any nationality. Consequently, it is mainly India’s educated elite and their families who come to the U.S.

http://www.forbes.com/2009/02/24/bobby-jindal-indian-americans-opinions-contributors_immigrants_minority.html


Now compare that tiny minority in America to their homeland



Thirty-three percent of world’s poorest live in India
http://blogs.reuters.com/india/2013/04/18/thirty-three-percent-of-worlds-poorest-live-in-india/

One in three of world's poorest live in India
http://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/One-in-three-of-worlds-poorest-live-in-India/2013/04/19/article1552345.ece

Now does anyone see the big gap?

But I'm not done just yet. Lets talk about African-Americans moving to African countries. I just found out that AA's are moving to Ghana in record numbers.
http://afkinsider.com/29041/african-americans-visiting-moving-ghana-record-numbers/

The AA's that are moving to that country are among the most successful and most educated. I even heard that they are more educated than Ghanaians as a whole. Why is that? AGAIN Because the numbers are skewed due to there being so few Americans and so many Ghanaians. That is the same situation that exist in the USA; the few Africans hitting the USA are mostly of the educated class, whereas they are being compared against all African Americans; including the educated class and your regular street AA's. Hell I remember watching a doc of AA's moving to South Africa, most of the AA's being rich and successful businessmen/women and living better than the native South Africans, but again the numbers are SKEWED!

Now what wouldn't be skewed is your average low end citizen from Lagos and other parts of Africa start immigrating to the USA and then you are going to see those haughty numbers plummet fast; because Lagos has a true criminal class. And then lets wait until your average AA hoodrat from the USA start hitting . Then you are going to realize that every society has educated people and every society has got people holding you back.

Again no duh there are more successful Nigerians in America than AA's. A small population vs a large population. One can easily find more AA "thugs" in America than Nigerian/African "thugs". One can easily point to AA's in Detroit, New Orleans and Chicago and say, "see see! dose lazy akatas dont value education!" While one can easily point to AA's in Atlanta, Charlotte North Carolina, Dallas, Maryland or any southern state(where AA's mostly reside) to prove AA's are in fact doing good. Again AA's are a larger population than Africans in the USA. You will find no AA "thugs" in Ghana or South Africa, but instead the most successful/educated of the AA class.

So before we go around this site saying, "we're doing better than these akatas in America", at least have this in mind.

Rant.

Edit: To be clear this isn't a thread to bash Africans, but call out the ones who try to look down on AA's and other diasporans.

@RandomAfricanAm

If you still come on here what are your thoughts?

Quite true.

The African success in the US is actually as a result of an intentional brain drain. I know for a fact that at least in my country, you need to present a year of your bank statement. There is a lower limit of accepted cash in your account. For students, you present your academic certificates too. "A" students are rarely denied a US visa. Neither are proffessionals.

This in effect cuts off the majority of the travelling citizens, while encouraging the most productive to go.

Muafrika2:
Quite true.

The African success in the US is actually as a result of an intentional brain drain. I know for a fact that at least in my country, you need to present a year of your bank statement. There is a lower limit of accepted cash in your account. For students, you present your academic certificates too. "A" students are rarely denied a US visa. Neither are proffessionals.

This in effect cuts off the majority of the travelling citizens, while encouraging the most productive to go.

Exactly...

The truth is Nigerians are some of the most educated people in the world. #1 in the U.K. from an educational standpoint and #1 in the United States.

I'm not saying it's right for some Nigerians to have that despicable attitude of looking down on African Americans. Those are Nigerians that don't know better.

But in regards to educational achievement, you can't take that away from Nigerians.

Fulaman198:
The truth is Nigerians are some of the most educated people in the world. #1 in the U.K. from an educational standpoint and #1 in the United States.

I'm not saying it's right for some Nigerians to have that despicable attitude of looking down on African Americans. Those are Nigerians that don't know better.

But in regards to educational achievement, you can't take that away from Nigerians.

Again their population is small in the UK and tiny in the USA. No more than 266k in the USA. Like I said shrewd bragging rights.

A better scale would be going by people actually in their country who are representations.
https://fortunehub.net/2015/12/11/10-of-the-most-educated-countries-in-the-world/

We find Russians are the most educated. Nigeria or India are nowhere on the list.

KidStranglehold:


Again their population is small in the UK and tiny in the USA. No more than 266k in the USA. Like I said shrewd bragging rights.

A better scale would be going by people actually in their country who are representations.
https://fortunehub.net/2015/12/11/10-of-the-most-educated-countries-in-the-world/

We find Russians are the most educated. Nigeria or India are nowhere on the list.

Part of the reason Nigerians and African Americans don't get along is because of the fact that they try to shortchange one another. Read what I said in my previous statement.

http://www.zdnet.com/article/nigerians-have-the-highest-level-of-education-in-the-us/

Fulaman198:


Part of the reason Nigerians and African Americans don't get along is because of the fact that they try to shortchange one another. Read what I said in my previous statement.

http://www.zdnet.com/article/nigerians-have-the-highest-level-of-education-in-the-us/

I already know that, but you're still not getting the context behind that like I stated. Again "self-selection process". Heck Muafrika2 too summed it up perfectly. Nigerians are the most educated group in the USA? Again true, but what's also true is that their population is one of the SMALLEST in the USA...

Hey kidstranglehold,

You've been quite a dedicated member on this forum for as long as I remember and back in the day we would debate and argue over stuff. Lol. You also come off as quite smart. Please don't go. Remain with us.

bigfrancis21:
Hey kidstranglehold,

You've been quite a dedicated member on this forum for as long as I remember and back in the day we would debate and argue over stuff. Lol. You also come off as quite smart. Please don't go. Remain with us.

