RnB icon, singer, songwriter, record producer and philanthropist, Aliaune Damala Bouga Time Thiam, popularly referred to as Akon, has claimed that Nigerians are the smartest people in the world. The Senegalese-American musician said this while featuring on the Drink Champs podcast co-hosted by N.O.R.E and DJ EFN, adding that more billionaires are being made in Nigeria than anywhere in the world.
The “Locked Up” singer however added that there are a few “bad apples” destroying the image of the country. “This could be debatable, but the Nigerians are the smartest people on the planet,” he said. ”I promise you, there is nobody more smarter than a Nigerian. Of course, there is a few bad apples that came out. They [the bad apples]are extremely smart. But they put their intelligence all in wrong place.”
“If they were to gear that towards something more positive or productive… Because the ones that did, there’s more billionaires being made in Nigeria than anywhere in the world.”
With a population of more than 220 million, Nigeria is the most populous Black country. It also has the largest economy in Africa, with a GDP of $440.78 billion in 2021. There are many billionaire and millionaire businessmen in Nigeria, which is evident from the GDP size, which indicates the country’s high level of production activities. Therefore, it is not surprising that three of Nigeria’s eight richest families are among the country’s three billionaires.
Nigerians, for instance, continue to achieve success in the United States despite racism and prejudice. As of 2015, they were one of the nation’s most prosperous immigrant communities, with a median household income of $62,351, compared to $57,617 nationally.
According to the Migration Policy Institute, about 29% of Nigerian Americans over 25 have a graduate degree, compared to 11% of the entire U.S. population. According to the 2016 American Community Survey, 45 percent of Nigerian-American professionals work in the education sector, and many more are professors at prestigious colleges.
Additionally, there is a rise in the number of Nigerian Americans starting tech businesses in the US. They are also present in the medical industry because they continue to leave their native countries in search of better income and working conditions in American hospitals.
The over 376,000 Nigerian-Americans have also given birth to a number of “firsts” in American history, such as Pearlena Igbokwe, the first person of African descent to lead a major U.S. television studio, and forensic pathologist Dr. Bennet Omalu, who was the first to discover and publish on chronic traumatic encephalopathy in American football players. ImeIme A. Umana was the first Black woman to be elected as the Harvard Law Review’s president.
Nigerian Americans are performing exceptionally well in entertainment, athletics, and the culinary arts in addition to more conventional professions like doctors, lawyers, and engineers. Nigerian chef Tunde Wey of New Orleans recently made headlines when he utilised food to draw attention to racial wealth inequalities in the United States.
According to the Institute of Physics, Dr. Maggie Aderin-Pocock, a Nigerian-British scientist, received the 2020 William Thomson, Lord Kelvin Medal and Prize for her “exceptional services to science education and physics communication”. She became the first Black woman in the award’s history to get a gold medal as a result. Irenosen Okojie, a Nigerian-British author, won the 2020 Caine Prize and received $13,000 in addition.
