The Nigerian Foundation Inc., a group formed in 1982 to address the socio-cultural, economic, and public policy issues affecting Nigerians in the greater Houston area, called a press forum on December 31st to share their thoughts on behalf of Nigerian residents in addressing the recent terrorist attack involving a fellow Nigerian.
23-year-old Nigerian Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab was charged by a federal criminal court with attempting to destroy a Northwest Airlines aircraft on its final approach into the Detroit Metropolitan Airport on Christmas Day and with placing a destructive device on the aircraft. Abdulmutallab boarded Northwest Flight 253 in Amsterdam, Netherlands on December 24, 2009. As the flight was approaching Detroit Metropolitan Airport, Abdulmutallab set off a device attached to his body, which resulted in a fire and what appears to have been an explosion. Abdulmutallab was then subdued and restrained by passengers and members of the flight crew.
Ever since this incident, the mainstream networks have saturated audiences with analyses and news updates, putting Africa’s most populous country on line for media bombardment and battery. However, Houston’s Nigerian community, led by the Nigerian Foundation, remains strong and confident in their life goals and values as law abiding citizens. A release by the group that was made available at the press conference,stated in part: “The Nigerian Community regrets the unfortunate attempt by Umar Farouk Abdul-Mutallab, a Nigerian, to bomb a Detroit-bound airliner on Christmas day, December 25. The Nigerian-American Community condemns the action and wishes to state categorically that this singular and isolated act is contrary to our culture.”
The release is signed by the group’s board Chairman Dr. Robert Irabor and Executive President Segun Jimmie Vaughan, who described the terrorist suspect as having to be a disturbed young man who was indoctrinated by a wrong environment that he experienced outside his native country.
Chairman Dr. Irabor told Examiner, “This 23-year old was educated outside Nigeria. We learned that he obtained his engineering degree in London and went to Yemen for graduate studies. People in his hometown also remarked that his foreign education and upbringing did influence his action. He is not representative of the norm, but is a social deviant who aroused the curiosity of his father, a retired bank executive, such that he reported the suspicion of unusual movements to the U.S. Security Authorities.”
Bridget Akazie, a board member of the Foundation, said, “This young man is sick, and his actions should not be used to brand our highly educated, responsible, professional, and law-abiding Nigeria-American citizens and families in the United States. The last U.S. Census recorded that Nigerians born outside the United States represent one percent of the population of the Houston area. Using the census estimate of 5million people in the Houston area and an average household of three to five, that puts the Nigerian-American immigrant population and their children born here between 150,000 to 250,000. Thanks to our hard-working culture, Nigerian-Americans are contributing their best in all walks of life.”
President Vaughan said his group and the Nigerian Community did not know the suspect was in Houston in August of 2008 and vowed that “The Nigerian-American community will not treat lightly anyone who attempts to drag our name and image through the mud.”
Besides the growing number in residence, the economic impact of Nigerians in the City of Houston remains visible as it leads the market in international businesses relating to travel, freight forwarding, and money transfers. Significantly, as a major contributory factor to the city’s economic stability, the population of Nigerian health professionals in Houston speaks volumes, and every medical facility in this city has a significant employee census of Nigerian nurses and doctors.
In one of its previous commentaries, International Guardian stated, “If we pull all Nigerian nurses and doctors out of the job for two days in Greater Houston, this city would be counting dead bodies – And this is just to tell you the importance of this community to the city.”
To further expose the potential of its relentless endeavors, a Census Bureau's 2006 American Community Survey puts Nigerians on top as the highest educated ethnic or racial group in the U.S, surpassing the overall percentage of people nationally with college degrees. Nigerians make up a tiny portion of the U.S. population, yet a whopping 17% of Nigerians hold Masters Degrees compared to 8% of whites and 12% of Asians.
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