By CECILIA OLOGUNAGBA

A U.S.-based historian and professor of African Studies, Apollos Nwauwa says Nigerian professionals are highly valued because they have been tested to be as good if not better than their American counterparts.

Nwauwa, a director of African Studies at Bowling Green State University, Ohio, U.S. told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in New York that the impact and contribute on had been felt in all the sectors in the U.S.

“Nigerians are now an integral part of the United States, with salutary presence and impact in all facets of the American society.

“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.

“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,” he said.

According to him, Nigerians have also been a major factor in the education sector, especially higher education.

“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.

“Indeed, often overlooked are those in the administrative cadre of the educational system in the U.S.”

Nwauwa, who also is the Chairman, Nigerian Diaspora Movement (NDM) told NAN that he strides made by Nigerian professionals were hardly surprising.

He said there were not surprising because it has been affirmed that Nigerians were 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.”

Speaking on Black History Month, Nwauwa emphasided that Nigerians as part of Africa Americans 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 national development.

The Black History Month is an opportunity to showcase the rich cultural heritage, successes and challenges of African Americans.

Nwauwa, however, as more African-Americans augmented by their recent African immigrants, continued to gain spaces in the commanding heights of the U.S. economy and politics, systemic racism and discrimination continues to be chipped away.

“Education remains a veritable tool for blacks in the U.S. to attain a level of social, political, and economic mobility that will earn them due respect among white Americans,” he said. (NAN)

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