Nigerian Immigrants in the United States

Africans in America come from different regions of the continent; they speak different languages and are from different faith traditions. Nigerian Immigrants in the United States: Race, Identity, and Acculturation attempts to generate an interest in the study of African immigrants by looking at issues of settlement and adjustment of Nigerians in the United States. The literature is scanty about this group of immigrants and little is known about their motivations for moving to the United States and the issues that they face. The book therefore seeks to contribute to the immigration literature and knowledge base as well as document the African narrative showing the flight of Nigerians to the United States. The book further seeks to shine a light on the lives of these transplants as they settle into a new society. It describes those Nigerians who decided on their own to live permanently in the United States, reviewing the social circumstances and behaviors of immigrants from Nigeria, and noting the stress that affects successful integration and adjustment. The book explores the factors that contribute to the adaptation and integration of Nigerian immigrants living in some metropolitan areas of the United States and asks: how do the immigrants themselves interpret their experiences in a new society? In an attempt to answer this question, others are generated such as: Who are these Nigerians that have left their homeland? What has been their experience and how has this experience shaped them and their understanding of the immigration process? Lastly, it asks what we can learn from this experience. Employing the study of this population through the method of phenomenology, Nigerian Immigrants in the United States leads the reader to understand the experience of being different in America from the immigrants' perspectives and to see the experience through their eyes. Those who work with Nigerian immigrants will find this book insightful and revealing.

Through the stories of immigrants' experiences coming to the U.S., Ette helps the reader see immigrants as individuals, with their own unique goals, struggles, regrets, and triumphs. The stories of participants in Ette's study demonstrate their perseverance and resilience and provide helpful information for individuals and communities as they assist immigrants to be successful in their adopted land., Dr. Ette interprets the experiences of Nigerian immigrants seeking opportunities in the United States from a psycho-social perspective. The case studies are hilarious, provocative, and inspiring. The discussion shows that Nigerians in America are resilient and accommodating; it further shows that the immigration experience can sometimes be painful. This is a book about the clash of two cultures, and the immigrant experience has never been shown with such insightful anecdotes., An intensely scholarly evocation of the experiences of Nigerian immigrants in the United States, this book is an engaging pathfinder that broadens the literature of immigration and globalization with fresh, significant, and vital vistas of knowledge needful for easing the challenges of displacement and acculturation. Compelling and scholarly, the narrative factors on pressing issues Nigerian immigrants must deal with, and is thus as much of a must read for social workers working with Nigerian immigrants as it is for immigration and asylum seekers from Nigeria to the US.

Ezekiel Umo Ette is chair of the research committee and assistant professor of social work at Northwest Nazarene University in Nampa, Idaho.