Outrage over discrimination towards Nigerians at Abuja Chinese grocery store
The administration of an Abuja-based Chinese grocery store has come underneath hearth for denying Nigerians entry into the power.
Our correspondent stories that entry into the grocery store, with none title inscription, is restricted solely to people of Chinese descent.
The grocery store located on the China General Chamber of Commerce, alongside Umaru Musa Yar’Adua Road within the Federal Capital Territory, is acclaimed as a vacation spot for Chinese delicacies and drinks.
A video posted by X Daily confirmed an unidentified FCT resident expressing discontent in regards to the discriminatory coverage.
The resident mentioned, “Wonders shall by no means finish. There is a grocery store I noticed on-line that may be a Chinese grocery store. They have Chinese meals, ramen and different issues. I needed to go there and test it out however I used to be denied entry. The safety officers on the gate mentioned the grocery store was strictly for Chinese folks and no Nigerian is allowed to go inside or purchase something. Is that doable in China?
“This supermarket is here in Abuja and a Nigerian cannot enter. This is a joke. So that means a Chinese guy has more rights than you here in Nigeria. Chinese guys are allowed to visit anywhere in the country. The thing shocked me oo. Now I am going back to our local supermarket because they said I cannot enter.”
Uncle Deji @DejiAdesogan additionally wrote on X, “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.”
Another X consumer, Otunba AbdulFattah @OyedeleFatai, corroborating the declare, mentioned he was denied entry twice this 12 months.
“Yes! China Chambers of Commerce along airport road. I was denied access twice this year. The security told me that they have stopped Nigerians from entering the premises since January 2024. Nonsense! @NafdacAgency @fccpcnigeria,” he wrote.
He added, “Interesting. We hope Oga @YusufTuggar will attend to your issue raised.”
A overview by Whitney Ukanga on the chamber’s Google web page learn, “The Chinese have gradually seeped their nasty tentacles onto Nigeria. Nigerians have been forbidden to get into the supermarket in the China Chamber of Commerce but every other nationality may enter. In our own country. This is absolutely horrible and absurd.”
On his half, the Senior Public Relations Officer, Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, Nicholas Utsalo, avoided providing remark, citing protocol that solely permits the Executive Vice Chairman to handle the press.
Instead, he requested entry to the video footage and warranted the general public that an investigation into the allegations could be carried out.
Reacting, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Afam Osigwe, strongly criticised the motion, asserting that it bears resemblance to racism, and emphasised the necessity for heightened consciousness and measures to handle such discriminatory behaviours.
He urged the federal government to take rapid motion and completely examine the difficulty to make sure that such occurrences don’t occur wherever throughout the nation.
He mentioned, “It is definitely worrisome that a foreign-owned business in Nigeria would discriminate against nationals of a country by denying them entrance. Everything is wrong with any business opening and then applying a system likened to racism in the United States where blacks and other coloured persons were not allowed into public transport vehicles and even into business spaces. This act is very condemnable. No foreign-owned businesses in Nigeria should deny access to their premises. It is totally wrong and the Nigerian government should look into it to ensure that such a thing doesn’t happen anywhere in the country.”
