Many of the substandard products in the country are said to come from China. Is this a deliberate policy by China, which enjoys a flourishing bilateral trade with Nigeria? According to National Coordinator/CEO of Nigeria-China Business Council (NCBC) Chief Mathew Uwaekwe, it is the fault of Nigerians and not the Chinese that Nigeria has become a dumping ground. In this interview with CHIKODI OKEREOCHA and TEMITAYO AYETOTO, Uwaekwe says unpatriotic Nigerians ask Chinese maufacturers to lower the standard of their goods.
The preponderance of substandard products from China remains a sore point in Nigeria-China trade relations. Why is this so?
You see people will say they placed order for standard goods, but the Chinese shipped substandard ones to them. We travelled back to China, made investigations together with the Nigerian Embassy in Beijing and our Consul General Office in Shanghai through the Economic Department. So, through the Economic Department, we were able to meet some of the Chinese manufacturers who said your people come here and we give them prices of what they want; they say no, the price is too high, reduce it. We have in China three categories, the high, the medium and the lower category.
So, Nigerian importers will say, oh I need this television, this is the standard we are using. They will say no, reduce the standard. This thing happens both in drugs and so many things. So, as a Council, we are not mandated to enforce or arrest, but we may advise, counsel people on what to do; let them know the rules and regulations of the federal republic in terms of doing business and then guide.
What are you and your group doing to check this unwholesome practice?
Recently, we are now trying to collaborate with Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON). We are already in partnership with the Nigeria Investment Promotion Council (NIPC) and the Nigeria Export Promotion Council (NEPC) to provide information. But at the same time, we were a little bit worried over why these substandard goods flood Nigeria because when you go to places like Canada, Britain, Germany, all these European countries, 75 per cent of the products they use is from China. Even some of the cars being manufactured, all have plants in China. If you go there, even the leather chairs they use, 75 per cent of the things in their supermarkets and malls are produced in China.
But we now tried to slow down in encouraging trade because the bilateral relationship between Nigeria and China is well over 30 years. So, what we are now focusing on is attracting investors and investment into the Nigerian economy. If we have standard, because Nigeria is a member of World Trade Organisation (WTO), and there are standards set up to produce any item or product, more investments would come in. Since Nigeria is a member of WTO, we have office in Geneva; we now try to encourage investment. If you look at this television (in his office), the Council brought the people who made it; they started from assembling and are now manufacturing, freezers, fridges, air-conditioners, water dispensers here at the Calabar FreeTrade Zone.
We are bringing a delegation of 25 investors. Some of them want to start manufacturing tricycles; others want to build a mini refinery. We brought them last time and they bought over the moribund cocoa factory in Osun State. So, they are working there. We have about 25 Chinese, they have employed Nigerians. Those are some of the achievements of the Council. We help them to get SON to give them import clearance and port permit. They wash the cocoa, extract the oil and then use the seed for cocoa powder. We have a whole lot of other investors because those already established here are doing well and we use them as testimony.
What other ways do you promote Nigeria-China trade?
We go to China to tell others that Nigeria is friendly in terms of business and investment. We are doing that so that the issue of substandard products will be curtailed. But I know from my own experience, analysis and investigation that there is no country you can eliminate crime completely; the only way is to reduce it to the barest minimum because even in those countries that we hype, talking about the best nations, crime is there. There are people, who are fraudulent in nature, no matter what you do. So, we need the support of the media in creating proper awareness on what we are doing, what needs to be done, and activities in making it better are welcomed.
What has been the response from the Chinese investors?
The Chinese are willing, you know, coming from a communist background, they seem to be eager to have a relationship that will favour them. We need them to come and invest here, but we don’t want a situation where we will be enslaved or our graduates and youths would be treated as second class citizens. So, last time, we arranged for about seven youths to travel to China. It was the same Chinese group that sponsored their trip to be further trained to produce modern technology in terms of assembling and installation. So, like I said, the group is already at the Calabar Free Zone and they gave all those engineers automatic promotion and they have continued paying their salaries. What we have been going through over the years is that our leaders have not done what they ought to do. You see leaders coming into government to enrich their pockets. Our leaders have not done anything in terms of stabilising the economy, forgetting that the most important thing is to stabilise the economy because when the economy is stabilised, the political sector will immediately follow suit. If everything is okay in your village, you will prefer to work in your village because it saves money and the stress of coming to Lagos. It is because the economy of this country is centred in two cities, Lagos and Abuja, once you are out of the university, you will rather want to go to Lagos or Abuja because our infrastructure has collapsed completely. So, the only way we can move from where we are is to allow investors to come in.