Yeah now I remember the debates we had.

Anyways thanks for the compliments, its just that I take VERY long hiatus from this site since most of the members I hung with left. I'll come around here and there to post some good stuff.

Anyways what are your thoughts of this thread? Again like I said not trying to bash Nigerians. But just trying to make note of the contexts behind Nigerians and heck all immigrants success in America.

KidStranglehold:


Yeah now I remember the debates we had.

Anyways thanks for the compliments, its just that I take VERY long hiatus from this site since most of the members I hung with left. I'll come around here and there to post some good stuff.

Anyways what are your thoughts of this thread? Again like I said not trying to bash Nigerians. But just trying to make note of the contexts behind Nigerians and heck all immigrants success in America.

Yea so many good members from back in the day have left the forum. Members that used to make your membership on nairaland worthwhile. Just the other day Radoillo deactivated his account. I barely see pazienza's posts nowadays. I just hope tonychristopher wouldn't leave us too soon. I'm beginning to feel like one of the oldest members on here.

As regards the topic, you're right when you said the population figures are skewed. From a smaller number of people, one is won't to find a higher representation compared to a larger number of people. However, the drive for education Nigerians have cannot be underestimatedd. Home and abroad, Nigerians are attending school in droves, breaking down racial barriers and countering previously held racial views about black people in education worldwide. The Igbos of Nigeria are said to have the highest IQ of blacks worldwide and in the UK have consistently outperformed their white, Pakistani, Indian etc peers. Just recently an Igbo, Bennet Omalu, was honored by the US congress for his ground breaking research and diagnosis about the CTE syndrome that affects football players arising from multiple concussions to the brains over time. There are AAs who have achieved great feats in different academic endeavours in America as well, many I can barely mention. However, comparing the entire figure of AAs and Nigerias who have college degrees, there are more Nigerians who still have degrees (home and abroad) than AAs. The figure of African Americans who have college degrees is at about 18% of the entire population of about 45m (i.e 8 million of 45 million african americans have college degrees) and on the other hand at least 50 to 75 million of over 170 million (nearly 50% or even higher. This is my own estimate based on my observation from growing up in Nigeria as I do not have official figures of the percentage of educated Nigerians) of Nigeria's population have at least college degrees. The college degree population of Nigerians is more represented as you move down towards the Christian south, especially amongst the Igbo, Yoruba, Ibibio, Edos etc people who have the highest college attendance rates of all Nigerian ethnic groups. Members of these groups are wont to travel out of the country more than others for educational and financial pastures. This explains why the Nigerians you find in the US are usually Igbo or Yoruba. Nigerians barely stop at bachelor's degrees but many go on to masters level and some PhD and Doctorate levels.

Contrary to expectations, one would expect to find a higher representation of educated people amongst AAs given their smaller population compared to Nigerians but that is not the case.

No doubt, I see more drive for and emphasis placed on education amongst Nigerians than amongst African Americans. Within a typical Nigerian household, whether middle class or poor, from your young age it is hammered into your head that you MUST go to school regardless of what you want to do in life - be it business or as an employee. Igbo businessmen in Nigeria are also going to school even when they need not to because nobody wants to be seen as illiterate. Going to school in Nigeria, today, has become like a cultural routine. In comparison, within an AA household, the emphasis placed on education is much lower. There is more drive to be successful in other fields of endeavours such as in sports, music, etc. than in education. Many african americans believe that a college education does not define you (which I like) and that success is not limited to a college degree but to other fields of endeavours which is true. Even adding to the justification is the cost of going to college in america and reality of repaying huge student loans for the rest of your life. In the US, i'm sure college dropout levels for Nigerians is significantly low compared to those of African Americans. I've seen many AAs celebrate just high school graduation as a HUGE achievement while amongst Nigerians finishing secondary school is just the starting point. I doubt if there are still any jobs in Nigeria with a high school degree minimum requirement.

We all have areas that we are good at. Comparing both black groups, African Americans might be more represented in sports than Nigerians (so many successful AAs in sports) and Nigerians might be more represented in Education than AAs. Being successful at sports isn't no easy feat either. I've often seen some people try to downplay sports success and elevate educational success because they are losing dominance in sports compared to education. For AAs, succeeding at sports comes so naturally and effortlessly. Definitely, one can see that the drive or emphasis placed on either sports or education stems mostly from the cultural background of each group. While AAs tend to place more emphasis on success at music, sports, celebrity life, Nigerians place more emphasis on education.

I hope I've contributed meaningfully to the topic.

But let's face the thread ...you don't blame those that see African American that way ..have you been to Bronx, Compton and Brooklyn.. These are black neighborhood and one thing I have noticed about the blacks in USA is that the African American is more of a violent and low thinking individual

They have become complacent in the socialist and walfarist America that you see the high crime and disunited family life ..it is not them all but it is not all.

The Nigerians came to USA for greener pastures and American dream and they understand where they are coming from and they have a focus bit the African American is content with sagging ,doing drugs and raps so they forget intellectual puruit apart from music and basketball ...even with the whole money they make in basketball they blow it

The evidences are clear

They should stop blaming it on slavery ...at least Nigerians have proved that blacks are not low intellectually from Philip emeagwali to chinua Achebe to others making their mark in sciences


So I think that what we see in America about the niggers as they call themselves are real

Have you seen the movie MENACE 2 SOCIETY....that's a good American black neighborhood

bigfrancis21:


Yea so many good members from back in the day have left the forum. Members that used to make your membership on nairaland worthwhile. Just the other day Radoillo deactivated his account. I barely see pazienza's posts nowadays. I just hope tonychristopher wouldn't leave us too soon. I'm beginning to feel like one of the oldest members on here.

