Dera, you dunno how this particular vlog of yours have helped to enlighten me tonight, honestly... I passed this place last week Thursday and I just kept wondering what this place is and what it was meant for... Thank you very much Dera, you see why I don't miss your vlogs 😄, premium enlightenment and pure vibes...keep up the good work dear, Imela
@@dera_giselle The "Chinese inscription" you asked is 中國商城 which means "China Business City" in traditional Chinese writing. This old traditional style of writing is prevalent among Cantonese speakers in the south - including Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysian Chinese, Singaporean Chinese, etc. It is different from the standard official Mandarin which is called Simplified Chinese.
@@dera_giselle Well, u made some curious pple viewing from d express road, know what that pink building, that looks like a tower is. That place is now a shadow of its self now. Mostly things sold there, especially d cloths are very inferior, but since they own d place, I don't know why they can't sell quality clothes from their country in there. Almost 90% of d quality things sold there are from d shops occupied by d Nigerians. I'll say good job, but had it been u came there in 2003 when they opened, by d time u're leaving there, ur hands will be full, and u will be exhausted with shopping, cause then, all those closed shops were filled to d brim with fairly good stuffs, clothes, good decorations e.t.c. even still have a good fancy camisole bought back then from there, not like now when there's a hardly any good clothes there. Even there were extended shops at d backs then. I feel d place is now more or less for their own abode with just few trades so it won't be them alone there.
Be warned they are going to take over your place in Africa. They come from a dictatorship and they will dictate to you also we must become black and smart protect your interest at all times.
Please let them be. Our governors, president are the ones to provide hospital for citizens , they have right ypvtheir properties and health. I love they create livehood for themselves instead of lying on us 🤷♀️
@E Com why close the hospital is a Chinese hospital Nigeria government are in position to provide best hospital for Nigeria not a Chinese.I believed Nigeria government known about this they can't do anything
The long term problem is that in about 100 years from now they would claim that they are the natural indigenous people of Lagos, and then kick the local people out. This is what happened in places like Egypt and Mauretania.
they haven't kicked American's out so therefore they cannot kick us out, we are not egypt or mauritania, they tried to misbehave once and they were totally shut down. This is Nigeria!
@@truethots3088 The difference is that Africans historically are known to be very hospitable to foreigners. This has been our strength and weakness. Other cultures have been wiery of foreigners and therefore have a warlike mindset, but for Africans that has not been the case historically as a collective. This is a long term and not short term plan.
@@chukwumaolisehemekaouwarre3236 Wasn't Chimamanda saying that Lagos is Yoruba 'it's Nigerian'? I know what wouldn't wash in Igbo land, Chimamanda can't even buy property in Igbo land yet she is disrespecting other people's ancestral land.
This is a huge problem. Having foreigners live in your country and refuse to integrate is trouble brewing. Especially in Africa where rules are not enforced. This is a huge problem.
How so? For those who have never travelled out of Nigeria. I have seen many corners of the world, and WE Nigerians are EVERYWHERE in the world. There are some sort of Little-Nigeria all over the world. And we have what we call an in-your-face attitude. And as we love being ouselves, we hardly integrate too. We love our parties, our music, and blessed be our food, even when they are shipped thousands of miles to us. We face discrimination daily, but it only makes us stronger. The China Town I see in this video is very small compared with the presence of Nigerians in London, Dallas, Chicago, Rome, Shanghai etc. We must be tolerant... God Bless Nigeria, and may the People's Republic of China continue to prosper.
@@Heymeeeeeeeeeee: Well said. This is the kind of black man who loves his oppressor and is ready to sellout his own people. Do you think that during slavery the white man was able to enslave us all on his own? No, he needed people like this fool to double cross his own people. In the bible they would refer to this character as a Judas. SMDH. Don't mind him.
