There is no single hospital in the United States that does not have a Nigerian in its service, claims a U.S.-based historian and professor of African Studies, Apollos Nwauwa. 

“Apart from Indians, Nigerians are the most consequential immigrants in the U.S. based on the difference they make in many notable ways. One of the major areas of influence of Nigerians in the U.S. is the healthcare sector,” he further noted. “Nigerian doctors, nurses and allied healthcare practitioners are the mainstay of U.S. healthcare delivery system. There is no single hospital in the U.S. that does not have a Nigerian in its service.”

Mr Nwauwa, a director of African Studies at Bowling Green State University, Ohio, U.S. said, Nigerians are now an integral part” of the United States, with “salutary” presence and impact in all facets of the American society.

According to him, Nigerians have also been a major force in the education sector.

“There is a saying that there is hardly any major university in the U.S. that does not have a Nigerian professor in its faculty,” he stressed. “Indeed, often overlooked are those in the administrative cadre of the educational system in the U.S.’’

Nwauwa, chairman of the Nigerian Diaspora Movement (NDM), asserted that strides made by Nigerian professionals were hardly surprising.

According to him, Nigerians are the most highly educated and one of the highest wage earners among all immigrant groups in the U.S.

“On their part, most Americans do acknowledge the desirable impact of Nigerians in the U.S. To Nigeria, sadly, its brain drain is brain gain for the U.S. despite huge remittances to Nigeria by Nigerian-Americans,’’ he pointed out.

Speaking on Black History Month, Mr Nwauwa emphasided that Nigerians as part of African-American population would be remember greatly for their contributions to the development of the U.S.

Every February since 1976, the U.S. has celebrated the Black History Month to acknowledge the contributions of African-Americans to its national development.

(NAN)