Yeah Radoillo was a good poster. I also miss posters like msdarkskin and the others back when I first joined.

bigfrancis21:

As regards the topic, you're right when you said the population figures are skewed. From a smaller number of people, one is won't to find a higher representation compared to a larger number of people. However, the drive for education Nigerians have cannot be underestimatedd. Home and abroad, Nigerians are attending school in droves, breaking down racial barriers and countering previously held racial views about black people in education worldwide. The Igbos of Nigeria are said to have the highest IQ of blacks worldwide and in the UK have consistently outperformed their white, Pakistani, Indian etc peers. Just recently an Igbo, Bennet Omalu, was honored by the US congress for his ground breaking research and diagnosis about the CTE syndrome that affects football players arising from multiple concussions to the brains over time. There are AAs who have achieved great feats in different academic endeavours in America as well, many I can barely mention. However, comparing the entire figure of AAs and Nigerias who have college degrees, there are more Nigerians who still have degrees (home and abroad) than AAs. The figure of African Americans who have college degrees is at about 18% of the entire population of about 45m (i.e 8 million of 45 million african americans have college degrees) and on the other hand at least 50 to 75 million of over 170 million (nearly 50% or even higher. This is my own estimate based on my observation from growing up in Nigeria as I do not have official figures of the percentage of educated Nigerians) of Nigeria's population have at least college degrees. The college degree population of Nigerians is more represented as you move down towards the Christian south, especially amongst the Igbo, Yoruba, Ibibio, Edos etc people who have the highest college attendance rates of all Nigerian ethnic groups. Members of these groups are wont to travel out of the country more than others for educational and financial pastures. This explains why the Nigerians you find in the US are usually Igbo or Yoruba. Nigerians barely stop at bachelor's degrees but many go on to masters level and some PhD and Doctorate levels.

Contrary to expectations, one would expect to find a higher representation of educated people amongst AAs given their smaller population compared to Nigerians but that is not the case.

No doubt, I see more drive for and emphasis placed on education amongst Nigerians than amongst African Americans. Within a typical Nigerian household, whether middle class or poor, from your young age it is hammered into your head that you MUST go to school regardless of what you want to do in life - be it business or as an employee. Igbo businessmen in Nigeria are also going to school even when they need not to because nobody wants to be seen as illiterate. Going to school in Nigeria, today, has become like a cultural routine. In comparison, within an AA household, the emphasis placed on education is much lower. There is more drive to be successful in other fields of endeavours such as in sports, music, etc. than in education. Many african americans believe that a college education does not define you (which I like) and that success is not limited to a college degree but to other fields of endeavours which is true. Even adding to the justification is the cost of going to college in america and reality of repaying huge student loans for the rest of your life. In the US, i'm sure college dropout levels for Nigerians is significantly low compared to those of African Americans. I've seen many AAs celebrate just high school graduation as a HUGE achievement while amongst Nigerians finishing secondary school is just the starting point. I doubt if there are still any jobs in Nigeria with a high school degree minimum requirement.

We all have areas that we are good at. Comparing both black groups, African Americans might be more represented in sports than Nigerians (so many successful AAs in sports) and Nigerians might be more represented in Education than AAs. Being successful at sports isn't no easy feat either. I've often seen some people try to downplay sports success and elevate educational success because they are losing dominance in sports compared to education. For AAs, succeeding at sports comes so naturally and effortlessly. Definitely, one can see that the drive or emphasis placed on either sports or education stems mostly from the cultural background of each group. While AAs tend to place more emphasis on success at music, sports, celebrity life, Nigerians place more emphasis on education.

I hope I've contributed meaningfully to the topic.

Good post and yes your post contributed greatly to the topic.

But we have to take into a account African-Americans in poverty stricken areas don' have the financial means to afford to go to college. Do you think AA's don't want to go to college? My generation; African-Americans millennials are going to college more than ever, because they can afford, even still it is still expensive.

Yes Nigerians may have a drive for education and may be among the smartest blacks, but again what I notice is that the very successful Nigerians that come here already had a base.

lol... See @bigfrancis21 @Fulaman198 @muafrika2

This is exactly what I was talking.

tonychristopher:
But let's face the thread ...you don't blame those that see African American that way ..have you been to Bronx, Compton and Brooklyn.. These are black neighborhood and one thing I have noticed about the blacks in USA is that the African American is more of a violent and low thinking individual

Of course densely populated poverty stricken areas will be violent. I can easily point out the Nigerian delta oil violence and the extreme violence in Northern Nigeria around Boko Haram which TRUMPS even the worst neighborhoods in America. If we're talking about violence, Nigeria clearly wins. So lets not even go there.

And speaking of the Bronx, the South Bronx is one of the poorest areas in the USA. No duh it will be violent, but ironically it is more Hispanic than black. I've actually been to the Bronx and live 41 minutes away from the Bronx.

But more importantly I said many times that of course there will be more "violent" AA's than Nigerians in the USA, because our population is 10x larger. It's not even a fair comparison. You can bring up AA's in Bronx, Compton(city is not even that violent) and Brooklyn(not even that violent anymore) like you said, but it would be unfair if we don't bring up AA's in Atlanta, Charlotte North Carolina, Dallas, Maryland, DC, or any southern state(where the majority of AA's reside).

