There has been uproar following the discovery of a “racist” Chinese restaurant situated in Lagos.
TheLagostimes gathered that the restaurant, located at No 21B, Emina Crescent, Off Toyin Street in Ikeja, the state capital, does not allow Nigerians to enter into its premises. Information gathered also confirm that the restaurant does not sell food to anyone from Nigeria as it has a strictly Chinese customer base.
However, the state government, in its reaction which was made known via a press statement issued by the Commissioner for Tourism, Arts and Culture, Steve Ayorinde, said that investigations by its officers sent to “investigate the veracity of the claim” showed that the allegations were false.
“The two officers who went there on Monday did so incognito and found the allegations to be false. The officers were served without any questions or discrimination. They also took photographs without being noticed.
“Our officers also observed that the restaurant had a number of Nigerians working inside there and did similarly observe that pepper soup, a Nigerian delicacy is also on the menu. More, importantly, the restaurant has been registered with the Lagos State Ministry of Tourism Arts and Culture since 2016 as required by law.”
The ministry which regulates eateries, restaurants, hotels, and other hospitality facilities in Lagos promised to conduct further investigations.
Meanwhile, investigations by PUNCH showed that the restaurant relaxed its obnoxious racist policy after the initial outrage on social media on Sunday. After our report on Monday, the restaurant threw open its doors to the public.
One of the workers of the company who spoke to the news agency after he was turned back had admitted that the restaurant took notice of the outrage on social media on Sunday.
A director of the company, Niyi Adegbite also refuted the allegations of discrimination but added that the restaurants had two sections. One of the sections is open to the general public while the other is strictly for Chinese.
According to Adegbite, “The restaurant is divided into two sections. There is one open to the public and there is one called Hot Pot. The Hot Pot is where you enter and cook on your own. All the ingredients are made available. But it’s only for Chinese nationals. Maybe it’s this one that some people tried entering and were disallowed and is now causing the outcry.”
Also, Gidin, who is a journalist with Pulse TV in Lagos told Punch that, “When we got to the gate, we saw some pretty Chinese girls going inside and we even laughed with them. When we attempted to go in, they refused to allow us in because we were black. I first thought it was a joke but when the guards repeated it almost five times, I knew they were serious.
“In order not to cause a scene, we left the place but I made sure that I scored them low on Google reviews and let the whole world know that they are racists.
“I am sure it was after the negative reviews online and the condemnation on social media that they quickly decided to change their racist policy.”