Chinese Migrants Move to Nigeria to Make Money
By Chibuike Oguh
Jennifer Yin is not a typical Chinese migrant in Nigeria. She speaks fluent English courtesy of the two degrees in English she obtained from Henan University in China. “Most Chinese people can read English, but they cannot speak fluent English,” the 29-year-old says.
Yin moved to Lagos in 2009 to represent a hair manufacturing company attempting to gain a foothold in Africa’s largest economy. “Nigeria is a tough market. But one thing I like about Nigeria is the people — they are kind, open-minded and easy-going,” Yin says.
Today she lives in Chinatown — a giant, red, medieval fortress-looking complex, located in the Ojota suburb of Lagos. It symbolises China’s growing economic presence in Nigeria.
The Chinese business community in Nigeria built Chinatown in 2004 to be a haven for cheap Chinese-made goods — clothes, shoes, kitchen utensils, ceramics, etc — scattered among over 150 shops. The shopping complex drew numerous Nigerians, hunting for cheaper alternatives to Nigerian or Western-made goods.
But Nigerian businesses resented the loss of their customers. They filed a number of complaints with the government. This prompted raids and a crackdown on pirated and sub-standard goods. Because of this consistent crackdown, a lot of Chinese merchants moved back to China. Some others changed their line of trade as their Nigerian customers went away in droves. Today, Chinatown is a shadow of its former self. “Only older Chinese people still own shops there. Younger people have developed other businesses,” Yin says.
But she says Chinatown still hosts a thriving community of about 1,000 Chinese migrants who live in the residential area. They are a small fraction of the legally resident Chinese — about 17,000 — in Lagos and Ogun states, according to figures from David Parradang, the head of the Nigeria Immigration Service. Parradang said that many Chinese people enter Nigeria on visiting, tourist and business visas, but remain illegally. Yin says the high cost of renewing a residency permit — which costs about $1,000 annually — is to blame for the high number of illegally resident Chinese people in Nigeria. “They all have agents that help them with immigration.” Essentially, they bribe Nigerian immigration officials to avoid paying residency fees.
There are three important things that worry most Chinese residents living in Chinatown: government policy, security and exchange rates.
Nigeria’s government, just like most African countries, has been very receptive to the Chinese. Their construction companies are building roads, bridges, railways, and apartment buildings across Nigeria, especially in Lagos. These projects are usually funded with cheap loans from the Chinese government. In exchange, Nigeria’s federal government grants Chinese companies lucrative licenses to mine Nigeria’s abundant natural resources. Yin is now the export manager for a mining company that owns lead, copper and zinc mines in two Nigerian states. Many Chinese people want this current government policy to continue. That is why they followed Nigeria’s presidential elections, which General Muhammadu Buhari won. “I wanted Goodluck Jonathan to win because he is a gentleman. Many Chinese are worried that the new government may change the economy policy or ban the export or import of some Chinese goods,” Yin says.
Security is another major worry for these Chinese migrants. Chinatown’s management hires a security company to guard the gates and patrol the premises. “We fear kidnappings and armed robbery,” Yin says. A Chinese man she knows was recently kidnapped in Lagos and taken to nearby Ogun state. He managed to escape after his kidnappers loosened his chains when he became friendly with them. But Yin says others are not so lucky, usually paying hefty ransoms to regain their freedom. Even her husband was robbed while he was travelling to northern Nigeria by road. He owns a small Styrofoam manufacturing firm and he was travelling to a site with some Chinese and Nigerian associates. The robbers ransacked his bags and took his money. “He was even lucky,” Yin says. “Other passengers who didn’t have money were badly beaten.”
Perhaps the biggest worry for most Chinese residents in Chinatown is the constant fluctuation of Nigeria’s exchange rates. The Central Bank of Nigeria has devalued the naira twice in the past five months to cushion the economy against the impact of falling oil prices. Chinese businesses have been greatly affected by this policy because they buy goods in renminbi, but make revenues in naira. “The naira is becoming too cheap and it is erasing our profits,” Yin says.
Despite all these challenges facing Chinese migrants in Nigeria, she says she still loves the country. “I met my husband here and we want to apply for citizenship. It’s easier to make money here than in China.”
Originally published at migrantsstory.wordpress.com on April 20, 2015.