Yes again you can bring up Southside, Chicago which is extremely violent, but can bring up Atlanta which is the "black mecca" which has a lot of African American college educated and black entrepreneurs.
[size=20pt]Atlanta: The 'Black Mecca' For Many College Students[/size]

Phillips says, “I came to Atlanta because it’s a lot of history here, and it’s a lot of opportunities. They call it the black mecca because, you know, it’s really, I guess, a city where economically blacks are very successful,”

http://news.wabe.org/post/atlanta-black-mecca-many-college-students

And yes I been to Atlanta many times, my father lives there and I am thinking about moving there when I get my scholars. My father lives in Lithonia, which is the metro of Atlanta. There I saw many well-off blacks that it almost surprised it was like another country. All the blacks in Lithonia were middle class and up with nice houses. Lithonia which if I remember is 80% black, which refutes the myth that no majority black city/town can be successful. More and more blacks as a whole are moving down south for the success.

Which brings me to this African-American community in Texas.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xgZvdl5qE58

More AA's are moving to that town and no Desoto, TX is not a "taboo" community, you can find MANY AA communities like Desoto in the DMV(DC, Maryland, Virginia), Atlanta metro, parts of Texas and basically most of the south.


Like I said a million times already the AA population is LARGER than the Nigerian one in the USA, so of course you can find more AA's doing less successful than their Nigerian counterparts.

tonychristopher:

They have become complacent in the socialist and walfarist America that you see the high crime and disunited family life ..it is not them all but it is not all.

What is wrong with a bit socialism? Are you not aware that socialist programs is what brought many Americans into the middle class especially African-Americans. You should research American history, especially Franklin Roosevelt "new deal" for African-Americans.

Like I said you only see high crime and disunited family life in the poverty stricken areas in America, this is nothing new! Do you people really think AA's don't want to be progressive? What do you think the civil rights was for Have you ever heard of blackwall street

tonychristopher:

The Nigerians came to USA for greener pastures and American dream and they understand where they are coming from and they have a focus bit the African American is content with sagging ,doing drugs and raps so they forget intellectual puruit apart from music and basketball ...even with the whole money they make in basketball they blow it

The evidences are clear

Wow...This is nothing more then stereotypical nonsense which is the norm on this site. Yeah the self-selective Nigerians are coming here for the American dream who already had a financial base in Nigeria and not the average Nigerian. Which brings me to when I recently asked this Nigerian on another site his opinion of the point I was making and eve he agreed. He even said that most Nigerians that come here already have a financial base in Nigerian, but more importantly you have to have a good amount of money to come to the USA, as immigrating to the USA from Africa is still very hard.

And doing drugs? Most of the drug addicts in America are white.
When It Comes To Illegal Drug Use, White America Does The Crime, Black America Gets The Time
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/17/racial-disparity-drug-use_n_3941346.html

And again do you people really think African-Americans don't want to be progressive? What you people need to stop doing is comparing selective elite Nigeria immigrants to blacks in poverty. Its a silly and flawed comparison.

tonychristopher:

They should stop blaming it on slavery ...at least Nigerians have proved that blacks are not low intellectually from Philip emeagwali to chinua Achebe to others making their mark in sciences

And this is why I said Mexicans(even though some are very racist) have a more mutual understanding of white supremacy in America than black immigrants themselves. And yes when I said this it pissed of a lot of "pro-black" people.

You people need to research more on African-American history in the state when it comes to being a disfranchised group. Slavery is ONE of the biggest reasons WHY AA's are in the state they are in. Heck this is not just unique to AA's, but other blacks of the diaspora such as Afro-Brazilians, Afro-Venezuelans, Afro-Colombians, etc. Are we all whining? Or is there more to it. No I'll go on further disenfranchised groups like Native Americans, who are the poorest in America. Are they too whining?

You guys are not aware that there were laws setup in America to stop the progress of African-Americans; Jim Crow laws? But most of you guys will say, "we'e jus whining 2 da whiteman!"

Or how about we look at the racial wealth gap

You guys think this isn't artificial?

[size=20pt]How the Federal Government Built White Suburbia[/size]

Federal housing policies didn’t just deny opportunities to black residents. They subsidized and safeguarded whites-only neighborhoods.

http://www.citylab.com/housing/2015/09/how-the-federal-government-built-white-suburbia/403321/?utm_source=SFTwitter

This is all from government grants, subsidiaries, loans, free land, White women benefitting from Affirmative Action, etc. It all goes back to the government. Remember African-Americans like ALL blacks in the diaspora NEVER got reparation from slavery!


Oh... But African-Americans, Afro-Brazilians, Native Americans and other disfranchised groups are just "whining".

tonychristopher:

So I think that what we see in America about the niggers as they call themselves are real

Have you seen the movie MENACE 2 SOCIETY....that's a good American black neighborhood

Wow... I if I didn't know better I would of thought this post was by a right-winger stormfronter and not a Nigerian.

And are we seriously using a MOVIE from the 90s to give a representation of blacks in America I guess we can give this a representation for Nigerians abroad.
http://www.thailawforum.com/nigerians-in-thailand/

Which I hear a lot of btw... And btw you should be thanking AA's for you and other immigrants even have the possibility to migrate to America. You should also thank AAs for not being xenophobic and violent to immigrants like South Africans, Dominicans and North Africans who burn, lynch and harass their immigrants especially the black ones.

KidStranglehold:
lol... See @bigfrancis21 @Fulaman198 @muafrika2

This is exactly what I was talking.






