Businesses in a famous market in East London, known as Liverpool Street Market are struggling because Nigerians no longer patronise them.
Okechukwu Enelamah, Nigeria’s minister of trade and investment
The market which is mainly patronised by Nigerians is home to clothes for women, men and children; designer goods, as well household goods.
Although, the 400-year old market is visited by locals and other nationals, Nigerians are said to be the highest customers that troop into the market frequently.
A recent survey by Daily Trust showed that the change of government in Nigeria, and the recent cash and financial policies that placed restrictions on the amount of money one can travel with or withdraw abroad led to the current situation.
In one of the textile shops in the market, an employee lamented that their sales had reduced drastically by more than 40 percent since the inception of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration, informing that the few Nigerian customers who come in now buy less than they used to buy in the past.
A manager in another top textile shop also said their business has been going through “tough times” in the last few months due to a “significant” drop in the number of Nigerians who patronize them.
The manager who chose to be anonymous said: “When the going was good, a lot of Nigerian customers bought assorted items in bulk and opted for door- to- door courier or cargo delivery in Nigeria.”
A store operative, Hajiya Rabi said the future of businesses, especially textiles shops in the market looked very bleak without patronage by Nigerians.
A shop owner in the market who is a Nigerian, Chief (Mrs.) Franca Aina, said sales had “really, really gone down,” adding that the situation was so bad that some shops and businesses were closing down.
”I think it’s because of the new government’s war on corruption. In the past, Nigerians used to come here and spend (money) anyhow. But now only a few come and they spend very little.
”In many shops, 90 percent of sales are by Nigerian customers. So you can see why the businesses are folding up. We go to Switzerland and other countries to buy goods and carry as much money as we need and the UK does not stop us as long as we can prove it is our money,” she said.
The market was said to have been in the same situation in January 2012 during the fuel subsidy removal protests in Nigeria when flights into the United Kingdom were suspended.
In a related development, experts have warned that a recent directive by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) excluding some essential raw materials from the list of items valid for forex in Nigerian Forex Exchange (FOREX) markets may affect many Nigerian workers in the manufacturing sector.
Meanwhile, Godwin Emefiele, the governor of CBN, has said that he will consider easing restrictions on currency trading if demand for foreign exchange drops further.
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