The Indian High Commission in Nigeria has vowed to sanction the workers at the Indian Language School, Ilupeju, Lagos who refused The PUNCH correspondent access to the school facility for inquiries.
Following online reports that the school was not admitting or welcoming Nigerians on its premises, our correspondent on Monday proceeded to the school to investigate the claims.
While reacting to a post by @DejiAdesogan on Sunday, bordering on discrimination against Nigerians at an Abuja-based Chinese store, an X user @decommonroom, shared his experience about the Lagos Indian school.
He wrote, “The Indian school in Ilupeju only admits Indians. You need an Indian passport for enrollment.”
In a further chat with our correspondent, the user said, “My experience with the Indian international school in Ilupeju dates back to when my school had a debate competition with them in 2009. I discovered there were only Indian students. I was curious as to why because my school was also an international school and run by a foreign embassy with primarily expatriate kids and few Nigerians. Then I was informed their passport was a prerequisite for admission.”
When our correspondent visited the school on Monday, he was denied entry by security officials who claimed to be acting on instructions of a receptionist.
When our correspondent asked to make inquiries for his uncle who had two kids and would like to enroll them in the school, one of the security men asked, “But that your uncle is an Indian man?”
“They said as a Nigerian, they (the management) cannot attend to you. So the person should come, the Indian person,” another security man added, saying that was the response of an unidentified administrative worker, said to be an Indian.
Responding to inquiries from our correspondent on Tuesday, the press officer of the Indian High Commission in Abuja, Vipul Mesariya, said the commission was shocked by the experience of our reporter.
Vipul said, “We are shocked to hear that you were not allowed inside the school. We are disciplining the security guard and the receptionist as they did not have the authority to make such a decision.”
On Tuesday, the owner of the Abuja-based Chinese supermarket criticised for barring Nigerians refuted claims that her store was only meant for a specific group of people.
She clarified that her establishment was not a supermarket but rather a retail shop aimed at meeting the essential needs of her local community.
The store owner, Liu Bei, in a statement, said, “My shop is in the Royal Choice Estate, Airport Road, Abuja. It’s a small retail shop, not a supermarket like SHOPRITE. I mainly sell things to community residents and people who work here. Sometimes some visitors will come to my store to buy something after visiting the company In the office building, regardless of nationality.
“I don’t discriminate against any Nigerians, I even have several local employees in my store and we have a good relationship. However, for safety reasons, the community has requirements for visitors, so not everyone can enter the community directly.
“I feel sorry for the altercation between the security guard and the visitor in the video. Two Nigerians did come to my store that day to buy something, and I sold to them.”
Her reaction followed a summons notice and threat of sanctions by the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission on Monday after it sealed her store.
[Punch]