Of course densely populated poverty stricken areas will be violent. I can easily point out the Nigerian delta oil violence and the extreme violence in Northern Nigeria around Boko Haram which TRUMPS even the worst neighborhoods in America. If we're talking about violence, Nigeria clearly wins. So lets not even go there.

And speaking of the Bronx, the South Bronx is one of the poorest areas in the USA. No duh it will be violent, but ironically it is more Hispanic than black. I've actually been to the Bronx and live 41 minutes away from the Bronx.

But more importantly I said many times that of course there will be more "violent" AA's than Nigerians in the USA, because our population is 10x larger. It's not even a fair comparison. You can bring up AA's in Bronx, Compton(city is not even that violent) and Brooklyn(not even that violent anymore) like you said, but it would be unfair if we don't bring up AA's in Atlanta, Charlotte North Carolina, Dallas, Maryland, DC, or any southern state(where the majority of AA's reside).

Yes again you can bring up Southside, Chicago which is extremely violent, but can bring up Atlanta which is the "black mecca" which has a lot of African American college educated and black entrepreneurs.
[size=20pt]Atlanta: The 'Black Mecca' For Many College Students[/size]

http://news.wabe.org/post/atlanta-black-mecca-many-college-students

And yes I been to Atlanta many times, my father lives there and I am thinking about moving there when I get my scholars. My father lives in Lithonia, which is the metro of Atlanta. There I saw many well-off blacks that it almost surprised it was like another country. All the blacks in Lithonia were middle class and up with nice houses. Lithonia which if I remember is 80% black, which refutes the myth that no majority black city/town can be successful. More and more blacks as a whole are moving down south for the success.

Which brings me to this African-American community in Texas.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xgZvdl5qE58

More AA's are moving to that town and no Desoto, TX is not a "taboo" community, you can find MANY AA communities like Desoto in the DMV(DC, Maryland, Virginia), Atlanta metro, parts of Texas and basically most of the south.


Like I said a million times already the AA population is LARGER than the Nigerian one in the USA, so of course you can find more AA's doing less successful than their Nigerian counterparts.



What is wrong with a bit socialism? Are you not aware that socialist programs is what brought many Americans into the middle class especially African-Americans. You should research American history, especially Franklin Roosevelt "new deal" for African-Americans.

Like I said you only see high crime and disunited family life in the poverty stricken areas in America, this is nothing new! Do you people really think AA's don't want to be progressive? What do you think the civil rights was for Have you ever heard of blackwall street


Wow...This is nothing more then stereotypical nonsense which is the norm on this site. Yeah the self-selective Nigerians are coming here for the American dream who already had a financial base in Nigeria and not the average Nigerian. Which brings me to when I recently asked this Nigerian on another site his opinion of the point I was making and eve he agreed. He even said that most Nigerians that come here already have a financial base in Nigerian, but more importantly you have to have a good amount of money to come to the USA, as immigrating to the USA from Africa is still very hard.

And doing drugs? Most of the drug addicts in America are white.
When It Comes To Illegal Drug Use, White America Does The Crime, Black America Gets The Time
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/17/racial-disparity-drug-use_n_3941346.html

And again do you people really think African-Americans don't want to be progressive? What you people need to stop doing is comparing selective elite Nigeria immigrants to blacks in poverty. Its a silly and flawed comparison.



And this is why I said Mexicans(even though some are very racist) have a more mutual understanding of white supremacy in America than black immigrants themselves. And yes when I said this it pissed of a lot of "pro-black" people.

You people need to research more on African-American history in the state when it comes to being a disfranchised group. Slavery is ONE of the biggest reasons WHY AA's are in the state they are in. Heck this is not just unique to AA's, but other blacks of the diaspora such as Afro-Brazilians, Afro-Venezuelans, Afro-Colombians, etc. Are we all whining? Or is there more to it. No I'll go on further disenfranchised groups like Native Americans, who are the poorest in America. Are they too whining?

You guys are not aware that there were laws setup in America to stop the progress of African-Americans; Jim Crow laws? But most of you guys will say, "we'e jus whining 2 da whiteman!"

Or how about we look at the racial wealth gap

You guys think this isn't artificial?

[size=20pt]How the Federal Government Built White Suburbia[/size]

http://www.citylab.com/housing/2015/09/how-the-federal-government-built-white-suburbia/403321/?utm_source=SFTwitter

This is all from government grants, subsidiaries, loans, free land, White women benefitting from Affirmative Action, etc. It all goes back to the government. Remember African-Americans like ALL blacks in the diaspora NEVER got reparation from slavery!


Oh... But African-Americans, Afro-Brazilians, Native Americans and other disfranchised groups are just "whining".



Wow... I if I didn't know better I would of thought this post was by a right-winger stormfronter and not a Nigerian.

And are we seriously using a MOVIE from the 90s to give a representation of blacks in America I guess we can give this a representation for Nigerians abroad.
http://www.thailawforum.com/nigerians-in-thailand/

Which I hear a lot of btw... And btw you should be thanking AA's for you and other immigrants even have the possibility to migrate to America. You should also thank AAs for not being xenophobic and violent to immigrants like South Africans, Dominicans and North Africans who burn, lynch and harass their immigrants especially the black ones.

I will respond to you on the violence issue: I don't think one can compare violence in Nigeria with African American violence. Both are not of the same kind. First, boko haram violence is a religious affair, similar to ISIS in the middle east, Al Qaeda etc. This is not a 'normal' or regular type of violence where people are armed with guns to engage in gun battles or gang groups fighting off one another. Both are different types of violence. Second, Boko haram violence is limited to a section of Nigeria (North East) and on the other hand violence in American ghettos seem to fairly run across the entire country from North to South. I am not saying there are no gangs or thugs in Nigeria, there are just as in every other country, white, Asian, Pakistani etc. however the incidence is quite low in Nigeria compared to the situation in America. I hate to say this but the thug culture seems to have become an identified part of a supposed 'black culture' where being 'thuggish' makes you 'black enough' as if it means anything.

