Gbenga Oloniniran writes about the discrimination experienced by some Nigerians on the premises of foreign businesses where they are met with restrictions despite being in Nigeria.
On Sunday, Nigerians expressed outrage over a discriminatory policy implemented by an Abuja-based Chinese supermarket, which restricted entry exclusively to its citizens and barred Nigerians.
A correspondent, who visited the mall located within the China General Chamber of Commerce in Abuja, reported that entry into the supermarket, without any name inscription, was restricted exclusively to individuals of Chinese descent.
An X user, @DejiAdesogan, had also written, “So there’s a Chinese supermarket in Abuja that Nigerians cannot enter, let alone buy anything, that only Chinese are allowed? So weird to believe.”
Visiting the premises on Monday, the commission’s officials led by the Director for Surveillance and Investigation, Boladale Adeyinka said the mission of the commission was in response to the viral video when Nigerians were allegedly being discriminated against and denied access to the supermarket.
The owner of the supermarket has also been summoned. This was as workers at the store disclosed that the owner of the supermarket fled the premises.
Adeyinka said, “There are other regulatory tools to be deployed if she (the owner) fails to attend to this summons. The summons means that on entering into these premises, they must see the summons because that is how they gain access to it.”
But the Abuja supermarket is not the only business barring or discriminating against Nigerians.
Discriminations were also reported in Lagos. While reacting to the post by @DejiAdesogan on Sunday, an X user @decommonroom wrote “The Indian school in Ilupeju only admits Indians. You need an Indian passport for enrollment.”
In a further chat with The PUNCH, he said, “My experience with the Indian international school in Ilupeju dates back to when my school had a debate competition with them in 2009. I discovered there were only Indian students. I was curious as to why because my school was also an international school and run by a foreign embassy with primarily expatriate kids and few Nigerians. Then I was informed their passport was a prerequisite for admission.”
Our correspondent therefore visited the Indian Language School Ilupeju, located in Lagos to investigate the claim.
Our correspondent who visited the school on Monday reports that several Indians and their kids were seen entering and leaving the brown building opposite Rite Price Supermarket, Akinteye Drive in Ilupeju.
Flooded with Indians, many of them live on the street as they were seen buying items freely at several shops, malls and stands operated by Nigerians.
The building’s plots stretch to the back, with Indian school children heard playing and having their school activities in the compound.
Taking a stroll down the bend behind the school plot, our correspondent saw another storey building with the inscription: ‘Indian Language School,’ with some construction workers working at the front. It was not certain whether it was a new building or not.
Returning to the main building and approaching the entrance, it was observed that at the security post, about three guard men were seen, with one on a uniform and another one, likely a septuagenarian, putting on a native attire. They were Nigerian security men from their dress and conversation.
Our correspondent asked to make enquiries for his uncle who had two kids and would like to enroll them in the school.
“But that your uncle is an Indian man?” One of the security men responded. Our correspondent answered in the affirmative to give room for further discussions as reports showed that at similar foreign establishments, Nigerians were barred even from the point of entry. However, this was not different even with the different approach.
The security man in uniform immediately took the details of our correspondent in a form and took the form with him to an office while our correspondent was asked to wait at the security post.
While our correspondent sat, Indian nationals were seen trooping in and out.
Upon returning after about four minutes, the security man said, “They said the person should come – the person that is Indian – should come with his two kids.”
“They said as a Nigerian, they (the management) cannot attend to you. So the person should come, the Indian person,” he added, noting that was the response of an unidentified administrative worker, said to be an Indian.
When our correspondent asked to meet the said receptionist or admin manager, the security man said, “The woman will not attend to you because that’s the message she asked me to pass across to you.”
When our correspondent informed them his Indian uncle had not arrived in Nigeria, they still refused him entry.
Asking why he was refused entry, another man at the security post told our correspondent, “You know if they (the owners) were people of our skin colour (Nigerians) now (things could be different), but these people, they are the ones that know what they saw that made them do things like that.”
Insisting the admin manager would not attend to our correspondent, the first security man added, “They are Indians. The admin is an Indian.”
When asked if our correspondent could come with his Indian uncle when coming to enroll his children, they responded in the affirmative, echoing “No problem.” “That one is sure,” another one said.
When quizzed further if Nigerians were allowed to school there, one of them said it was possible only if the child was born to an Indian national.
A worker in a supermarket opposite the school who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprimand confirmed the school was mainly for Indians when asked by our correspondent. “Yes it is,” she said, nodding her head.
Another resident, Kazeem Ajagbe, who sat at a shop on the street where he earlier gave our correspondent directions, simply shrugged when told it was learnt the school was mainly for Indians.
A keke driver, Tolu Fafunwa, when asked about why Nigerians were not allowed in the school, said, “That’s what I heard too. If you’re a Nigerian, except you’re working there or have an appointment, you cannot enter. So we cannot even know if there is a shady thing going on inside there.”
Based on information available on the school’s website, the institution was established in 1982 as a private school under the umbrella of The High Commission of India. “The school is affiliated to the Central Board of Secondary Education, New Delhi and has classes from BALVATIKA1 to XII.”
Our correspondent sent a text and made calls to the phone number on the school’s website and also sent a message to the an email address, but there was no response.
The spokesperson for the Indian High Commission in Nigeria, Vipul Mesariya, when contacted asked our correspondent to send him an email. He had yet to respond to it as of the time of filing this report.
Meanwhile, a source in the commission who preferred anonymity for not being authorised to speak to the media, said the Indian school was established based on some conditions in Nigeria.
