OPINION: How The Chinese Are Steadily Conquering Nigeria

Editor’s note: It is common knowledge that China is rapidly enhancing its influence all over the world, establishing close relations with both developed and developing countries. Nigeria is not an exclusion. Its intensive cooperation with China in the fields of military technologies and training, oil and infrustructure development and space exploration, as well as communications, contributes […]

The post OPINION: How The Chinese Are Steadily Conquering Nigeria appeared first on Nigeria News today & Breaking news | Read on NAIJ.COM.

Editor’s note: It is common knowledge that China is rapidly enhancing its influence all over the world, establishing close relations with both developed and developing countries. Nigeria is not an exclusion. Its intensive cooperation with China in the fields of military technologies and training, oil and infrustructure development and space exploration, as well as communications, contributes immensely to the Nigerian economy development. Moreover, China is Nigeria’s major trading partner.

In addition to the economic cooperation, there is a vivid intention of the both sides to exchange cultural heritage. Friendly relations between two nations are supported by the statictics. According to the 2014 BBC Country Rating Poll, Nigeria ranks one of the most “China-positive” countries with 85% of the population treating China favourably.

What is the secret behind the supersonic ascending of China? What are the prerequisites to its fast development and expanding of its influence all around the globe? What are the prons and cons of the Chinese ever-increasing presence in Nigeria? Victoria Ngozi Ikeano, Naij.com guest author, offers her own answers.

A journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step – so says a Chinese maxim. I cannot quite decipher when the first step was taken, but the reality is that the Chinese are taking over our landscapes, offices and households with slow and steady pace. China may not have invented any of the modern-day electronic gadgets we use at home and in offices,  but take a look at their labels, and you will discover  that most of them, in one way or another, are coming from China or the adjoining countries like Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Korea, etc.

Japan is supposed to be our most influential trading partner in that region since they have been interacting with us from time immemorial, so to speak. Both Nigeria and Japan are from the onset capitalist-oriented countries that subscribe to the ideology of free market enterprise. The products therefrom, together with those from our erstwhile colonial masters, the United Kingdom, are tagged original in the Nigerian parlance. But, alas, today the so-called “made in Japan” or “made in England” goods are rare to come by, and even if you manage to find them, their prices are way above the roof so that only the nouveaux riches can afford them. This is where the Asians led by the pragmatic Chinese have come in to fill a gulf in our market segment by flooding Nigeria with the relatively cheap products. So, our businessmen are turning their gaze more and more to China, Indonesia, et al.

Our governments, both state and federal, are also forging greater ties with China resulting into a marriage of sort. No investment drive in such critical sectors as energy, transportation, agriculture and infrastructure generally is complete without the Chinese playing a big role. China’s pragmatic new leader is stepping out boldly into the world to forge new strategic partnerships, especially with  developing countries. The China-Africa summit has just ended in South Africa with China pledging some $60-billion soft loan to the African countries. The bottom line is that China is wooing us into its arms. Housewives are frolicking with them at dining tables via rice from that region. Good old Uncle Ben’s rice is hard to find now. Twenty first-century kids are in love with PlayStation and noodles originating from Asia. And the upwardly mobile professionals?  They too are getting hoodwinked by the Asian Tigers. Kung fu-related films are gradually becoming popular among the Nigerian film enthusiasts, and the Nigerian cable operators are adding more Asian channels to their bouquets.

How can I forget to mention the Chinese herbal medicine and electromagnetic therapy that are gaining ground worldwide among all generations, young and old, including Nigerians seeking for the secrets of longevity and everlasting youth? President Muhammadu Buhari‘s delegation to the China-Africa summit was the largest of all his foreign trips, so far. The trade between Nigeria and China, according to the statistics, surged from some two billion dollars in 2001 to over 13 billion dollars in 2011, and in 2014 it accounted for some 20 billion dollars.

What remains for the Chinese “takeover” to be complete is, perhaps, for us to be able to speak their tongue-twisting language as fluently as the English language, our lingua franca. I have gathered that one of our universities has instituted a Chinese language learning programme; the Kano state government is establishing a Chinese school. The day when the Chinese language would also be as widely spoken may not be far off.

But how did the Chinese come to strut about our industrial landscape like a colossus with the most industrial and household products in one way or another carrying the signature “made in China”, while “made in Japan” and “made in the UK” brands are now the endangered species in our clime? How did the reversal set in? Is it that as Nigeria grew older as a nation it began to gradually cut the umbilical cord that tied it to its western allies, and started to court the hand of the new friends as an adult? Or is it that as the country grew older it began to have a longing to see and “taste” other parts of the world?

In truth it was a combination of social and economic factors. As economic recession set in, our exchange rate in relation to other major world currencies, notably the British pound and the US dollars, nosedived, thereby making prices of goods imported from these countries way out of reach of an average Nigerian. Our businessmen and importers then turned to China, which was offering cheaper alternatives.

China itself embarked on what could be called social engineering. It came out of its communist cocoon to embrace the world. The Chinese president, Xi Jinping, has recently undertaken the world tours, visiting developed and developing countries to sign bilateral and regional cooperation agreements and open up to the world. China has been hosting notable world conferences – a testimony of its social standing globally. With a population of over one billion people, the largest in the world, neither industrialised nor emerging economies like ours can afford to ignore China.

Remarkably, China embarked on some kind of deliberate lobbying to woo the African and developing countries. It is noteworthy that China has built the new imposing African Union (AU) headquarters in Addis Ababa free of charge. Moreover, China has expanded its satellite cable television, CCTV, which is free to air. CCTV now competes with both CNN (America) and the BBC (the UK) in the race to influence the world.

Overall, China is winning not just in Nigeria, but also globally with sure and steady steps. Consider that according to statistics, in 2005 the Chinese economy was less than half of that of the United States. However, the International Monetary Fund has projected that by 2019 the Chinese economy will have been 20 % larger than that of the US. China is even rated now as the world’s largest economy, going by some reports. For example, China’s share in the global economy is put at 16.48 %, and the US’s share accounts for 16.28 %. Verily, verily, the Chinese are coming and winning.

Victoria Ngozi Ikeano is an editor, journalist and the former media assistant to the governor.

This article expresses the author’s opinion only. The views and opinions expressed here do not necessarily represent those of Naij.com or its editors.

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The post OPINION: How The Chinese Are Steadily Conquering Nigeria appeared first on Nigeria News today & Breaking news | Read on NAIJ.COM.