The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, has condemned the discrimination against Nigerians and some other Africans living in China.
In his address at the briefing of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 on Thursday in Abuja, Onyeama said the Nigerian government has sent strong words to the Chinese authorities.
“We have been engaging with the Chinese government at various levels – at the level of our consulate in Guangzhou where these cases of discrimination and racism have been taking place, and also the federal level in Beijing with our ambassador and embassy in Beijing,” the minister told reporters.
He added, “We have made it clear to the Chinese government unequivocally that under no circumstance will we accept racial discrimination against Nigerians or, indeed Africans or blacks in China. That is the red line for us.
“They have in turn told us that there is no case of that ongoing but clearly, we are seeing on video, I have received reports and we told them that it is unacceptable.”
According to Onyeama, Nigeria is extremely disappointed in the way China is treating its citizens and will ensure its citizens are accorded the same rights as other foreigners in the Asian country.
He revealed that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was taking definitive steps to address the issue, especially the incidents in Guangzhou.
The minister said, “I have directed our consulate in Guangzhou to systematically detail every single case of discrimination, and every single case of loss or damage suffered by any Nigerian and we will pursue each and every single one very robustly with the Chinese government, if it requires compensation, damages, etc.”
