British Nigerian
The term "British Nigerian" may refer to either persons born in the United Kingdom who are of Nigerian heritage or Nigerians who were born in the United Kingdom.
This page discusses residents and nationals of Nigerian heritage who now live in the United Kingdom. South London is home to a sizeable population of Nigerians as well as Nigerians whose ancestors were born in the United Kingdom. They constitute a significant portion of one of the country's most populous immigrant communities.
Nigerians have been living in London, Liverpool, and a number of other industrial cities for a very long time, forming well-established communities. As a direct consequence of the transatlantic slave trade, the oldest documented presence of Nigerians in London dates back more than 200 years. This event took place in London. Olaudah Equiano, a former slave who was born in the region that is now Nigeria and who resided in London, participated in the discussion that took place in Britain on the abolition of the slave trade while he was a resident of that city.
The United Kingdom has received a significant number of people from Nigeria, just as it has received people from a great number of other countries that were once British colonies. In the years leading up to Nigeria's formal declaration of independence from Britain in 1960, a sizable number of Nigerian students pursued higher education not only in the United Kingdom but also in other countries, including Scotland and the United States. The vast majority of these students eventually settled back in Nigeria after completing their degrees. In the 1960s, civil and political upheaval in Nigeria was a contributing factor in the migration of numerous refugees as well as skilled employees to the United Kingdom.
After the fall of the country's oil boom in the 1980s, a significant increase in the number of Nigerians leaving the country may be attributed to this event. In contrast to the wave of transitory migration that occurred before independence, this movement has a greater likelihood of becoming permanent. In 1995, during the height of the persecution associated with the military dictatorship of Sani Abacha, there was a rise in the number of asylum requests submitted by Nigerian citizens.
In 2015, the Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner for the United Kingdom voiced their worries on the prevalence of modern slavery involving Nigerians who were transported into the United Kingdom. In 2014, the National Crime Agency received information on more over 2,000 possible victims of human trafficking, and 244 of those victims were from Nigeria. This represents a 31% rise over the previous year's statistic from 2013. According to the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), "Campaigners fear the true count of possible trafficking victims from Nigeria might be substantially higher."