Also, Niger Delta militancy is different from that of America in that it was a civil rights movement in response to the lack of federal presence and tangible development in the Niger Delta region despite being the backbone of Nigeria's economy. Niger Delta youths took to arms to vent out their anger and as soon as the FG became responsive to their needs, arms were dropped and the violence reduced. This may be likened to a 'civil rights' movement sort of by a section of the country asking for more equal rights and development in their region. Just like Boko Haram, the Niger Delta violence was restricted to a section of the country and unlike nationwide violence in America restricted to a certain part of the country, not all over the country,

Violence in Nigeria is NOT equal to violence in America in any way whatsoever. America has one of the highest incarceration rates in the entire world, which in a way portrays the level of violence going on in the country.

Unlike America, violence is not a daily ongoing thing taking place all over Nigeria. Notable violence has been by certain groups in demands for certain things such as boko haram advocating against western education and Niger Delta militancy against lack of FG presence in the Niger Delta region.

Do not compare the violence of both countries.

KidStranglehold:


I already know that, but you're still not getting the context behind that like I stated. Again "self-selection process". Heck Muafrika2 too summed it up perfectly. Nigerians are the most educated group in the USA? Again true, but what's also true is that their population is one of the SMALLEST in the USA...

I am sorry but that's untrue. Why? The population of Nigerians in the United States is unknown...Why again? It's because of the way your stupid census in the United States works. If you are Nigerian you can't mark that you are Nigerian, you can only mark that you are Black/African-American which pisses me off.

bigfrancis21:


Yea so many good members from back in the day have left the forum. Members that used to make your membership on nairaland worthwhile. Just the other day Radoillo deactivated his account. I barely see pazienza's posts nowadays. I just hope tonychristopher wouldn't leave us too soon. I'm beginning to feel like one of the oldest members on here.

As regards the topic, you're right when you said the population figures are skewed. From a smaller number of people, one is won't to find a higher representation compared to a larger number of people. However, the drive for education Nigerians have cannot be underestimatedd. Home and abroad, Nigerians are attending school in droves, breaking down racial barriers and countering previously held racial views about black people in education worldwide. The Igbos of Nigeria are said to have the highest IQ of blacks worldwide and in the UK have consistently outperformed their white, Pakistani, Indian etc peers. Just recently an Igbo, Bennet Omalu, was honored by the US congress for his ground breaking research and diagnosis about the CTE syndrome that affects football players arising from multiple concussions to the brains over time. There are AAs who have achieved great feats in different academic endeavours in America as well, many I can barely mention. However, comparing the entire figure of AAs and Nigerias who have college degrees, there are more Nigerians who still have degrees (home and abroad) than AAs. The figure of African Americans who have college degrees is at about 18% of the entire population of about 45m (i.e 8 million of 45 million african americans have college degrees) and on the other hand at least 50 to 75 million of over 170 million (nearly 50% or even higher. This is my own estimate based on my observation from growing up in Nigeria as I do not have official figures of the percentage of educated Nigerians) of Nigeria's population have at least college degrees. The college degree population of Nigerians is more represented as you move down towards the Christian south, especially amongst the Igbo, Yoruba, Ibibio, Edos etc people who have the highest college attendance rates of all Nigerian ethnic groups. Members of these groups are wont to travel out of the country more than others for educational and financial pastures. This explains why the Nigerians you find in the US are usually Igbo or Yoruba. Nigerians barely stop at bachelor's degrees but many go on to masters level and some PhD and Doctorate levels.

Contrary to expectations, one would expect to find a higher representation of educated people amongst AAs given their smaller population compared to Nigerians but that is not the case.

No doubt, I see more drive for and emphasis placed on education amongst Nigerians than amongst African Americans. Within a typical Nigerian household, whether middle class or poor, from your young age it is hammered into your head that you MUST go to school regardless of what you want to do in life - be it business or as an employee. Igbo businessmen in Nigeria are also going to school even when they need not to because nobody wants to be seen as illiterate. Going to school in Nigeria, today, has become like a cultural routine. In comparison, within an AA household, the emphasis placed on education is much lower. There is more drive to be successful in other fields of endeavours such as in sports, music, etc. than in education. Many african americans believe that a college education does not define you (which I like) and that success is not limited to a college degree but to other fields of endeavours which is true. Even adding to the justification is the cost of going to college in america and reality of repaying huge student loans for the rest of your life. In the US, i'm sure college dropout levels for Nigerians is significantly low compared to those of African Americans. I've seen many AAs celebrate just high school graduation as a HUGE achievement while amongst Nigerians finishing secondary school is just the starting point. I doubt if there are still any jobs in Nigeria with a high school degree minimum requirement.

We all have areas that we are good at. Comparing both black groups, African Americans might be more represented in sports than Nigerians (so many successful AAs in sports) and Nigerians might be more represented in Education than AAs. Being successful at sports isn't no easy feat either. I've often seen some people try to downplay sports success and elevate educational success because they are losing dominance in sports compared to education. For AAs, succeeding at sports comes so naturally and effortlessly. Definitely, one can see that the drive or emphasis placed on either sports or education stems mostly from the cultural background of each group. While AAs tend to place more emphasis on success at music, sports, celebrity life, Nigerians place more emphasis on education.