I was so surprised oh☹️ but then, thinking about it, it’s possible they don’t understand English and would prefer to describe their symptoms in their language and be treated by their fellow Chinese doctors
@@dera_giselle don't fall into that mentality. This is an illegal operation! What governing authority gave them the license to open that facility? Are the Chinese doctors and other workers licensed to practice in Nigeria? They are brazenly showing that they have no respect for your laws, people or institutions. That place needs to be shut down and the owners and operators prosecuted and jailed prior to being kicked out of the nation for life.
The questions that came to my mind is it possible for Nigerians to have a place like this in China and other countries? But the other question is are Nigerians united to organise themselves to own a place like this in any country we found ourselves? "Power of unity"
They don't actually like Nigerians or Africans. On China they have websites and channels that exist solely to denigrate African. These websites are actually very popular in China
You have answered your own comment because they don't respect us. They are here purely to exploit.... do you really think that they want to be in Nigeria?
Chinatown has been in Lagos for a while. It has now become a ghost of its past self. It used to be a bubbly place but not anymore. Most Nigerians stop shopping there due to the hostility and arrogance of some of the Chinco people. That is what caused the place to become like a ghost town. It is gradually coming back up but can never be like the way it used to be.
Very correct. Chinatown used to be at lomo, Ikoyi. Before they relocated to Ojota. It was a beehive of activities. They sold very beautiful and affordable jewelry. Me and my sisters used to shop there as far back year 2000.
The shape and style of the Chinese town complex speaks volumes about not only their arrogance but the audacity of these people. In case you missed it, they have stylised this building on that of a fortified city.... in Nigeria. The message is very clear that they don’t trust the Nigerians who live in the surrounding environment and that this castle is their territory but as they want your money, they regretfully have to allow Nigerians in …. but you must hurry up and buy and quickly leave. SMDH. Secondly, it’s illegal to have businesses that discriminates against people based on their race like the Chinese hospital. This needs to be investigated as soon as possible and if found to be true…. Shut down. Thirdly, they have clearly come to our country to exploit us. As a consequence, most of them haven’t even been bothered to learn our language. These people are Chinese who are living in Nigeria and not Nigerian Chinese …. there is a difference. I’m also curious as to how they were granted Nigerian visas as they obviously do not care for our culture or our people. Their right to reside in Nigeria needs to be monitored by immigration authorities constantly. I find it sad that you, the creator of this video, is trying to speak their language…. in Nigeria. SMDH We must not mistake the businesses that are fronted by Nigerians as the same as Nigerian owned businesses. As far as I can see 100% of the businesses in this complex are owned by the Chinese…. in Nigeria. SMDH. The only reason why there are vacant shops is because the Chinese fled Nigeria during the outbreak of the Wuhan 19…. a pandemic which they started. I remember at that time how horribly they treated Africans in China. The lady “Goodness” is stupid for calling her Chinese employers her “master”. Her calling the Chinese her “master” demonstrates her lack of personal pride, dignity and education. I guarantee that no Chinese man would agree to call a black man his “master.” Finally, we must be very careful about allowing foreigners settle on our land. These people don’t like us or respect us. We do not want to be recolonised.
Think you're looking way too deeply into this. This is just like China town in my city of Birmingham, England. I believe this is just a Chinese style market place.
They used to be on Awolowo Road, Ikoyi. They relocated or were relocated around 1997/ 2000. It’s a disgrace that Chinese people are building a hospital for themselves in our country and we cannot use it. That is discrimination. Rather than build good hospitals for our people, our people in governance chop all the money
Hi Dera, Chinese have to understand us, learn our language before we learn theirs. Most Chinese people,what they are doing, are going round Africa establishing there, buying most of lands in Africa. Ghanaians are complaining that Chinese are every where in their country. Nigerians and other Africa countries are treated like criminals and slaves when they go to live and work in China We should shine our eyes before they take over our country like the Hausas and Fulanis fighting us now. It’s good they’re giving our people jobs but don’t be intimidated by them.