What is responsible for China’s growing business interest in Nigeria?
The Chinese have found out that a lot of sectors have not been tapped. Our mineral resources have not been tapped. Then in terms of energy, it is nothing to write home about. So, they believe if they come in here to invest they will have good returns because they are committed and have experience. It is to our advantage to work with them so that our people can learn from them about how they better themselves.
One of the reasons why we are not doing well here is that you cannot walk into any bank and obtain a loan. Will they agree to give you the loan looking at your proposals? There is no way in any country a company can break even at two to three digits interest rates. In China, there are some banks such as Bank of Commerce, Agricultural Bank, Construction Bank and others that give loans at about two per cent interest rate.
So, to restructure the economy, a lot needs to be done. Our leaders need to restructure themselves; we need to have a roadmap on every sector so that not when Mr. A comes in as a governor, all the things that the former governor did are abandoned. The policies have always been there, the rules and regulations have always been there, but the problem we have is the implementation. And for change to be effective, it must start from you and your family before you take it to the society. There should be proper reorienta-tion. As far as I’m concerned, if we want to move from where we are, we must start to implement those policies. Our constitution is quite bigger than that of America, but not as effective as that of America where laws are respected and policies implemented. If we continue to play politics with ourselves, with people’s lives, with the development of this nation, with infrastructure, no matter who comes in, there will be no change. I believe, for now, we need investment from China, America and other parts of the world.
Has the Council tried to determine the number of Chinese companies in Nigeria?
Yes. Some of them came in without passing through the Council. The companies that are on our data base from China are more than 600, both major and minor. We also have some Nigerians, who go to China to invest. They come through the Council because the equipment we provide are better; the labour is cheaper going by their population of about 1.4 billion. So, the labour is lower than what we have here. So, some Nigerians also go to China to invest.
How many jobs have Chinese companies created in Nigeria?
I believe they have created between 3,000 and 4,000 jobs for Nigerian youths. This group that sent the youths to China recently has employed over 700 and has training centres around. Out of about 30 factories we visited in Nigeria, 27 showed us the records.
How is the Council collaborating with SON and NAFDAC to fight substandard products from China?
We are working towards a collaboration with them because we have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with virtually all stakeholders. The China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, which controls trade and investment in China, is also in partnership with us. From time to time they provide information on all companies and their products so that if we see certain products that are substandard, we will take the products to them and find out because our agreement is that any company found shipping substandard goods to Nigeria or any other country will be blacklisted. Unfortunately, most of the companies that produce these substandard products are not registered because China is a very large country.
Many people complained about the inhuman treatment of Nigerian workers by Chinese companies. Has the Council received any of such complaints?
We have had those complaints, but what we do advise is that before you are employed by them, ensure that there is a contractual agreement containing your entitlements, position and everything. Because no court can grant you what you don’t ask for. So, you must ask from day one, because those who want to employ you need you and you need employment. Like those people, who came back from China after the training, we told the Chinese group to give them proper employment and remumeration, and the agreement and everything were signed. So, once you report to the Council, we will take it up, but we cannot interfere where there is no contractual agreement. At a higher level, we have taken up this matter with the Embassy’s Economic Promotion Department, and we said please educate your people. There are times they pretend they don’t speak English. If you have employed somebody, who doesn’t speak the same language with you, the same system or method you used in employing him is also the same system you must use in settling the person.
Apart from China, the US recently extended the African Growth and Opportunities Act (AGOA) by 10 years. The EU is also seeking to enter the Nigerian market through the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA). What do you make of these growing interests of economic powers in Nigeria, and how can Nigeria benefit from them?
They are aware that the market is there. Nigeria is the biggest market in Africa. So, it’s natural. If there are about three or four companies that are looking for you because of your potentials and the results you have recorded, you will become the beautiful bride for investors.
