Celebrating British Nigerian Icons for Black History Month

October in the UK is Black History month (BHM). This national celebration provides an opportunity to spotlight and celebrate the many achievements and contributions which have helped to shape British society.

In this article, Vivian Adeyemo celebrates the high profile Black British public figures of Nigerian origin.

Population

Nigerians have formed long-established communities in the UK; particularly in industrial cities such as London. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) 2011 Census recorded 191,183 Nigerian-born residents in England and Wales. More recent estimates by ONS put the figure at 215,000 in 2019.

Nigeria’s History with UK

The earliest recognised Nigerian presence in London took place over 200 years ago. This was as a result of the transatlantic slave trade. Nigerian Olaudah Equiano, a former slave who lived in London; was involved in the debate in Britain over the abolition of the slave trade in the 1780s.

Like many other former British colonies, Nigeria has been a large source of immigrants to the UK. Prior to Nigerian independence from British rule in 1960, many Nigerians studied in the UK along with the majority returning to Nigeria upon completion of their higher education. In the 1960s, civil and political unrest in Nigeria contributed to many refugees migrating to Britain, along with skilled workers.

Nigerians emigrated in larger numbers in the 1980s following the collapse of the petroleum boom. This wave of migration has been more permanent than the pre-independence wave of temporary migration. This latest wave of migration has propelled an established community of second and third generation British Nigerians – born in the UK with parents or grandparents from Nigeria.

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British Nigerian Icons

In celebration of BHM, NRTC will for the coming months, run through a list of 50 notable British trailblazers of Nigerian descent. This series will feature public figures from a range of fields from the entertainment industry to politics.

Here is this month’s 10 influencers and vanguards of excellence:  

1. Sade

Helen Folasade Adu aka Sade is a Nigerian born, British singer and songwriter. She is the lead singer of her band ‘Sade’ which is named after her. To date, she is one of the most successful British female artists in history. Sade was the first Nigerian (African) to win the Grammy Award in 1985 under the Best New Artists.

2. Seal

Henry Olusegun Adeola Samuel, professionally known as Seal, is a British singer-songwriter. Born to a Nigerian mother and Afro Brazilian father, he is famed for hit songs such as “Crazy” and “Kiss from a Rose”. He has sold over 20 million records worldwide. Seal has won numerous awards including four Grammy Awards.

3. Anthony Joshua

Anthony Oluwafemi Olaseni Joshua, aka AJ, is a British professional boxer. AJ was born in Watford, Hertfordshire to a Nigerian mother and father of Nigerian and Irish ancestry. He is the former unified world heavyweight champion, having previously held the WBA, IBF, WBO and IBO titles. He represented Great Britain at the 2012 Olympics, winning a gold medal.

4. Bernadine Evaristo

Bernadine Anne Mobolaji Evaristo is a British author and academic. She won the Booker prize in 2019 for her novel Girl, Woman, Other, becoming the first Black woman and the first Black British person to win it. She won the British Book Awards in 2020 for Fiction Book of the Year and Author of the year. In June 2020 she became the first Black woman and first Black British writer to get to number 1 in the UK paperback fiction chart.

5. John Boyega

John Adedayo Bamidele Adegboyega, known as John Boyega, is a British actor and producer. He was born in Camberwell, London to Nigerian parents. His international star acclaim, was with roles such as Finn in the Star Wars, sequel trilogy films.

He won the BAFTA Rising Star Award in 2016. In 2020, he was cited as one of the top 100 influential Africans by New African magazine. Boyega is a passionate activist on racial inequalities, more notably participating at the Black Lives Matter rally in Hyde Park, London in 2020.

6. Bukayo Saka

Bukayo Ayoyinka Saka is a British professional footballer who plays for Arsenal and the England national team. Saka was born to Nigerian parents in Ealing, London. On 15 April 2021, Saka scored a goal which helped Arsenal to a 4-0 victory over Slavia Prague in the quarter final of the Europa League.

He was named Europa League Player of the Week, as a result of his stellar performance. He represented England at the UEFA Euro 2020, steering the team to the finals – but losing out to Italy in penalty shoot outs.

7. Chi Onwurah

Chinyelu Susan Onwurah is a British Labour Party politician; who is a Member of Parliament for Newcastle upon Tyne Central since 2010. Known professionally as Chi Onwurah, she was born in Newcastle to a Nigerian father and English mother.

The family moved to Nigeria, when Onwurah was a newborn in 1965. However, Onwurah and her mother returned to the UK two years later, when the Biafra war broke out. Her father remained in Nigeria to join the Biafran army. Her seat at Newcastle Upon Tyne Central is the second safest Labour seat in the North East.

8. Chiwetel Ejiofor

Chiwetel Umeadi Ejiofor is a British actor who has received numerous awards and nominations for his impeccable acting abilities. Ejiofor was born in London to middle-class Nigerian parents. Ejiofor was involved in a motor accident in Lagos, Nigeria when he was 11.

The accident tragically took his father’s life and left Ejiofor badly injured with scars which are still visible on his forehead. Despite early tragedy, Ejiofor has built an impressive acting resume, and picked up many accolades and won awards along the way. For the film 12 Years a Slave, he received the BAFTA Award for Best Actor and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor.

9. KSI

Olajide Olayinka Williams Olatunji better known as KSI, is the multi-faceted British YouTuber and rapper. KSI was born in London to a Nigerian father and British Nigerian mother. KSI was primarily known for his gaming commentary YouTube videos, before venturing into the world of music.

He has over 34 million subscribers and over 8 billion video views across his YouTube platforms. KSI’s debut studio album Dissimulation debuted at number 2 on the UK Albums Chart. His second studio album, All Over the Place debuted at number 1.

10. Eniola Aluko

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Eniola Aluko is a British-Nigerian football executive, commentator and former professional player. Aluko is currently the sporting director of Angel City FC in Los Angeles.

Born in Lagos, Nigeria to Nigerian parents , she moved to Birmingham , England at the age of six months. She has made 102 appearances for the England national team from 2004 – 2016. In 2014, Aluko featured on the BBC’s football programme Match of the Day, becoming the first woman to appear as a pundit on the show.