By Ademola Adekusibe
There is a part of the recent “Chinese must go” protest involving Igbo traders in Lagos that we need to discuss honestly, because beneath the anger, shouting and accusations is a much bigger economic reality that Nigerian traders may not want to confront. The truth is that many Nigerians are increasingly patronising Chinese products, and they are doing so for a very simple reason: the products are often affordable, readily available and, importantly, many of them are genuine and functional. Nigerians are not necessarily buying Chinese products because they hate Nigerian businesses or because somebody is forcing them to. They are buying them because they believe they are getting value for their money. That reality is putting pressure on some Nigerian traders, particularly those whose businesses depend on selling products that now face direct competition from Chinese alternatives. I understand why those traders are angry. I understand why they feel threatened. But I cannot support the conclusion that because Chinese products are succeeding in the Nigerian market, Chinese people should leave Nigeria. On that point, I stand with the Chinese against the “Chinese must go” message.
Let us start with the uncomfortable fact that is at the centre of this entire argument: Nigerian consumers are choosing Chinese products. That choice matters. A market does not exist only for the convenience of the trader. It also exists for the consumer. The trader wants to make a profit, while the consumer wants to get the best value possible from limited money. In today’s Nigeria, where the cost of living has become a major concern for millions of people, price matters enormously. But price is not the only reason Chinese products are attracting Nigerian consumers. Many Chinese-made products are not simply cheap substitutes that Nigerians buy because they have no other choice. A significant number of Chinese products available in the Nigerian market are original products, genuine branded products or properly manufactured goods that perform the functions consumers expect from them. That combination of affordability and functionality is precisely what makes them difficult for some Nigerian traders to compete against.
This is where the argument needs to move beyond the simplistic idea that “Chinese products are cheap.” Yes, many Chinese products are cheaper than competing products from other markets, but the reason Nigerians continue to patronise them is that consumers increasingly believe that cheap does not necessarily mean useless. A Nigerian who buys a Chinese-made phone, television, rechargeable fan, electrical appliance, machine, shoe, household item or other product and finds that it works properly is likely to return to that market again. If the product lasts reasonably well, performs its intended function and costs significantly less than an alternative, the consumer has little reason to reject it simply because it was manufactured in China.
That is the part of the conversation some traders appear unwilling to acknowledge. The Chinese are not putting a gun to the head of Nigerian consumers and forcing them to buy their products. Nigerians are walking into markets with their own money and making their own choices. They compare prices. They examine quality. They ask about durability. They check brands. They look at what other people are using. They make calculations based on what they can afford. If, after all those considerations, they choose a Chinese-made product, that is a market decision. The trader may dislike the outcome, but the consumer cannot be blamed for looking for value.
And this is where I believe the anger of the Igbo traders becomes understandable but ultimately misplaced. Their frustration is real because their customers are moving. A trader who has spent years building a business may suddenly discover that the same customers who used to buy from him can now purchase similar products at lower prices elsewhere. If his own product is more expensive, he loses the sale. If he reduces his price, his profit margin suffers. If he continues selling at the same price, the customer may simply go elsewhere. That is a genuine business problem. But the solution to that problem cannot be to demand the removal of the competitor simply because the competitor is Chinese.
The question Nigerian traders should be asking is much harder: why are Chinese manufacturers able to offer products that Nigerians want at prices Nigerians can afford?
That question takes us to manufacturing, technology, economies of scale, supply chains, logistics and production costs. China has spent decades building enormous manufacturing capacity. It has developed industrial clusters, supply networks and production systems capable of producing goods in huge quantities. When you produce millions of units, your production cost per unit can fall significantly. When you have efficient supply chains, you can move goods more cheaply. When manufacturers compete intensely with one another, they are under pressure to improve quality, reduce waste and keep prices competitive. That is part of the reason Chinese products have become so dominant across global markets.
Nigeria cannot simply look at the result and say, “Chinese must go.”
We need to ask how we can produce our own products competitively.
Because there is an important truth here: Nigerian consumers are not betraying Nigeria by buying Chinese products. They are responding to the Nigerian economy as it exists.
A Nigerian earning a modest income cannot be expected to ignore a product that meets their needs simply because a local trader wants to protect his business. If one product costs ₦10,000 and another costs ₦20,000, and the cheaper product is genuine, functional and sufficiently durable, why should the consumer be forced to buy the more expensive one? What would happen to that consumer’s household budget? What happens to the parent trying to buy school materials for a child? What happens to the young person trying to equip a small business? What happens to the artisan who needs equipment? What happens to the small shop owner who needs affordable electronics or machinery?
The consumer is also trying to survive.
That is why I reject the argument that Nigerian consumers should stop patronising Chinese products simply to protect traders from competition. Consumers have rights too. They have the right to seek quality. They have the right to compare prices. They have the right to buy original products. They have the right to choose what gives them the best value.
And if Chinese manufacturers are providing that value, Nigerian businesses should not respond by demanding that the Chinese leave.
