AFRICANS IN AMERICA

BLOG BY NENE

Nigerian men are ‘old-school’ which means they buy you drinks, so women need not fret.

I never let the issue of nationality get in the way of a good time.  So I recently attended the Naija Happy Hour at Amalia Lounge, the biggest Nigerian singles-party in New York. The typical pick-up line was ‘So where are you from in Nigeria?’ and no-one was fazed when I responded that I was not Nigerian.

It’s a full time job being an African socialite these days, Africa is the latest cause célèbre and many organizations trying to out-do each other on behalf of Africans. Seems like everyone and his grandmother is starting a non-profit for the benefit of Africa (after their own ‘administrative expenses’). Being a capitalist, I stay away from these and political causes to focus on the business and social events (I love a good party!). There are so many African professional networking groups in the New York area – AngelAfrica (pan-African), Afripro (everyone), Nipro (Naijas), Star 100 (Ghanaians), Senepronet (Senegalese), Naija Happy Hour and the new African Federation Inc (AFI) (an umbrella body). Others have started and fizzled out. With all this action, I have to allocate my time wisely and carefully choose which groups I give my time to.

It’s a full time job being an African socialite these days, Africa is the latest cause célèbre and many organizations trying to out-do each other on behalf of Africans. Seems like everyone and his grandmother is starting a non-profit for the benefit of Africa (after their own ‘administrative expenses’). Being a capitalist, I stay away from these and political causes to focus on the business and social events (I love a good party!). There are so many African professional networking groups in the New York area – AngelAfrica (pan-African), Afripro (everyone), Nipro (Naijas), Star 100 (Ghanaians), Senepronet (Senegalese), Naija Happy Hour and the new African Federation Inc (AFI) (an umbrella body). Others have started and fizzled out. With all this action, I have to allocate my time wisely and carefully choose which groups I give my time to. The logical thing would be for all the groups to communicate in order avoid the kind of situations such as last September when three of the groups in New York City held events on the same evening. Some people like Kamil Olufuwobi of Afripro tried to rush across the city to check out everything but most had to choose.

If anyone tries to raise the issue of consolidation to the group leaders, it is like trying to get an African head of state to give up power! For the executives who belong to several groups, you end up like my Senegalese girlfriend, Mariama, who is a committee member on Senepronet and AngelAfrica, is on sub-committees in each group plus she has her full-time job. One committee meeting we had on for AngelAfrica lasted from 4 pm to after 9 pm, so by the time we finished arguing, my whole Saturday was gone. Why is it so hard to get a group of Africans to agree anyway? But for its members, AngelAfrica has great Happy Hours, speakers and business events.

I never let the issue of nationality get in the way a good time.  So I recently attended the Naija Happy Hour at Amalia Lounge, the biggest Nigerian singles-party in New York. The typical pick-up line was ‘So where are you from in Nigeria?’ and no-one was fazed when I responded that I was not Nigerian. Nigerian men are ‘old-school’ which means they buy you drinks so women need not fret. However, this is not always the case so when it comes to invitations for African events, it is very important to read the fine-print. For instance, Kamil O. and Benjamin Afrifa of AFI invited the leaders of all the African groups to Africa Kine Restaurant, the Senegalese restaurant on 116th St. in Harlem, in December to a ‘free’ year-end dinner. I like to eat, especially when it’s free, so I was the first to arrive. We had a lively discussion during which Benjamin, who works for a philanthropic foundation, explained that he formed AFI to reach the critical mass to apply for some funding that he has been doling out to other groups over the years. Before leaving, since I live uptown and I know the restaurant staff well, I was in the process of leaving them a tip when Benjamin came up and told me that there was a ‘suggested’ donation of $10 per person. Everyone was flummoxed, what happened to the free dinner? It probably went to the parliamentary election that the man is running for in Ghana. Let me stop!

Harlem now has the African Services Committee which provides assistance to African immigrants. However, when a friend of mine who had recently moved to the US after winning the Green Card lottery broke her ankle, and was unable to work, she called African Services Committee and they told her they couldn’t do much for her beyond food stamps, unless she was HIV positive! There’s a whole industry that has been created around the HIV issue and it keeps former presidents and aging rock stars from fading into oblivion.

Nigerians in particular seem good at organizing themselves into professional groups such as the Nigerian Lawyers Association and Nigerian Nurses Association. Similar to the African Americans’ grand family reunions, Nigerians also have annual conferences which tend to be organized along tribal lines. Because of their population, they have the numbers to organize these types of events unlike their fellow Africans hailing from countries with small populations. Come to think of it, I have yet to meet someone from Gabon in New York so organization depends on the size of your community. West Africans like Ivorians have formal societies which help out their community in the event of tragedies such as funerals.

With my countrymen here, if you have a problem, you’re on your own, Jack! Finally, when I first moved to New York in 2000, the embassies were the center of social activity but many African countries are actually watching their budgets these days, so they have cut back on entertainment for their diplomats abroad.

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