So it’s the same thing. They have seen the potential in Nigeria. Could you imagine how happy we will be if we have stable light in this country? The happiness will push you to pay your bills by the end of the month. Today, people are very reluctant to pay electricity bills because the electricity distribution companies (DisCos) don’t want to give them meter. They just like giving them outrageous bills more than what the tariff says and at the same time, there is no regular supply. People become demoralised. So, if there are people, who will come and invest so that people can have stable light, more than a quarter of people in this country will want to pay. If we have good roads and have efficient people to use speed boats to convey people from one destination to the other, then we will have efficient transportation in the country. If we have surface train, deep train, underground train etc., even if you have cars, you will love to enter them and relax. So, once the leadership has the passion to work for the benefit of the people everything will fall in place. We must guide all the investors by giving them proper information.
Where do you think the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment should start from?
If he is to succeed as a minister, he must focus on driving the economy, which is by attracting investors. This includes infrastructure and all that. All the agencies that are responsible for attracting investors must be encouraged to do so. Investment is what will help the country.
What steps should the country take to encourage more foreign investors?
We should organise seminars and conferences to sell the potential of the country. Let people know that there are so many other things to do apart from oil. I will suggest that we reduce our focus on oil. Countries that don’t have oil have made it. Look at Ethiopia, they are one of the biggest transportation players in terms of air lifting and one of the best. They don’t have oil. It’s determination. For the economy of this country to develop, we must reduce our focus on oil. Today, the trade volume in favour of China is above $13billion, then in favour of Nigeria is about $11 billion. So we are making progress.
Why was Nigeria-China Business Council (NCBC) established?
NCBC was established in 2009 by the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, then Federal Ministry of Commerce. Then, we were doing it as a forum at that time when Charles Ugwuh was the Minister for Commerce and Industry. He called me and said he saw the need and my passion to further enhance the relationship between Nigeria and China. He said it would be nice to have it as a Council so that there would be continuity.
As at that time, the late Umoru Yar’Adua was the president. So, when we sent the memo or draft, noting the terms and objectives of what we were trying to put together, to the him (the President), he bought the idea and agreed that he would personally come to inaugurate the Council. So, he replied our letter and gave his blessing. But at the time the Council was to be inaugurated, he was sick. So, he delegated the immediate past president, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan to inaugurate and establish the Council. As a matter of fact, the NCBC was the first business council that was established with due process in Nigeria.
So, on November 9, 2009, at Yar’Adua Centre in Abuja, Dr. Jonathan, all the governors from the 36 states and the then Minister of Commerce converged and inaugurated the Nigeria-China Business Council. This was followed by a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Nigeria and China. Chinese Government officials represented their president, whereas Dr. Goodluck Jonathan represented President Yar’Adua. So, they specified the role of the Council. We are to focus specifically on handling the affairs between Nigeria and China mainly to promote trade and investment.
Has the Council fulfilled this mandate?
Yes, especially when we look at the trade relationship between Nigeria and China. As at 2009, we had about $2.9 billion in favour of China in terms of trade. Between $700 million and $750 million was in favour of Nigeria. But we now organised what we called balancing trade and investment between Nigeria and China. What led to that was that we conducted a research and found out that all over the world, the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth is highly supported by private entrepreneurs, like in China, the US, Germany, the UK, Italy, France, even in Spain. We also found out that in Malaysia, Japan and South Korea, their GDP was highly supported by private entrepreneurs by between 30 and 40 per cent.
China is about 65 per cent. So, we now came to the conclusion that the private sector is what drives development and the economy of any developing nation. We now started focusing our attention on improving the business relationship between the people of China and the people of Nigeria. So, having succeeded in that, because as I speak, the trade relationship between Nigeria and China, after the establishment of this Council, has grown to about $13.5 billion and Nigeria is close to $11 billion. So, we had a lot of conferences and seminars that we organised between Nigeria and China, sometimes in Nigeria, sometimes in China to educate them on the need to partner members of the private sector. But there were some challenges along the line. We have the language problem and we also have issues of substandard products, which most of the time is common.
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