They should respond by becoming more competitive.
This is not an argument that every Chinese product is automatically good. That would be dishonest. China, like every major manufacturing country, produces goods of different quality levels. There are cheap products, premium products, counterfeit products and everything in between. Nigerian regulators should continue to prevent substandard and dangerous products from entering the country. Customs should enforce the law. Standards authorities should do their jobs. Companies that violate Nigerian regulations should be sanctioned. But we must not make the mistake of treating every Chinese-made product as fake or inferior simply because it is Chinese.
That stereotype is increasingly difficult to defend.
China manufactures products for some of the world’s biggest brands. Chinese factories produce everything from inexpensive consumer goods to highly sophisticated electronics, machinery and industrial equipment. The label “Made in China” by itself tells you very little about whether a product is good or bad. What matters is the manufacturer, the brand, the specifications, the standards and the quality control.
Nigerian consumers know this.
That is why many of them are not merely buying the cheapest thing they can find. They are actively looking for products that offer a combination of price and performance. They want something they can afford and something that works. When they find Chinese products that satisfy those two conditions, they patronise them.
And that is precisely what has created the pressure Nigerian traders are now experiencing.
The market is speaking.
The consumer is speaking.
Instead of attacking the Chinese, Nigerian traders should listen to what the market is saying.
It is saying that Nigerians want products that are affordable.
It is saying that Nigerians want products that work.
It is saying that Nigerians want genuine products at prices they can manage.
It is saying that Nigerian businesses must become more competitive.
This is where I believe the Nigerian government also has a major responsibility. If the government wants Nigerians to patronise locally produced goods, it cannot simply tell Nigerians to “buy Nigerian” while allowing the cost of producing Nigerian goods to remain unnecessarily high. You cannot expect a Nigerian manufacturer to compete effectively when electricity costs are high, financing is expensive, transportation is difficult, infrastructure is inadequate and production inputs are costly. You cannot ask a Nigerian factory to compete with a Chinese factory operating at enormous scale without addressing the structural disadvantages facing the Nigerian manufacturer.
If government genuinely wants to reduce dependence on imported products, then it must make local production competitive.
Make electricity more affordable.
Improve infrastructure.
Reduce unnecessary business costs.
Make affordable financing available.
Improve transportation and logistics.
Support industrial research and technology.
Encourage modern manufacturing.
Strengthen local supply chains.
Reduce unnecessary regulatory burdens.
Create policies that allow Nigerian manufacturers to grow.
Those are the things that will make Nigerian products competitive.
Not shouting “Chinese must go.”
There is another issue that Nigerian traders should confront. For years, many businesses have depended heavily on importing goods and reselling them. There is nothing inherently wrong with trading. Commerce is important, and traders perform an essential function by connecting products with consumers. But when the source of the goods becomes more competitive, the trader must adapt. The world does not owe any business permanent customers.
A trader cannot say, “I have been selling this product for twenty years, therefore nobody else should be allowed to sell a cheaper or better alternative.”
That is not how business works.
If a new competitor enters the market and offers something consumers prefer, the existing business has to respond.
Perhaps the trader can negotiate better supply prices.
Perhaps the trader can improve customer service.
Perhaps the trader can specialise.
Perhaps the trader can offer warranties.
Perhaps the trader can provide after-sales service.
Perhaps the trader can move into manufacturing.
Perhaps the trader can import directly and compete on price.
Perhaps the trader can build a stronger Nigerian brand.
There are many possibilities.
But “Chinese must go” is not a business strategy.
It is an expression of frustration.
And frustration should not become xenophobia.
This is where I strongly disagree with the Igbo traders involved in the protest. Their economic grievances may be legitimate. Their concerns about competition deserve to be heard. But Chinese people should not be turned into the enemy simply because Chinese products are popular with Nigerian consumers.
If a Chinese company is breaking Nigerian law, prosecute the company.
If a Chinese business is selling counterfeit goods, seize the goods and prosecute those responsible.
If a Chinese company is avoiding taxes, enforce the law.
If Chinese businesses are engaging in unfair trade practices, investigate them.
If Chinese companies are exploiting Nigerian workers, enforce labour laws.
But if a Chinese business is operating legally, selling genuine products and competing fairly, then the fact that Nigerians are buying from that business is not a reason to expel the Chinese.
In fact, I would argue that the popularity of Chinese products should be a wake-up call for Nigerian businesses rather than a reason to attack China.
Why are Nigerians buying them?
What do they like about them?
Why are they cheaper?
Why are they often so widely available?
Why do consumers trust certain Chinese brands?
Why have Chinese manufacturers been able to build such extensive distribution networks?
Why are Nigerian manufacturers struggling to achieve similar scale?
Those questions could lead to a new generation of Nigerian businesses.
But if the only response is to shout “Chinese must go,” we will learn nothing.
We will simply be removing the evidence of our own weakness rather than fixing it.