“One of the conditions is that it will not enroll locals in the school. It is not their fault,” he said.
Also at the Kindea Chinese Hotel in Maitama, Abuja, our correspondent was prevented from entering the premises based on the hotel’s policy that only Chinese nationals could access the hotel or use the facilities.
A staff member said the policy was introduced last November after some Nigerian guests declined to pay their bills and vandalised some properties.
But the facility manager, Anita Ejeh, asserted that the hotel was not open to the public, adding that it was meant for the owners and foreign staff of the company whenever they visited Nigeria.
Ejeh said, ‘’This hotel accommodates the employers of Kindea Chinese Hotels. We don’t even accommodate foreigners. It is like the official quarters for their bosses when they visit Nigeria. The company rented the building from a Nigerian for their bosses, it is not open to the public.’’
The Chinese manager of the hotel, Gt Elly said, “We have not opened to outsiders since last year. Two or three years ago, everybody could come to the hotel but since last year, we did not open the hotel to outsiders.
“For now, the hotel is mainly meant for ourselves. Our cooperation leaders would come and before they came, they will call me and send RSVP to me to make a reservation because they stay in China. They will spend maybe just a week in the hotel.’’
The Maintenance officer, Balam Suleiman, said, “Twenty staff currently work in the hotel. Nigerians do not lodge at the hotel, we do not have Nigerian guests here.”
The situation was different at Panda Supermarket Jabi, Abuja. When our correspondent arrived at the supermarket at about 10:40am, he observed a number of customers freely entering and exiting the supermarket.
Our correspondent was equally allowed access to the supermarket, where he counted about five customers, including Chinese nationals engaging in trade activities.
At the gate, there were three security personnel of Nigerian origin while our correspondent also counted three attendants in the supermarket, as well as two cashiers, all of Nigerian descent, overseen by a Chinese national.
Commenting on the sealed supermarket, a Chinese official from the Embassy in the Federal Capital Territory, who has spent three years in Nigeria and chose to remain anonymous, acknowledged the complexity of the situation.
He stressed that the behaviour (of the sealed supermarket management) was not indicative of all Chinese nationals, highlighting the importance of addressing each country’s unique challenges with understanding and fairness.
“Majority of the Chinese people are friendly. You can see that a lot of developed countries have colonised developing country but China never bullied developing countries.
“I have been here for more than three years and I will still be in Abuja. What is happening is an individual case and not a general issue. It is not fair to all Chinese nationals,” the official noted.
At Food Corner and Karma supermarkets not far from the Bonny camp in Lagos our correspondent did not observe any discrimination. While Food Corner is owned by a Lebanese, Karma is owned by an Indian.
During a visit to Food Corner Supermarket, our correspondent observed that there was no form of discrimination as both Nigerians and foreign nationals patronised the supermarket.
When our correspondent visited Karma supermarket, two men believed to be Indians were seen taking stocks of their products. There was also no form of discrimination.
Lagos China Town
At the topmost part of the building, the Nigerian and Chinese national flags were hoisted side by side. As our correspondent approached the only entrance to the town, Nigerians were seen coming in and out.
There were no fewer than six buildings closely connected. In each building, there were several shops where clothes and other cotton materials were sold. These shops were largely occupied by Nigerians.
Just before the entrance, a food seller who identified herself as Mama Blessing told our correspondent that she and other business owners in the community had free access to China Town, stating that visitors could enter the town unchecked.
“Some Nigerians who work in shops in China Town come here to buy my food since there is no restaurant inside the town. I also go to meet some of them inside the town if I need to collect something from them. It is free for everyone. The security would not even ask you what you want to do inside,” she told our correspondent on Monday.
When our correspondent attempted to enter the gate, he did so freely even though there was security, including a man in police uniform at the entrance of the town.
Also, when our correspondent visited the Royal Mandarin Chinese restaurant located along the Ibara axis in the Abeokuta South Local Government Area on Monday, it was observed that all the staff sighted by our correspondent were Nigerians.
Meanwhile, several products in the mall were labelled in Chinese which could restrict Nigerians from buying as many would not understand the Chinese words written on them.
A staff member of the organisation, who spoke on conditions of anonymity for not being authorised to speak to the media, said though the restaurant carried a Chinese tag, it was owned and controlled by Nigerians.
He said, “This restaurant is just carrying the appellation of a Chinese restaurant. It is owned and controlled by a Nigerian. Even our major customers are local residents.”
A few customers sighted by our correspondent were also Nigerians. A customer, Abiola Shodehin, said, “I learnt this place is owned by a Nigerian and I have been patronising this restaurant for a while without any issue of discrimination.”
Also, upon arriving at the Sagamu Chinese supermarket on Monday, our correspondent made his way to the goods stand and was welcomed by security personnel without restrictions.
But when our correspondent moved around the supermarket, there was the challenge of a language barrier between the cashier, a Chinese national who did not understand the English language and our correspondent. This challenge posed a communication barrier forcing this correspondent to resort to body gestures.
Meanwhile, despite the directive of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission against supermarkets engaging in price fixing and non-display of prices of goods, there seemed to be non-compliance with the directive at this Chinese supermarket. It was also observed that most of the products were branded in Chinese language.
When our correspondent approached some residents within the area, they dismissed reports of discrimination against the locals.
Gbenga Oloniniran
Additional reports: Nathaniel Shaibu, Damilola Aina, Uthman Salami, Dayo Oyewo and Gift Habib
