A prominent Anambra-based business mogul and CEO, Tiger Foods, Celestine Ebubeogu, has raised concerns over what he describes as an impending threat to Igbo-dominated commerce and manufacturing, warning that Chinese investors are rapidly gaining ground in Nigeria’s trading hubs.
In a viral statement addressed to “Ndi Igbo,” Ebubeogu said the trend is already reshaping major markets across the Southeast and beyond.
“Everything we sell in Main Market or Ariaria Market can be produced in Nigeria,” Ebubeogu wrote. “My Chinese friend told me last week that the population of the Chinese in Nigeria doubled in the last one year alone. They are taking over commerce and manufacturing!”
He cited the case of a major trader in Onitsha who previously imported about 20 containers of shovels and wheelbarrows every month and supplied distributors across Nigeria and neighboring countries. According to Ebubeogu, the business model collapsed after a Chinese woman established a factory producing the same items in Asaba.
“Today the Igbo big importer is just one of her distributors, struggling to sell just one truckload a month,” he said.
Ebubeogu further warned that the rise of modern markets and chains of supermarkets is also making traditional open-market lockup shops increasingly obsolete.
“What would tomorrow look like?” he asked, urging Igbo business leaders to rethink strategies around local production and competition.
The alarm comes amid growing debate in business circles about foreign direct investment, local manufacturing capacity, and the future of Nigeria’s traditional market system. Traders in Onitsha’s Main Market and Aba’s Ariaria Market, two of West Africa’s largest commercial hubs, have in recent years complained of rising competition from imported goods and factory-direct suppliers.
Industry watchers say the development highlights a broader shift: from import-dependent trading to in-country manufacturing, often driven by foreign firms setting up plants to serve the Nigerian market directly.
As of press time, there has been no official response from market associations or government agencies on Ebubeogu’s comments.
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