Nigerian native thrives as US Army Soldier

Multi-National Force - Iraq ^ | Sgt. Alun Thomas, USA

[SandRat]

Spc. Opeyemi Akinwumi, from Wylie, Texas, tightens the panels on the tail of an AH-64D Apache attack helicopter on Camp Taji. Akinwumi emigrated to the U.S. from Nigeria in 2005 after his mother won a green card lottery five years earlier, allowing both to become naturalized citizens. Photo by Sgt. Alun Thomas, 1st Cavalry Division.

CAMP TAJI — Sometimes all it takes is luck to change the direction of somebody's life. Spc. Opeyemi Akinwumi’s life changed for the better, and he has his mother to thank for it.

Through his mother's good fortune at winning a green card lottery, Akinwumi's life was changed drastically; it allowed him to move to the U.S. from Nigeria and pursue a new path, one which would eventually lead to the Army.

For the first 20 years of his life, Akinwumi, now from Wylie, Texas, and a crew chief in Company C, 1st Battalion, 227th Aviation Regiment, 1st Air Cavalry Brigade, lived in Ondo State, Nigeria, a difficult place to grow up in, he said.

"You have to hustle for yourself and go to school because there's a lot of poverty over there," he said. "Most of the time you don't have people that are going to take care of you. The economy isn't really that great, so people from the middle class have to be able go to school."

Akinwumi's parents divorced when he was young and he found himself working as a laborer to save money for college and a future.

"Sometimes I had to go to a farm, do some labor work and take the money I earned and use it to pay for school," he said. "You have to do what you have to do to go to school. Without school you can't go too far."

Despite the hardships, he said Nigeria provided a good upbringing.

"There was a lot of mass unemployment, but for me Nigeria was comfortable because it was free," he said. "I loved farming and working with my hands ... I love sport and I played soccer for my college too. It was good."

Akinwumi said Nigeria was free of conflict when he lived there, but many people still sought to move to the U.S., including his mother.

"She wanted to come to America to study and have a better life," he explained. "She put in for the green card lottery on the Internet and finally won after years of trying."

As his mother and stepfather settled in the U.S. as teachers, Akinwumi said he was content in Nigeria, until his mother beckoned for him to visit.

"After my mother had been there for a few years she said to me 'it's been a while, come and spend some time with me,'" he said. "I came over after I graduated college in 2005 just to visit. I thought it was better in America because there were more jobs and I could work anywhere, so the opportunity was there."

Luckily for him, the transition into citizenship was easy, due to his mother's status as a naturalized U.S. citizen which allowed her to sponsor him.

His next task was finding work to finance college, despite already having a degree from Nigeria.

"I had a degree in computer science from Nigeria but I never used it,” he said. “When I came to America I wanted to change my line of work. I worked [retail], at gas stations and went to school full time to get my AMP (Aviation Mechanic Powerplant) license."

This proved too expensive for Akinwumi, who said the proposition of joining the Army to help pay for his education was a good alternative.

"I thought if I joined the military they'd be able to give the same education and I won't have to pay for it," he said.

Akinwumi's next stop was basic training, which he said was a positive experience.

"I knew it was going to be challenging being with people I didn't know that had different ideas and backgrounds from me," he said. "It was a good thing because it helped me learn more about people and their cultures."

His first duty station was at Camp Humphreys in South Korea, where he stayed for a year before he joined the 1st ACB.

"Every unit has its own challenges and the Air Cav. has been good so far," he said. "I would really like to go back to Korea too ... I was only there a year but liked it a lot."

Akinwumi said he wants to put in a packet for Officer Candidate School, but is still unsure about making the Army a career.

"It's 50/50 right now ... but probably," he said, with a hearty grin.

One thing Akinwumi is certain of, however, is making sure he returns to Nigeria on a regular basis.

"I go back every year and that's a promise I made to myself," he said. "My grandmother and my uncle are still there ... so are my nephews. They like what I'm doing."

[SandRat]

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[QBFimi]

After a year and a half of my life in Africa, I can honestly say that these resourceful, hard working and honest African immigrants are a great blessing to the USA. One would hope that more of our “locals” with the same skin color would follow their example.

[allmost]

2 ways to read this.

[Sherman Logan]

How so?

[Roccus]

"Nigerian native thrives as US Army Soldier"

What with a Kenyan CIC, I would think so.

[allmost]

The good read, gotta love em...
The bad read, "they have to love me"...

[Sherman Logan]

I don’t get your point. The guy seems to have a pretty good attitude. If all immigrants had his POV and were similarly legal, we’d have a lot fewer problems.

[SWAMPSNIPER]

His positive outlook will go a long way!

[Sodbuster09]

Of any skin color.

[BookaT]

I guess his $5,000,000 inheritance wasn’t enough. Or maybe no one would help him transfer the money..j/k

Whenever I see Nigerian I think of the 100’s of emails I got about making a deal with someone from Nigeria.

[BookaT]

I guess his $5,000,000 inheritance wasn’t enough. Or maybe no one would help him transfer the money..j/k

Whenever I see Nigerian I think of the 100’s of emails I got about making a deal with someone from Nigeria.

[allmost]

The Nation is immigrants.

[octex]

A few years ago, I had arranged for a cab to take me to work at about 6 am; just about a 10 mile ride. The driver spoke with a slight accent, so I asked where he was from and it turned out to be Nigeria.

He’d only been in America for about 2 years and was thrilled to be here. The guy was probably in his mid-20s and had a very positive attitude about America. He was attending a local community college and hoping to become a naturalized citizen with a much better future than what he had been facing in Nigeria.

I have no problem with immigrants like him, who want to become citizens and assimilate into American culture.

[Joe Boucher]

One of the finest ways to become an American citizen is to join the U.S. military.
Many have done so.
I sure have lots more respect for those who come here this way than for those who walked across the Rio Grande’.