Thousands of workers in Nigeria demonstrate against Chinese textiles

In the Chinese Mall in Kano, many Chinese businessmen are engaged in textile trade.
According to a report by Nigeria’s “Guardian” on May 14, textile workers in Kano, a city in northern Nigeria, recently took to the streets to protest against Nigeria’s import of Chinese textiles. Kano State Emir Sanusi (a traditional leader in Nigeria and a well-known religious figure) called on workers to exercise restraint, saying that “importing Chinese textiles is not the fault of the Chinese.”
On May 13, local time, thousands of Kano textile workers held a peaceful demonstration, holding up signs with slogans such as “Chinese textiles are eroding our market” and came to the local Emir’s Palace to petition the Emir.
According to reports, Chinese textiles occupy a “dominant position” in the Kano market, and trucks carrying large quantities of Chinese textiles enter and leave the local market every day. A Kano businessman said that Chinese textiles are cheaper than local products and of better quality.
On the day of the demonstration, Yakubu Isaac, secretary-general of the Kano State Printing and Dyeing Industry Association, was interviewed by the media in front of the Emir Palace, saying that if Chinese textiles further occupy the textile industry, there will be more than 30,000 workers and traders in the state. unemployment. Isaac said foreign textiles have overwhelmed the local market and local textiles are no longer competitive. He said: “At first, the Chinese mainly sold white cloth and chemicals used to make textiles. Later, they suddenly started selling cheap products, importing the same textiles as ours, and the prices were always lower than the prices of our local products. Workers demonstrated The protest does not call for the complete expulsion of Chinese textiles from Kano State, but only hopes that the government can regulate the indiscriminate intrusion of Chinese textiles into the Kano State market.”
Kano State Emir Sanusi expressed the hope that demonstrators would not engage in violence. He believes that importing Chinese textiles is not the fault of the Chinese, but the government’s failure to prevent illegal products from entering Nigeria. Promising to take the matter seriously, Sanusi urged local textile workers to be patient and not try to attack the Chinese in Kano state.
According to the website of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Chinese Ambassador to Nigeria Gu Xiaojie met with Sanusi. Sanusi thanked the friendly cooperation between Nigeria and China for its positive role in the economic and social development of Nigeria and Kano, and fondly recalled his father’s great influence on his understanding of China as Nigeria’s first ambassador to China, as well as his role as governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria. During this period, he personally experienced China’s rapid development, expressed his admiration for China’s development achievements, and hoped that China would further increase investment in Kano State, expand practical cooperation, and promote the in-depth development of Nigeria-China relations.