Swahili May be taught in China, do you know the hidden agenda behind that? In England, there are places where parents can take their children to learn Igbo and other foreigners which l used to take my children to when they were younger . You need to research and find out what goes on globally. You have to start promoting your language, don’t let any foreigner tell you first. Also are you aware, that the Chinese owns that shop in Nigeria, built a hospital only for them? Nigerians are not allowed there Can that be done in china?
Many Chinese are very poor but when they live in Africa the locals praise them not knowing it's a poor man. They feel very big in Africa but the reality is that they come from one small poor village in China.
Wow! Thank you for posting your experience in China town. I have always wondered what was behind the pink buildings each time I pass through the place. Now I know. Interesting! Well done, Dera. 👍🏽
I thought Chinatowns were just a thing in Western countries like USA and Britain so I was very surprised to see we had one in Nigeria too. I'll try to visit when next I come to Lagos. Though I must say I don't like this practice of refusing services to non-chinese people. East Asians are rather fond of doing that nonsense but it's one thing to refuse rendering a service to visitors and tourists in their countries and then another to refuse rendering services to locals in a country where they are immigrants. It's very disrespectful to the local community. The government should investigate that place and shut it down.
This place is long wow 20yrs ago i used to go there and the onebon Awolowo rd lkoyi i don't know if that one is still opened because there was a time they had issues with the government thanks for taking us back memory line
I used to go here in the early 2000s when it just opened. It was Obasanjo dt allowed them in, there was a lot of FDI coming into Nigeria during those years. All the balogun market women would come here to buy stuff too. It was bustling and always busy, overflowing with Chinese stuff. Set of plates for like N200. Ridiculously cheap. After a while balogun marketers started complaining to Tinubu about it cos the competition became tough. Due to restrictions from the state govt, the Chinese market eventually moved to Kano. So it was not as active in Lagos anymore since then. All these places Ur driving through were market stalls overflowing to the main gate and outskirts selling clothes, shoes, cutlery, pots etc and all the sellers were chinese. Cars couldn't even pass dt area. Not to talk of driving inside.
They were actually at Ikoyi before, I think falomo. This place was built because of the heavy congestion then. It was really bubbly and full of different kind of goods. It was our AliExpress then.
They used to be in Falomo area before being moved here. It's a shadow of its old self. Once Nigerians started going to China ti import by themselves, the attraction was lost.
As a Chinese Translator who works with the Chinese, I can say this is really amazing as there are lots of things that haven't been shown to the public yet as regards the lives of Chinese living in Nigeria. Well-done babe Good Afternoon - 下午好 pronounced as "xia Wu hao" I will be glad you contact me for future translation and more info as regards exploring the Chinese in your content.
I used to come here when i was younger, i mean 04- 07 Twas more lively bubbly. There was more life. I haven't been there ever since though i plan to visit soon. Thank you for covering this. Great work.
There's china town in many countries especially developed countries in europe and many cities in America, i didn't know there's one in Nigeria, nice video!!
For what reason I believe Nigeria government known about this for long.this is Chinese hospital not a Nigeria hospital.you should blame Nigeria government for not provide best hospital for citizens
@@johnnyangbas2263 Its illegal to only service a certain group of people according to color or enthic group you sound like someone with a colonizers mind . The government may know and been alright with it but the public knows now .
@@dera_giselle I have 2 views of your reply comment: (1) put one foot on the drive pedal of a car and the other foot on the break pedal and pump away with equal vigor - a lot of confusing sound will result but no motion will result. (2) Prescribe paralysis when and where forward movement or action is imperative. Which option is the worse of your 2 positions? Admitting that a law or local regulation should exist to compel signages rendered in any foreign language within the city of Lagos (and for that matter throughout Nigeria) to provide an English language version or acceptance that Nigeria is a lawless country and thus, consequently, do nothing in reaction? My advice: do something rather than do nothing. If you live in Lagos, reach out to the pertinent local government where the Chinese village is situated and urge them to act to stem and rectify this identified misnomer before it gets out of hand. A similar situation arose in Zambia and an outcry on social media led to remedial action on the part of the Chinese parties involved. If we turn a blind eye, it shouldn't surprise us if they take it as acquiescence and try something even more grotesque going forward.
