Lebanese Nigerians
Lebanese Nigerians are Nigerians with ancestry from Lebanon. They form a community of 30,000-75,000.[1] Some Lebanese families in Nigeria have lived in the country for multiple generations since the British colonial era, while others are more recent immigrants.[2]
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 30,000-75,000[1] | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Lagos and Kano | |
| Languages | |
| Arabic (Lebanese Arabic), English, French | |
| Religion | |
| Christianity and Islam |
| Part of a series of articles on |
| Lebanese people |
|---|
 |
 Lebanon portal |
History
Colonial era
People from Lebanon first migrated to West Africa in the 19th-century to flee oppression and economic crisis in the Ottoman Empire.[3] Lebanese migrants often originally intended to reach Brazil or the United States, but many were stranded in West Africa due to financial or logistical problems.[3] Nigeria received a significant amount of Lebanese settlers due to its coastal city of Lagos serving as a major point of transit between Lebanon and the Americas.[3]The first Lebanese immigrant to Nigeria, in Lagos, was Elias Khoury who migrated from the Lebanese village of Miziara in 1890.[4] Many of these early Lebanese migrants to Nigeria came from the villages of Miziara and Jwaya.[3] Residents of the two villages often rely on remittances from Lebanese Nigerians to survive.[4]
Contemporary
Nigeria continues to receive a significant influx of Lebanese immigrants seeking to escape political and economic turmoil in their homeland. It is estimated that more than 250,000 Lebanese live in West Africa, and in 2021, the Lebanese embassy in Nigeria reported a “noticeable increase” in Lebanese citizens moving to Nigeria.[5] In February 2022, the Nigerian government granted citizenship to 286 foreign nationals, 108 of whom were Lebanese.[6]
Impact on Nigerian society
Tinubu Square, an open space landmark in Lagos, was donated by the Lebanese community as a gift for Nigeria upon Nigerian independence in 1960.[7] The Lebanese Community School is a private school in Lagos operated by the Lebanese.
List of notable Lebanese-Nigerians
References
- "Planes and pyramids: The surreal mansions of Lebanon's Nigeria Avenue". Middle East Eye édition française.
- Ndukwe, Ijeoma. "'Everyone is hustling here': The Lebanese of Nigeria". www.aljazeera.com.
- Winder, R. Bayly (1962). "The Lebanese in West Africa*". Comparative Studies in Society and History. 4 (3): 296–333. doi:10.1017/S0010417500012342. ISSN 1475-2999. S2CID 146139260.
- "Transnational Networks of the Lebanese-Nigerian Diaspora". Middle East Institute. Retrieved 2021-03-27.
- "Lebanese move to west Africa, escaping the crisis at home". The Economist.
- "286 Britons, Lebanese, Italians, others get Nigerian citizenship". Punch Newspapers. 11 September 2022.
- "Tinubu Square: A befitting memorial to an Amazon The Nation Newspaper". 22 November 2013.