News — Nigerian-American

The Nigerian Civil War, also known as the Nigerian-Biafran War, was a three-year bloody conflict with a death toll numbering more than one million people. Having commenced seven years after Nigeria gained independence from Britain, the war began with the secession of the southeastern region of the nation on May 30, 1967, when it declared itself the independent Republic of Biafra. The ensuing battles and well-publicized human suffering prompted international outrage and intervention.

Carved out of the west of Africa by Britain without regard for preexisting ethnic, cultural and linguistic divisions, Nigeria has often experienced an uncertain peace. Following decades of ethnic tension in colonial Nigeria, political instability reached a critical mass among independent Nigeria’s three dominant ethnic groups: the Hausa-Fulani in the north, Yoruba in the southwest, and Igbo in the southeast. On January 15, 1966, the Igbo launched a coup d’état under the command of Major-General Johnson Thomas Umunnakwe Aguiyi-Ironsi in an attempt to save the country from what Igbo leaders feared would be political disintegration.

Shortly after the successful coup, widespread suspicion of Igbo domination was aroused in the north among the Hausa-Fulani Muslims, many of whom opposed independence from Britain. Similar suspicions of the Igbo junta grew in the Yoruba west, prompting a joint Yoruba and Hausa-Fulani countercoup against the Igbo six months later. Countercoup leader General Yakubu Gowon took punitive measures against the Igbo. Further anger over the murder of prominent Hausa politicians led to the massacre of scattered Igbo populations in northern Hausa-Fulani regions. This persecution triggered the move by Igbo separatists to form their own nation of Biafra the following year.

Less than two months after Biafra declared its independence, diplomatic efforts to resolve the crisis fell apart. On July 6, 1967, the federal government in Lagos launched a full-scale invasion into Biafra. Expecting a quick victory, the Nigerian army surrounded and buffeted Biafra with aerial and artillery bombardment that led to large scale losses among Biafran civilians. The Nigerian Navy also established a sea blockade that denied food, medical supplies and weapons, again impacting Biafran soldiers and civilians alike.

Despite the lack of resources and international support, Biafra stood firm refusing to surrender in the face of overwhelming Nigerian military superiority. The Nigerian Army however continued to slowly take territory, and on January 15, 1970, Biafra surrendered when its military commander General Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu fled to Cote d’Ivoire.

During this civil war, an estimated 3,000 to 5,000 people died daily in Biafra from starvation as a result of the naval blockade. The international reaction to the military conflict helped define how the world now views and responds to similar crises.

Nigerian student Victory Yinka-Banjo made headlines in 2020 when she scored straights As in her West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE). Weeks prior to that, she had been rated as the “Top in the World” in English as a second language (speaking endorsement) by the University of Cambridge International Examination (CIE), according to a CNN report. In the Cambridge IGCSE exam, the Nigerian teen acquired A* in all six subjects she sat for, the report added.

Today, the 17-year-old high school graduate has received 19 full-ride scholarship offers from universities across the United States and Canada. Documents cited by CNN show that Victory has been offered more than 5 million dollars worth of scholarship money for an undergraduate program of study.

“It still feels pretty unbelievable. I applied to so many schools because I didn’t even think any school would accept me,” Victory told CNN.

She received potential full scholarships from Harvard College, Yale College, Brown University and Princeton University. Other scholarship offers were from Stanford University, Johns Hopkins University, the University of Virginia, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

In Canada, she was given the Lester B. Pearson scholarship from the University of Toronto and the Karen McKellin International Leader of Tomorrow (KMILOT) scholarship from the University of British Columbia.

Victory was born to Nigerian parents. Her mother, Chika Yinka-Banjo, is a senior lecturer at the University of Lagos while her father, Adeyinka Banjo, is a private sector procurement and supply chain executive. The teenager attributes her academic triumph to parental guidance, faith and hard work. She said her scholarship offers “have made me stand taller, smile wider, and pat myself on the back more often.”

Her hope is to study Computational Biology though she is yet to choose a school. Stanford, Harvard, MIT, Duke, and Johns Hopkins are on top of her list, she said, adding that she is still doing research on them.

Victory’s parents are proud of her achievement, and they are optimistic that her story will encourage other young Nigerians to go for gold. “It is noteworthy that she is not one of the Nigerian-Americans who often get into these schools because of their advantage of being born and bred in the US. She completed her secondary school here [in Nigeria]. It would be great if her story can be used to inspire the youths of our country,” Victory’s mother, Chika, told CNN.