I hope I've contributed meaningfully to the topic.

Whilst I'm not going to get into ethnic barriers in Nigeria, I would say that in Nigeria, the Edos might be the most educated group of Nigerians around. Just saying if we are to go by whom has the most "Western" Education, I would say it is the Edos/Binis.

tonychristopher:


The whole thing is baffling .everyday u get igbo phobic utterances even the owner of this site won't allow an open debate especially in the area of Biafra

It seems that every frustrated one is venting his / frustration on igbov

Make no mistake, every ethnic group is insulted on Nairaland it's not just Igbos. Let's not be blinded into thinking it's just our own specific ethnic group. Do you know how many Fulani insults I see on here everyday? Yah thought so.

Fulaman198:


Make no mistake, every ethnic group is insulted on Nairaland it's not just Igbos. Let's not be blinded into thinking it's just our own specific ethnic group. Do you know how many Fulani insults I see on here everyday? Yah thought so.

I will give you simple experiment

Gibto nairaland search ...type igbo

Then later type other tribes

Compare the results

@KidStrangleHold

In regards to violence in Nigeria it is relatively non-existent. You ask why? Groups like Boko Haram and Niger Delta Militants don't count. These groups are typically political or are extremist militant groups.

The vast majority of Nigerians don't have guns. The reason why there is so much crime in general in the United States is due to the fact that so many people have guns irrespective of what socio-economical class they belong to. From police abuse of blacks, to mass school killings/shootings, to killings and slayings in the hood. All of the aforementioned can be attributed to the overwhelming amount of guns and weapons in the United States.

The United States is a very violent and dangerous country. The temperament of people too is rather cold in comparison to Nigeria's. Nigerians are even nicer than the average American. There just is no comparison.

If you look at the United Kingdom, which is very similar to the United States from an ethnic perspective, you see a vast difference in treatment of blacks, and less annual murders because of these lack of guns. The police in the United Kingdom are also by far more professional than what you find in the United States.

tonychristopher:


I will give you simple experiment

Gibto nairaland search ...type igbo

Then later type other tribes

Compare the results

I see just as many insults if not more directed at Northerners (this includes both Hausa and Fulani) than Igbos.

I'll give you an example. Ab0ki (can't type the o because the word is filtered) means friend in the Hausa language, yet because of how many ethnic bigots have overused and over-abused the word in a profane manner towards people of the Northern region of Nigeria, the word has been deemed as a bad word even though it's not.

Every ethnic group takes insults, it's just up to you not to visit the forums that insult these ethnic groups. In the past, I used to see a lot of negative and disgusting posts about Fulani people, I stopped going to them because the end result was just me getting angry at the insults and almost losing my temper.

No one likes to see their respective ethnic group being insulted, but in the every day life of Nigeria, what we see online is not often what we experience in the real world. Believe me! You just have to develop a strong stomach for the immature and unwelcoming behaviour of some people on NL. If you also see a post that you do not like, kindly report it as it violates these rules:

2. Don't abuse, bully, deliberately insult/provoke, fight, or wish harm to Nairaland members OR THEIR TRIBES.
3. Don't threaten, support or DEFEND violent acts against any person, tribe, race, animals, or group (e.g. rape).

@KidStranglehold.

I'm not here to argue on whether Nigerians look down on African-Americans, but to tell you "why". First of all, Nigerians are overly confident people, there's a good chance one of the most confident person you'll ever meet in the world is a Nigerian.

Nigerians (new generation) Nigerians, at least all the people I know don't consider white people as intelligent. I have to be blunt here; a regular Lagos guy probably consider every white man as a fool that needs be exploited. So, you can imagine how they think of you. As a matter of fact, I have never met a single white man that came across to me as wise. This actually led me into crying one day, cause I couldn't comprehend why slavery should happen to us. Then, I found out it wasn't a question of intelligence, but that we were defeated with technology. This's a topic for another day.

Nigerians probably look down on you because you African-Americans fully born in the US can't seem to free yourselves from mental slavery for over 250 years!.

Granted, the US as an institution is still rigged against you folks. But, still I want to know.................

1. Why is it that poor Mexicans, Indians, Nigerians, Pakistanis come to the US and make it so soon while yourselves a citizen keep living in squalor?.

2. If poor Mexicans, Indians, Nigerians, Pakistanis can come to the US and make it, what is stopping majority of African-Americans freeing themselves from mental slavery and getting all they want in the US?.

3. Does Mexicans, Indians, Nigerians, Pakistanis have more opportunity of surviving in the US than you African-Americans?.

These are questions I need answers to, and if you cannot tell me answers to these questions you have no case at all.

I think the problem you folks have is that most of you think you're still slaves, when in fact you're not. This's why me too will look down on you, if I happen to come to the US. But, I have no plan whatsoever of coming to the US though, unless I'm coming to have white girls suk my dick.

Fulaman198:


I see just as many insults if not more directed at Northerners (this includes both Hausa and Fulani) than Igbos.

I'll give you an example. Ab0ki (can't type the o because the word is filtered) means friend in the Hausa language, yet because of how many ethnic bigots have overused and over-abused the word in a profane manner towards people of the Northern region of Nigeria, the word has been deemed as a bad word even though it's not.

Every ethnic group takes insults, it's just up to you not to visit the forums that insult these ethnic groups. In the past, I used to see a lot of negative and disgusting posts about Fulani people, I stopped going to them because the end result was just me getting angry at the insults and almost losing my temper.

