From 1967 to ’70, Nigeria fought a war – the Nigeria-Biafra war. And in the middle of that war, I was 14 years old. We spent much of our time with my mother cooking. For the army – my father joined the army as a brigadier – the Biafran army. We were on the Biafran side.
I divide my time between Columbia, Maryland, and Lagos, Nigeria.
My step dad’s from Nigeria, so he listened to Highlife music from Africa. He was also into hip-hop and R&B, and from that, I started to listen to music from his collection and liking it, developing my own taste.
I’ve often dreamed about going back to Nigeria, but that’s a very romantic notion. It’s a hideous country to go to in reality.
As for T.B. Joshua, I am a descendant of my family in Arigidi-Akoko in Ondo State, Nigeria – but as for the divine nature, the power of God affects my life to give peace to people, deliverance to people, and healing to people.
My father was a black, working-class man who arrived here with no money in his pocket from Nigeria; my mum came from more of a middle-class background, whose father had prosecuted the Nazis at Nuremberg.
When I go back home now, when I go back to Nigeria now, I get off the plane in Lagos and I just don’t think of race. I get on the plane and arrive in Atlanta, and immediately I’m aware of race.
The Nigerians have been very instrumental in preserving stability in Sierra Leone. They have done this at considerable cost in dollars and Nigerian lives. The US should encourage Nigeria to stay in Sierra Leone.
I was asked by a journalist to sum up the story in a minute, and I was like, ‘No.’ It goes from Trump to Brexit to Russian espionage to military operations in Afghanistan to hacking the president of Nigeria. Where do you even begin?
There is no country in the world with the diversity, confidence and talent and black pride like Nigeria.
You go to conferences, and your fellow African intellectuals – and even heads of state – they all say: ‘Nigeria is a big disappointment. It is the shame of the African continent.’
If you go to the part of Nigeria I’m from, people will say ‘why is colonialism my concern?’
Nigeria has had a complicated colonial history. My work has examined that part of our story extensively.
Nigeria is still grappling with the negative consequences of the use of opacity by senior members of government and their cronies between 1993 and 1998, awarding themselves juicy contracts in the extractive industry.
Imagine how different those classrooms could be if hundreds of Nigeria’s most talented recent graduates and professionals channeled their energy not only into the country’s banks, but into making education in the country a force for transformation.
The fundamental for the sustainable growth of Nigeria is not in the hydro-carbon industry but in agriculture.
If bad and inexperienced politicians control power in Nigeria, my wealth may turn into poverty, and I am not ready to become a poor man.
My dad’s from Nigeria and my mom’s from Grenada and they both went into medicine. My dad’s a psychiatrist and my mom’s a nurse so I was going to go into medicine, also.
Nigeria is a great footballing nation and deserves to assume her rightful place in Africa and world football and I am keen to be part of a team that achieves this goal.
Everyone has met or seen or interacted with a Nigerian in America because we leave Nigeria for here. We’re your doctors. We’re your lawyers. We’re your child’s best friend. All of the above.
I’ve had trouble now and again in Nigeria because I have spoken up about the mistreatment of factions in the country because of difference in religion. These are things we should put behind us.
Friends at school were always quite shocked that we holidayed in Nigeria, but it was all pretty middle-class, really.
I was a supporter of the desire, in my section of Nigeria, to leave the federation because it was treated very badly with something that was called genocide in those days.
I do not have any regrets whatsoever in opting to play for Nigeria and will always do my best whenever I put on the green white green colours of Nigeria.
My mother was English. My parents met in Oxford in the ’50s, and my mother moved to Nigeria and lived there. She was five foot two, very feisty and very English.
I think one of the things that I picked up from Nigeria is the constant pressure to be excellent. Parents drill in this responsibility towards family, but also a responsibility toward making sure your family name is heralded.
Boko Haram has pledged its allegiance and support to ISIS. The Northern Nigerian-based Islamic terrorist group wants Sharia law throughout Nigeria and beyond.
I’m very proud to represent Nigeria but I would like to say thank you to England for the chance they gave me, it was a difficult decision.
I feel very honoured and proud to be playing for Nigeria.
Nigeria is like everywhere, really: there are some beautiful places that have been invested in and others that haven’t been.
I work predominantly with tailors from Nigeria, Ghana, and Senegal.
Traditional Anglicans – whether in Nigeria or Nottingham – have been wary, at best, of the acceptance and welcome given to gay men and women and their sexual choices by secular society.
There are some people who will tell you oil is the greatest thing that ever happened to Nigeria. And there are other people who will tell you it’s the worst thing that ever happened.
It’s true that people will take advantage of you in Nigeria, but this happens everywhere in the world.
There is a strong view in Nigeria, as in many other cultures, that a marriage is not complete without children. I don’t agree; I’m wary of the idea that people have to have some particular functionality in order to be full members of society.
Educating our young girls is the foundation for Nigeria’s growth and development.
I was born in Wisconsin, but I quickly moved to Nigeria as a toddler.
Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa. If Nigeria succeeds at democratic governance it will be an anchor for all of West Africa. Africa needs a strong Nigeria.
In the United States, if you’re African-American, it can be assumed that your family has been here for generations. In Europe, colonialism is much more alive, and it’s assumed you’re from Nigeria or Senegal.
I was raised well. My parents are from Nigeria; their culture is respectful. Very respectful. But I learnt that you have to be determined. It’s not violence or aggression. It’s sheer determination.
We in Nigeria have seen just how difficult it is to get back stolen assets from the international financial system, such as banks that ought not have received those funds in the first place if even the most routine questions were asked.
To meet the expectations of the majority of our people, and to open up new vistas of economic opportunity so that the aspirations of Nigerians can stand a fair chance of being fulfilled in a lifetime, there must be a truly committed leadership in a democratic Nigeria.
My first World Cup appearance remains fresh in my memory and what made it incredible was that I had made my first appearance for Nigeria just a year before.
Nigeria is a West African nation of over 100 million energetic people. It is endowed with lots of natural resources but lacks human resources.
I think the history of western feminism is one that is fraught with racism, and I think it’s important to acknowledge that and, at the same time, to say that feminism is not the western invention, that my great-grandmother in what is now south-western Nigeria is feminist.
I am making this trip to Africa because Washington is an international city, just like Tokyo, Nigeria or Israel. As mayor, I am an international symbol. Can you deny that to Africa?
I like to say, ‘I spend one-third of my time in Nigeria, one-third in Europe or America, and one-third on a plane.’
I come from Nigeria, and we live by the idea that it takes a village. So my entire team. I live by my team: my friends, my neighbors, my teachers – they’re the people who taught me how to be a free actor.
My parents were early converts to Christianity in my part of Nigeria. They were not just converts; my father was an evangelist, a religious teacher. He and my mother traveled for thirty-five years to different parts of Igboland, spreading the gospel.
While the majority of my childhood memories are beautiful, I also have experienced the challenges that Nigeria has faced since independence.
My parents were among the first families from their area to leave Nigeria and come to America, the land of the free.
I haven’t been to Nigeria, but my dad and I have talked about going. I have a grandma over there who’s been here.
I’d always been interested in Nigeria’s past.
My parents being from Nigeria deeply informs all my social justice and human rights work.
Nigeria has moved into low-middle-income, but their north is very poor, and the health care systems there have broken down.
I mean I’ve seen so many kids on the street when we’re like in the bus, they’re screaming ‘go Nigeria, go Nigeria,’ so to represent them I’m just proud.
The history of the British empire, the chapter of our national story that would have explained to my classmates why a child born in Nigeria was sat among them, was similarly missing from the curriculum.
