From Nigeria to Trinidad: Discovering the Island Where Africa Meets India

I was honored to keynote the International Media and Communication Conference at the University of the West Indies in Trinidad and Tobago. The invitation recognized my work in media scholarship and fueled a long-standing curiosity about the Caribbean. A DNA test revealed my Afro-Caribbean roots and many cousins across the islands. Meeting locals whose faces, names and traditions echo West African origins made my visit feel like an ancestral homecoming. Trinidad’s colonial history grafted Indian indentured labor onto an African-descended population. Today, Indians slightly outnumber Africans and both communities share remarkable cultural blends in language, faith and daily life. From the distinctive steups used at lunch to shared Yoruba names and a vibrant Muslim presence, I found a civilization uniquely Trinidadian. Here, Africa and India were uprooted, transplanted and remade into something entirely new.

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