No one likes to see their respective ethnic group being insulted, but in the every day life of Nigeria, what we see online is not often what we experience in the real world. Believe me! You just have to develop a strong stomach for the immature and unwelcoming behaviour of some people on NL. If you also see a post that you do not like, kindly report it as it violates these rules:

2. Don't abuse, bully, deliberately insult/provoke, fight, or wish harm to Nairaland members OR THEIR TRIBES.
3. Don't threaten, support or DEFEND violent acts against any person, tribe, race, animals, or group (e.g. rape).

I have a feeling that your a nice dude ..your the second Fulani friend I know the first one is very matured. .nice Muslim ..drinks vodka, have a modern view to Islam and he is dedicated Muslim and a Fulani man ..he calls a spade a spade


You seems to be like him..maybe we can be friends

Fulaman198:


I am sorry but that's untrue. Why? The population of Nigerians in the United States is unknown...Why again? It's because of the way your stupid census in the United States works. If you are Nigerian you can't mark that you are Nigerian, you can only mark that you are Black/African-American which pisses me off.

That's a fact

tonychristopher:


I have a feeling that your a nice dude ..your the second Fulani friend I know the first one is very matured. .nice Muslim ..drinks vodka, have a modern view to Islam and he is dedicated Muslim and a Fulani man ..he calls a spade a spade


You seems to be like him..maybe we can be friends

Sure I'm willing to be anyone's friend here on NL.

tonychristopher:


That's a fact

Thanks brother

Fulaman198:


Whilst I'm not going to get into ethnic barriers in Nigeria, I would say that in Nigeria, the Edos might be the most educated group of Nigerians around. Just saying if we are to go by whom has the most "Western" Education, I would say it is the Edos/Binis.

You may be right if you can come up with evidence to support this. I was speaking based on the evidence I have to buttress my point.

Kidstranglehold,

As regards education, do not limit the number of Nigerians with degrees to only the small percentage in the US. You seem to be focusing on the Nigerians you find in the US while ignoring the overwhelming majority that live in Nigeria. In addition to the majority that study in Nigeria, Nigerians do not only come to the US to study. They go to the UK, Malaysia, South Africa, Canada, etc. you name it, to study. In total, there are way more Nigerians with college degrees as a percentage of the total Nigerian population.

Or maybe I should compare the 3000 African Americans living in Ghana against native Ghanaians in terms of number of affluent ones and use the 3000 AAs as representative of all African Americans worldwide?

bigfrancis21:


I will respond to you on the violence issue: I don't think one can compare violence in Nigeria with African American violence. Both are not of the same kind. First, boko haram violence is a religious affair, similar to ISIS in the middle east, Al Qaeda etc. This is not a 'normal' or regular type of violence where people are armed with guns to engage in gun battles or gang groups fighting off one another. Both are different types of violence. Second, Boko haram violence is limited to a section of Nigeria (North East) and on the other hand violence in American ghettos seem to fairly run across the entire country from North to South. I am not saying there are no gangs or thugs in Nigeria, there are just as in every other country, white, Asian, Pakistani etc. however the incidence is quite low in Nigeria compared to the situation in America. I hate to say this but the thug culture seems to have become an identified part of a supposed 'black culture' where being 'thuggish' makes you 'black enough' as if it means anything.

Also, Niger Delta militancy is different from that of America in that it was a civil rights movement in response to the lack of federal presence and tangible development in the Niger Delta region despite being the backbone of Nigeria's economy. Niger Delta youths took to arms to vent out their anger and as soon as the FG became responsive to their needs, arms were dropped and the violence reduced. This may be likened to a 'civil rights' movement sort of by a section of the country asking for more equal rights and development in their region. Just like Boko Haram, the Niger Delta violence was restricted to a section of the country and unlike nationwide violence in America restricted to a certain part of the country, not all over the country,

Violence in Nigeria is NOT equal to violence in America in any way whatsoever. America has one of the highest incarceration rates in the entire world, which in a way portrays the level of violence going on in the country.

Unlike America, violence is not a daily ongoing thing taking place all over Nigeria. Notable violence has been by certain groups in demands for certain things such as boko haram advocating against western education and Niger Delta militancy against lack of FG presence in the Niger Delta region.

Do not compare the violence of both countries.

No offense bigfrancis21, but you can't have it both ways. You don't want me to compare violence and America and Nigerian? Fine. Then you guys should not compare AAs who are in poverty/criminals to self-selective Nigerian immigrants.

There is no "thug culture" with black America. Violence/crime in black America has to do with poverty. Same with crime in Nigeria. Same with crime in Brazil. And same with crime everywhere. I don't understand why you don't see this, but instead say its due to "thug culture". You would have a point if there was violence/crime in middle class African-American communities, but there is not.

I thought I read somewhere that the Niger delta oil raids, was due to poverty? But good point on the Niger delta, I will have to look into that. But addressing high incarceration rate, that's simply due to America(along with China and Russia) having some of the strictest law enforcement in the world. Doesn't mean there is a lot of violence. I live in NY state, though its not close to having the most violent cities/towns in America, you can still get arrested for literally ANYTHING. China has one of the highest incarnation rates and yet China murder/crime rate is not even that high in the world.

As for violence Nigeria has much more violence than America even with smaller population.

[img]http://www.geocurrents.info/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/World-Murder-Rate-Geocurrents-Map-1024x726.png[/img]

Fact is Nigeria's crime rate is higher than that of Americas. And I'm going to be fair and say that's due to America simply being more developed. So I agree with can't compare. Just like we can't compare AA's in poverty with successful immigrant Nigerians in America like most people on here do.