Most Americans especially Black people and those of other ethnic minorities have lost faith in the police system due to police brutality. After the George Floyd incident, many protests erupted around the world to defund the police, but an HBCU has set up a police academy to recruit more minorities and to help restore the people’s faith in the force.

Lincoln University in Missouri, founded in 1866, is now the first Historically Black College and University (HBCU) to develop a police academy that will train police recruits to change the narrative surrounding policing.

The Lincoln University Law Enforcement Training Academy (LULET) was created by Police Chief Gary Hill and the Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) to entice more minorities from low-income backgrounds to make a difference both in their lives and the society by joining law enforcement.

“I thought what better way to recruit minorities by outing an academy right in the center of where we have a large minority community,” Hill said to CNBC.

Lincoln professors will train the recruits while police officers teach part-time at the institution. All it takes to be eligible for the 16-credit hour program is to be 20 years of age prior to the start date and a U.S. citizen. Applicants must also have a high school diploma or its equivalent certificate, a valid driver’s license, a vision of 20/40 with or without corrective lenses, an arrest record that is conviction free and ultimately, they must pass physical fitness requirements and have proof of health, per the Quintessential Gentleman.

The program includes a course on minority policing, which examines the history of police relations with Black communities. Hill said they are not in this to create soldiers but render community service. He said the police are not detached from the people they are policing; they are a part of the community thus their mission is to create community policing.

A licensing ceremony was held by Missouri Governor Mike Parson and the Missouri Department of Public Safety to approve the training academy last year. “As a former sheriff, I was honored to help establish the nation’s first law enforcement training academy at our very own Lincoln University, Missouri,” Parson wrote in a Facebook post. 

He added that he hopes this venture will inspire more HBCUs in the state and the nation to follow their lead, especially at a time when law enforcement agencies are seriously looking to diversify the force through their recruitments.

The licensing makes LULET the 20thth licensed police academy in Missouri and the 665th in the country. However, the police academy in its first year of operation will be under probation subject to an audit of the program by POST.

If the Peace officers are impressed by the training standards, then the program’s license will be extended for a standard three-year term, the College Post reported.

Upon completing the training program, the trainees can work in any police station across Missouri.

A photo of a Nigerian-American family has gone viral on LinkedIn after it was posted by one of them earlier this month. It was in commemoration of World Siblings day and Dr. Chinyere Okpaleke decided to share the picture of her siblings who all practice medicine.

The picture is the epitome of Black Excellence; that explains why it earned the admiration of almost 170,000 people on the professional networking platform, with about 6000 comments.

The Okpaleke is a family of nine — six girls, their brother, and parents. They are: Lillian Okpaleke, M.D., Okway Okpaleke, M.D., Chinelo Okpaleke, P.A., Nkiru Osefo, M.D., Ifeoma Okpaleke, N.P., Queenate Okpaleke, N.P. and Chinyere Okpaleke.

Their father, Andrew Okpaleke, M.D., is a retired physician of internal medicine who was in the practice for more than 30 years and their mother, Celina Okpaleke, P.A., has been in the field for over 20 years.

Their parents’ profession had an influence on them and their choice of career which they do not regret. Being immigrants from Nigeria, they made a lot of sacrifices for their families to succeed and have the right foundation to thrive. “We are Nigerian, so we have that cultural background of my parents being immigrants and basically sacrificing coming here for a better life,” Chinyere Okpaleke told Good Morning America. “Their idea of wanting us to succeed came across in how they raised us.”

Chinyere, called Dr. Chi by her patients, is a family medicine hospitalist living in Houston. She said if she had the choice of choosing between her family and that of the Kardashians, she will choose hers a million times over because she is proud of what they do; saving lives.

“If I had to choose between The Okpaleke’s Vs The Kardashian’s… I would choose US every single time.”

“I know our parents and ancestors are beyond proud! We are exactly what their sacrifices were meant for! All glory to God,” she added.

The siblings believe the photo they posted on National Siblings Day will give hope to little ones that have big dreams to pursue them. “I’ve had someone say they printed it out and they have it on their refrigerator so their children can see it as motivation,” Dr. Chi said. “It’s very touching. I’m happy that we’re able to shed some light in today’s world.”