No fewer than 13,000 Nigerian students are studying at the undergraduate level in the United States, according to Ms Malia Heroux, the U.S. Assistant Cultural Affairs Officer in Abuja.
Heroux said at the 2019 EducationUSA College Fair, on Wednesday in Abuja that the number had placed Nigeria at the top of African students in the U.S. educational institutions.
The theme of this year’s fair is “Solidifying Connections and Exploring New Frontiers”.
According to her, there is no specific number for Nigerian students wanting to study in the U.S. every year, adding that studying in the U.S. was voluntary.
She said that EducationUSA last year sensitised about 81,000 Nigeria students on study opportunities in the U.S. through emails, Skype, various messages and through phone calls.
Heroux said the number of Nigerians studying in the U.S. had nothing to do with Nigerian educational institutions.
According to her, both the U.S. and Nigeria offer a variety of programmes including linkages between universities in both countries.
“We also have a lot of graduate students looking to go to the U.S. after completing their undergraduate studies here,’’ she said.
Heroux further hinted that the U.S. extended $9 million scholarship to Nigerians last year.
Also speaking, the U.S. Embassy’s Deputy Chief of Mission, Ms Kathleen FitzGibbon, urged Nigerians to continue to explore the educational opportunities in the U.S. educational institutions.
The deputy chief of the mission also enjoined Nigerians to study and acquire skills in the U.S. and come back to change the future of their country.
“Prominent Nigerians have studied in the U.S. and returned to contribute to the development of their country.
“Former President Nnamdi Azikiwe, attended Columbia, Howard Universities; Onyeka Owenu, the former Director-General of the National Centre for Women Development, attended Wesley College and The New School for Social Research.
“These are some of the people, who were educated in the United States,’’ she said.
FitzGibbon said that the fair was attended by over 1, 500 students from different Nigerian secondary schools, universities, polytechnics, colleges and related educational organisations.
