Month: January 2025

African Food

ChòpnBlọk Montrose brings West African cuisine to the heart of Houston, one dish and one cultural conversation at a time…

By Lisa Davidson | We-Heart

ChòpnBlọk Montrose continues to pull in the crowds, the fast-casual West African restaurant from Ope Amosu offering not only food and drink, but a vibrant community space for the neighbourhood.

Beginning life as a 670 square foot food stall in the Downtown culture, food, and recreation hub POST Houston in 2021, ChòpnBlọk Montrose is the concept’s first bricks-and-mortar location, the deliberate expansion strengthening Amosu’s mission to “make West African cuisine a vibrant part of everyday life, all within a city that is home to one of the largest communities of Nigerians in the country.”

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Communities

Rockets host multiple events to celebrate Nigerian heritage in Houston

Story by Ben DuBose | Rockets Wire

The Rockets recently hosted a series of flagship events to celebrate Nigerian heritage.  Current head coach Ime Udoka is of Nigerian descent, while former center Hakeem Olajuwon — who led Houston to its only two NBA championships in 1994 and 1995 and is now a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame — was born and raised in Nigeria.

Olajuwon was also a two-time NBA Finals MVP and won Most Valuable Player (MVP) in the NBA’s 1993-94 season, which ended with Houston’s first title.

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Embassies & High Commissions

Nigerian Minister orders new passport printers to be deployed to Atlanta and New York Consulates

By Ebimo Amungo

Action has been taken by the Nigerian government to address perennial delays in the renewal and issuance of new passports to Nigerians living in America. The Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, has directed the Nigerian Immigration Service to deploy new printers to the Atlanta and New York Consulates in the United States of America.

This directive followed a petition by Nigerians, who under the umbrella of the Organization for the Advancement of Nigerians (OAN), had appealed to the Minister to address the persistent passport printing crisis at consulates.

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Appointments

Nigerian-American Adebayo Ogunlesi joins OpenAI’s Board of Directors

By Ebimo Amungo

Nigerian-American private equity titan Adebayo “Bayo” Ogunlesi has joined the Board of Directors of Open AI. The company made the announcement recently in a release where it stated that Mr. Ogunlesi’s counsel will be invaluable as it navigates the global transformation of AI infrastructure, drive innovation, and foster economic growth.

OpenAI is one of the preeminent companies in America accelerating the growth and adoption of artificial intelligence with ChatGPT.

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Enterpreneurship

Funding Black-owned businesses: Facts and statistics

By Heidi Rivera | FIDELITY

Key takeaways

  • Black-owned businesses in the U.S. employ around 1.6 million Americans, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
  • Studies show that Black entrepreneurs face more challenges than their white counterparts to secure the capital they need. This is true, even if they have a stronger credit profile.
  • Black-owned businesses play an essential role in reducing the racial wealth gap.

Minority-owned businesses are those that are at least 51 percent owned, operated and controlled by a minority group. Black- and African-American-owned businesses fall under this umbrella.

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Policy

Immigration looms large over US-Africa relations in 2025

By Alexander Tripp | Atlantic Council

With President Donald Trump back in office, Africa watchers and policymakers throughout Africa are eager to know how the new US administration will approach relations with the continent as his second term begins. Between the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) scheduled to expire and South Africa hosting the Group of Twenty (G20) Summit, 2025 will be a defining year for Africa and many are rightfully looking forward to a year in which trade and finance will be front and center in wider US-Africa relations. Yet, while those elements of the relationship will certainly come into focus, on the US political front, these issues may be relegated to at least the second half of the year. Instead, the issue area that will likely impact US-Africa relations the most in the coming months is immigration.

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Celebrity

Nigeria defender Michelle Alozie on life as a professional footballer and cancer researcher

By Courtney Hill | Olympics.com

Michelle Alozie is more than just a football player.

A morning of training with the Houston Dash is often followed by an afternoon spent at the lab, where the Nigerian works as a cancer research technician. Alozie’s first love was football, but when her boots aren’t laced up she is driven by the desire to help people, working specifically with young children.

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Embassies & High Commissions

Nigerians decry delays in passport issuance and renewal at New York and Atlanta consulates

By Ebimo Amungo
Chronic delays in the issuance and renewal of passports to Nigerian immigrants in America have led to an effort to get the intervention of the Nigerian Minister of Interior.

Rallying under the aegis of the Organization for the Advancement of Nigerians (OAN), frustrated Nigerians have called on the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, to address the persistent passport printing crisis at Nigerian consulates in New York and Atlanta.

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Remittance

Kenyan immigrants in the United States top diaspora remittance to home country


By Ebimo Amungo
Kenyan immigrants in the United States remain the leading source of remittances to their home country. This is according to the Central Bank of Kenya. A report in CBK’s weekly bulletin noted that diaspora remittances hit an all-time high in 2024, reaching US$4.95 billion. Fifty-one percent of the total inflows was made by Kenyan immigrants in America.

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