A Chinese restaurant situated off Toyin Street, Ikeja, Lagos, accused by some Nigerians of racism, while barring others from entering the restaurant,
A Chinese restaurant situated off Toyin Street, Ikeja, Lagos, accused by some Nigerians of racism, while barring others from entering the restaurant, is being defended by the Lagos State Government. The Lagos State Government’s position, made known via a Press statement issued by the Commissioner for Tourism, Arts and Culture, Steve Ayorinde, said that findings by its officers sent to investigate the veracity of the claim showed that the allegations of racism were 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.”
However, findings by Punch newspaper, showed that the restaurant relaxed its obnoxious racist policy after the initial outrage on social media on Sunday. The restaurant threw open its doors to the public.
A director of the company, Niyi Adegbite, had earlier said that the restaurant had two sections: one that is open to the general public, while the other is strictly for Chinese 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.”
Joshua Jenom Gidin, a journalist with Pulse TV in Lagos said he was denied entry along with five of his friends last Saturday, said it all seemed like a joke at first when he was told that Blacks would not be let in.
“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.”
The Lagos State Ministry of Tourism Arts and Culture ministry which regulates eateries, restaurants, hotels, and other hospitality facilities in Lagos promised to conduct further investigations.