@@dera_giselle Don’t say thaT! Nigeria has iT’s issues yes! Nigeria has it laws, but there are people that refuse to follow it. YouR father’s house may be Lawless, buT don’t GENERALIZE a whole Country
I like your videos and your enthusiasm but don't get carried away by these people, they treat our people bad in China. I pray you travel to see the world you will understand better Africans can't even own stores or shops in China unless they do it with a Chinese person, the matter long abeg. Love from the US.
There is nothing wrong with having china town in Lagos provided there are no restrictions. The hospital should be open to any one and Lagos state government should make sure that they all abide by the law of the land.
I first went to this Chinatown in 2005. I took a holiday from the UK to attend my sisters wedding and I was shocked. It was a nice experience but the most shocking thing was hearing a Chinese person speak pidgin. I couldn't believe what I was hearing.
You’re a failure as a race if you let people discriminate against you in your own country. Them having their own communities is fine, but them refusing to serve the locals in their own country…no one else but Africans would tolerate it
They have it here in America too and the building is Chinese style unlike the Nigerian one here. American own is far bigger than these. These guys are everywhere in the world.
The Chinese government and their country's businesses use "soft power" to work their way into the good graces of African and other foreign countries' leaderships through the funding and development of capital projects (rail/highways/others). Do research on what soft power means and you will begin to understand what they are doing on the continent. For these projects, they promise and provide some jobs for local people but also arrange for Chinese workers to work with and supervise African workers on these construction sites. These projects enable waves of Chinese families to immigrate to African countries and set up their communities which are always separate from the local populations. Chinatowns can be found everywhere across the world. For example, there are about 50 Chinatowns located just in the United States. They are located in major cities such as Chicago, New York (Manhattan), San Francisco, Boston and Philadelphia. They set up businesses that appeal to local populations so they can support their families, but beyond that, they don't live among or associate with local people. They live in their own communities and maintain their culture and language. So, it is important to pay attention to what is happening in your country, what your leadership is doing, whether these relationships are really providing economic growth and related benefits to your communities. Or are their communities the only ones that are successfully growing right in the middle of your lands. Although there is nothing wrong with immigrants taking care of their families and becoming prosperous, it should not create long-term disadvantages to African families and their communities.
They segregate themselves in here in SA they live on their own spaces not associate with anyone not that we complaining whats the use of migrating to my country if you not willing to learn about our ways really we you go to their shops you will find someone following you around like a thief what the hell yhooo my i pity them for their racist mind set not all black people are thiefs
My mum used to take us here before to buy clothes for us. That was where I learned to hate the Chinese.. they always treated thier staff terribly. Always shouting at customers..I hated that place..they don't treat thier staff well
When you think in your mind everything foreign is superior, you subjugate yourself to a less than. How in the world will you allow the Chinese to segregate in your homeland? We have
Nice one dera abt the shop rent for the Chinese i dont think that is how much they pay as there rent in this bubu reign and again nne u look take away we are still crushing o
My dear Chinatown used to be a very bustling market in Lagos. It's no longer happening there but auntie e be like say you be JJC for Lagos oooo as you're just discovering Chinatown. All the same you're welcome.
This is worrisome. We Africans did not learn anything from the past and ongoing damage done to the continent from the colonial era. What is not loved or protected will eventually be taken over. I am so sad. When you go outside the country, you will understand the gravity of what this market means.
The Chinese village is really big, that Chinese man you were talking with is so funny, I wonder how they communicate with them since they don't understand English well. I like their stove, very beautiful and portable too...I enjoyed watching this vlog
You need to wake up. Not all that glitters is gold. They sell fake goods... which can be a danger to life if they burst into flames, fake medicine, plastic rice, poisonous food, engage in illegal mining, illegal poaching of wildlife, debt trap African economies etc. Wake up. SMDH.
