Celebrating British Nigerian Icons – Part 2

October last month was Black History Month (BHM) in the UK. In celebration, NRTC will for the coming months, run through a list of 50 notable British trailblazers of Nigerian descent.

Last month, we showcased 10 notable influencers and vanguards from a range of fields from the entertainment industry to politics. In this next instalment, Vivian Adeyemo celebrates 10 high profile pioneers of Nigerian origin.

1. David Olusoga

David Adetayo Olusoga is a British historian, writer, broadcaster and film-maker. He is a professor of Public History at the University of Manchester. He was born in Lagos, Nigeria to a Nigerian father and British mother. Olusoga moved to the UK with his mother, when he was five years old.

Olusoga who was brought up in Gateshead, England has presented historical documentaries on the BBC and has written numerous history books including the 2016 book Black and British: A Forgotten History. This publication, was awarded both the Longman-History Today Trustees Award 2017 and the PEN Hessell-Tiltman prize 2017. Olusoga was included in the 2019 and 2020 editions of the Powerlist. – a ranking of the 100 most influential Black Britons. In the 2021 edition, he made the Top 10 most influential, ranking eighth.

2. Shirley Bassey

Dame Shirley Veronica Bassey is a Welsh singer. Widely regarded as one of the most popular female vocalists in Britain. Bassey became the first female artist to chart an album in the top 40 of the UK Albums Chart; in seven consecutive decades.

Born to a Nigerian father and British mother, she is well-known for recording the soundtrack theme songs of the James Bond films: Goldfinger, Diamonds Are Forever, and Moonraker.

Appointed a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in 2000 for her services to the performing arts.

3. John Fashanu

John Fashanu is an English television presenter and former professional footballer. Born in London, to a British Guiana mother and Nigerian father. Sent to a Barnardo’s care home with his older brother Justin; when his parents separated.

When he was five, Fashanu and his brother, were fostered and were subsequently brought up in Shropham near Norfolk.

Fashanu’s football career spanned over three decades from 1978 to 1995, most notably in an eight-year spell at Wimbledon F.C. A member of Wimbledon’s infamous Crazy Gang with English players such as Vinnie Jones and Dennis Wise; Fashanu won the FA Cup in 1988 and scored over 100 goals in all competitions.

He was also capped twice at senior level by England. Following his football career he went on to co-host numerous British television shows including Gladiators in the 1990s. Fashanu relocated to Nigeria from Britain in the early 2000s where he is a successful businessman and philanthropist.

4. Sophie Okonedo

Sophie Okonedo CBE is an English actress. Born in London, to a Jewish mother and a British Nigerian father. She appeared in the hit film Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls.

Okonedo’s breakthrough role came in 2004, when she co-starred in the film Hotel Rwanda with American actor Don Cheadle. For this role, she became the second Black female Briton to receive a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress at the 77th Academy Awards in 2005.

She later received a Golden Globe Award nomination for Tsunami: The Aftermath and BAFTA TV Award nominations for the drama series Criminal Justice and the television film Mrs. Mandela.

Okonedo was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2019 New Year Honours.

5. Tunde Baiyewu

Emmanuel Babatunde Baiyewu, AKA Tunde, is a British singer and songwriter of Nigerian descent. Best known as being the vocalist of Lighthouse Family. He was born in London to a middle class family of Nigerian descent.

His father died of cancer when Baiyewu was five; after which he moved to Nigeria with his mother and younger sister.

His mother went on to marry former Nigerian president Olusegun Obasanjo and later died in 2000.

Baiyewu’s band, Lighthouse Family are a British musical duo that rose to prominence in the mid-1990s and remained active until the early 2000s. Baiyewu and keyboardist Paul Tucker formed the act in 1993 in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, after meeting while studying at university. Their 1995 debut album Ocean Drive sold more than 1.8 million copies in the UK alone and established them as a popular easy listening duo throughout Europe.

6. Christine Ohuruogu

Christine Ijeoma Ohuruogu, is a British former Olympic, World and Commonwealth champion in the 400 metres sprint. Born to Nigerian parents in London, she was the Olympic champion in 2008 and silver medalist in 2012. She was also a double World Champion, having won the 400m at the 2007 and 2013 World Championships.

Ohuruogu has also won six World championship medals in the women’s 4 x 400m relay as part of the Great Britain and Northern Ireland team and bronze Olympic medals with the women’s 4 x 400m relay at the 2008 Beijing Games and the 2016 Rio Games, her final Olympics. Ohuruogu shares with Merlene Ottey and Usain Bolt the record for medalling in most successive global championships – nine between the 2005 World Championships in Athletics and the 2016 Summer Olympics.

7. Chuka Umunna

Chuka Harrison Umunna is a British former politician who served as Member of Parliament for Streatham from 2010 until 2019. His father a Nigerian owner of an import-export business, tragically died in a road accident in Nigeria in 1992. His mother is of English-Irish background. Umunna a former member of the Labour Party, was part of the Shadow Cabinet from 2011 to 2015.

He left Labour in February 2019 to form The Independent Group, later Change UK, along with six other MPs. Later in 2019, he left Change UK and, after a short time as an independent MP, joined the Liberal Democrats.

Umunna was unsuccessful in being re-elected as an MP in the 2019 general election. As a result, he did not return to politics.

Umunna was cited as one of the Top 100 most influential Africans by New African magazine in 2015, several years before he left politics.

Since April 2020, Umunna has been a non-executive director of Advanced and an adviser to Digital Identity Net UK. Umunna was appointed executive director in July 2020 and Head of the Environmental, Social, Governance (ESG) consultancy. On 12 April 2021, he joined the investment bank JPMorgan Chase to oversee its ESG advisory efforts in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

8. Elizabeth Anionwu

Dame Elizabeth Nneka Anionwu DBE FRCN is a British nurse, health care administrator, lecturer, and Emeritus Professor of Nursing at University of West London. Anionwu was born Elizabeth Mary Furlong in England, to an Irish mother and a Nigerian father. Following the collapse of her parents relationship, she was subsequently placed in a catholic children’s home where she was cared for by nuns.

In 1979, Anionwu became the UK’s first sickle-cell and thalassemia nurse specialist, helping establish the Brent Sickle Cell and Thalassaemia Counselling centre. In 1998, Anionwu created the Mary Seacole Centre for Nursing Practice at the University of West London. She was appointed a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire and is a Fellow of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN). She retired in 2007, and in 2016 she published her memoirs, Mixed Blessings from a Cambridge Union.

9. Dave (rapper)

David Orobosa “Dave” Omoregie, also known as Santan Dave or just Dave, is a British rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer and actor. Dave has gained critical acclaim for his socially conscious lyricism. Born in Brixton, South London, the youngest of three sons to Nigerian parents.

Dave’s debut album Psychodrama (2019) was met with widespread critical acclaim. It debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart, having the biggest first week streams for a UK rap album. It went on to win the Mercury Prize, and Album of the Year at the 2020 Brit Awards.

10. Ashley Banjo

Ashley Modurotolu Banjo is an English street dancer, choreographer and actor. He is the leader of dance troupe Diversity who won the third series of Britain’s Got Talent. Son of former Nigerian heavyweight boxer Funso Banjo and and an English mother. Banjo and his younger brother Jordan, formed Diversity with nine of their friends.

Ashley has co-hosted numerous British television shows; including as a judge on the ITV show Britain’s Got Talent since September 2020.