There is also something fundamentally unfair about blaming Chinese businesses for doing what businesses are supposed to do: find customers and sell products. If Chinese manufacturers can identify an enormous Nigerian market and provide products that Nigerians want, they have done their job. Nigerian businesses have the same opportunity. The challenge is whether they can provide something competitive.
This is why I stand with the Chinese against the xenophobic message, while still supporting legitimate demands for regulation and fairness. Standing with Chinese businesses does not mean giving them a free pass. It means judging them according to the same standard we would apply to Nigerian businesses. If they are doing wrong, punish them. If they are doing right, let them compete.
That is fairness.
And the same principle must apply to the Nigerian traders.
They have the right to protest.
They have the right to organise.
They have the right to demand government intervention.
They have the right to demand policies that support local businesses.
But they do not have the right to decide that an entire nationality should leave Nigeria simply because its products are winning customers.
That is where legitimate economic protest becomes xenophobia.
We must also be careful not to turn this into an attack on Igbo people generally. The protesters were Igbo traders, and that fact can be stated without hesitation. But millions of Igbo Nigerians had nothing to do with the protest and should not be blamed for the words of those who participated. At the same time, identifying the protesters as Igbo should not prevent honest criticism of what they said. Accountability must apply regardless of ethnicity.
If Yoruba traders said “Chinese must go”, I would condemn them.
If Hausa traders said “Chinese must go”, I would condemn them.
If any other Nigerian ethnic group said it, I would condemn them.
The issue is not who they are.
The issue is what they said.
And “Chinese must go” is not a defence of Nigerian business.
It is hostility towards a nationality.
The irony is that some of the very Nigerians demanding that Chinese people leave are operating in a commercial environment that depends heavily on Chinese manufacturing. Many Nigerian businesses use Chinese-made equipment, phones, machinery, electronics, packaging materials, spare parts and countless other products. The Chinese manufacturing ecosystem has become part of the Nigerian commercial ecosystem.
The better response is not to pretend we can simply remove China from our economy.
The better response is to ask how Nigeria can build enough productive capacity to compete.
We should want Nigerian consumers to proudly buy Nigerian products because those products are affordable, reliable, original and competitive, not because government or angry traders have forced them to do so.
That distinction matters.
Patriotism should not mean forcing consumers to overpay.
Patriotism should mean building products good enough that consumers willingly choose them.
If a Nigerian-made product is cheaper, durable, attractive and reliable, Nigerians will buy it.
If it is more expensive but offers significantly better quality, some consumers will still buy it.
But if a Nigerian product is expensive and difficult to find while a Chinese alternative is cheaper, genuine and readily available, we should not be surprised when Nigerians choose the Chinese product.
The consumer is not the traitor.
The consumer is responding to the market.
That is why the Nigerian government and Nigerian businesses need to focus on competitiveness rather than resentment. The goal should be to reach a point where Nigerian manufacturers can look at Chinese products and say, “We can compete with this,” rather than “Make them leave.”
That is the mentality Nigeria needs.
Because countries do not become powerful by running away from competition.
They become powerful by becoming competitive.
And that is why, while I understand the anger of the Igbo traders, I reject their “Chinese must go” message. The Chinese should not be driven out simply because Nigerian consumers are buying their products. If their products are genuine, if they meet Nigerian standards, if their businesses operate within the law and if Nigerians freely choose to patronise them, then they have every right to compete in the Nigerian market.
If Nigerian traders are losing customers, let us address the reason.
If Chinese products are cheaper, let us understand why.
If Chinese products are more accessible, let us improve Nigerian distribution.
If Chinese products are perceived as more reliable, let Nigerian manufacturers improve quality.
If Chinese products are genuine and Nigerians trust them, Nigerian companies should build the same trust.
If Chinese manufacturers are producing at a lower cost, Nigeria should improve its production environment.
But do not blame an entire nationality for succeeding in a market where Nigerian consumers are freely choosing their products.
The Chinese did not steal Nigerian customers. In many cases, Nigerian consumers simply chose them.
And that is the uncomfortable truth the “Chinese must go” protesters need to confront.
The answer is not xenophobia.
The answer is competition.
The answer is better Nigerian products.
The answer is stronger Nigerian manufacturing.
The answer is lower production costs.
The answer is better government policy.
The answer is innovation.
The answer is competence.
If the Chinese are winning because Nigerians believe they offer affordable, genuine and reliable products, then the challenge before Nigeria is not to chase the Chinese away. The challenge is to build Nigerian businesses capable of winning those customers back.
About the Author
Ademola Adekusibe is a journalist, editor and media professional with The Yoruba Times, where he works across reporting, editorial production, photography and videography. He is also a writer and public affairs commentator interested in Nigerian politics, identity, culture, governance, media and contemporary social issues.
He is the author of The Nigeria Brief with Ademola on Substack, where he publishes commentary and analysis on issues shaping Nigeria and wider society. His writing examines questions of identity, political development, social tensions, governance, media and national affairs.