First it was the Arabs, then the Europeans and now it's the Chinese. We don't learn..... Gullible people. PS: In case you are wondering.... I'm Nigerian.
This is so crazy. So Nigerians allow the Chinese to establish a huge market in Lagos,where only the Chinese trade, but Nigerians have the audacity to come to Ghana and fight over Market places with Ghanaians. Interesting.
Wow, I’ve noticed both Nigerians and Ghanaians act like all other races of people are better than them, so I’m not surprised that they’ll other blacks after all didn’t they sell their own people into slavery?
@@dera_giselle you keep liking and supporting every comment that goes along with your rhetoric, while ignoring people that are telling you the real truth about the prejudice that goes on with Asian people, you are one big fool. I will block your RU-vid and tell RU-vid not to recommend your nonsense
This market used to be a very vibrant market as at 15 years back, till it was shutdown for selling substandard goods and later reopened… Today it’s scanty… Those chinese are sharp guys too like Onitsha guys…
God go punish anybody wey give them that village, china will still colonize Nigeria if care is not taking, can you imagine living comfortably but u can't try that in their own useless country. God punish Nigeria politicians Amen 🙏🙏
I have been to china town before and some of them speak pigin English well. But I do not understand why the place always looked empty unlike other market places in Lagos
Initially the place was booming with cheap buys. I used to go there back then. For little money you got so much! Next thing was that Nigeria customs started using them as snacks. Every time they raid the place, extorting them and seizing their goods. Even the Nigerian stores there did not know peace. Overtime the place became a ghost town. I am supprise to see it is still opened.
Thank you Dera for doing this video, it was informative 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾. The rest of my comment isn't directed to anyone, it just my thought on China in Africa. There are a lot of comments comparing Nigeria to the west. Comments about Chinatown in US, UK, etc without historical context is not a good comparison. The first wave of Chinese immigrants were brought to work in the US during the gilded age. During that time there was segregation due to racism and other unspeakable things being done to colored people. US and UK aren't Nigeria, if anyone follows what's happening in Africa, you'll see our leaders are giving away land, air space, ports, etc, to China in exchange for loans and God knows whatelse. One could say individuals aren't a reflection of their government, but what kind of government rules/govern these people? To compare yourselves/country to the west is a gross mistake. The west has had control and power for a while and it is slowly shifting to the East. When a world power rises up, that world power takes control of things either by force and or by economic pressure. Africans need to wake up before they lose all the land they have left. Africans are running to the west looking for a better option and aspiring to be like the west at the detriment of our culture and value, meanwhile the West and East are fighting for control over our lands and resources. I am not saying don't integrate cultures, what I am saying is it shouldn't be done at the expense of the local population. Clearly, our leaders aren't thinking about their constituents when papers are signed and handshakes are exchanged.
You people should be happy to have foreigners dwelling in Nigeria. Nigerians has already claimed places in Italy, Germany, The United States, United kingdom, Canada, France, and many countries of the world.
We have had Italians (Cappa) in Nigeria for over 90 years, Lebanese (Chagoury, Chellarams) maybe longer, integrate. This should not be allowed to happen. It should be shutdown and they should be expelled.
I think you are misleading your audiences. Usually the doctors there, who can say little or no English, are treating the patients who can only speak Chinese. First of all, most of the Nigerian will not be able to know there is a hospital/clinic there. Secondly, even if some people know it, I don’t think they will go there for treatment with a doctor who can’t understand them. Maybe, someone will try to go there once, but they will never come back. In the end, only Chinese will go there. You can’t conclude Only Chinese are allowed to go there. There are African restaurants, clothes shops and barber’s shops owned by Africans in China, little or no Chinese will go there. We, Chinese will not think it’s because Africans in China are racist to Chinese. We know their flavor is not we are used to, the clothes they sell are not what we want to buy and their haircut style is not suitable for us. So we choose not to go there.
All I know is that they would never allow an African American territory to be established and to be self sufficient in Nigeria. That would provoke a riot.
