Long and Short Term Effect of China’s Non Oil Import Dominance in Nigeria

Abstract

China’s import to Nigeria has been going up in the past decade compared to Nigeria’s export to the country which was significantly very low. This has resulted in an unfavourable balance of trade against Nigeria. Data used for this study is sourced from Central Bank of Nigeria Annual Report 2012 in respect of non oil import by country of origin. Imports from all the industrialized nations are a little more than that of China. China has involved itself in every aspect of Nigerian economy like road construction, railway, power plants and telecommunication engineering. The hitherto country which Nigerian citizens found difficult travelling to had relaxed its entry requirement by granting visa exemption to Nigerian government officials. The future of trade relationship between China and Nigeria was further analysed and it was recommended that China should involve itself in manufacturing in Nigeria rather than exporting its finished goods to the country as this will increase the country’s Gross Domestic Product and reduce unemployment among the teeming youths. Dumping should be discouraged in all its ramifications. Unskilled labour especially in construction companies should be given to the locals instead of exporting it into the country.

DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n10p156