‘The first Chinese chief in Africa’, but does he – and others like him – wield any real influence?
- Former teacher Hu Jieguo was the first of a growing number of Chinese awarded chieftaincy in Africa. We investigate how much power they actually have
By the age of 50, former English teacher Hu Jieguo had moved to Nigeria and built a multimillion-dollar Chinese-style hotel, at a time when East Asian faces were uncommon there. Now in his 70s, Hu lives in Lagos surrounded by government-funded, submachine-gun-toting guards.
Such protection came as Hu was granted a chieftain title in 2001, a rare honour for a non-African. Hu remarked at the time that there was nothing extraordinary about the title, except that he could now “see the governor and president whenever he wanted”.
Seventeen years later, wearing a golden robe and rounded skullcap of the Yoruba tribe in southwest Nigeria, Hu made an appearance on China Central Television, to talk about his life as “the first Chinese chief in Africa”.
In this capacity, Hu advises the local government on China-related matters, and helps Chinese citizens when they have issues in Nigeria. Even Chinese ambassadors to Nigeria consult Hu.
In the magazine At Home & Overseas, published by the All-China Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese, one ambassador was quoted as saying, “Hu Jieguo is as rare as a panda, and we need to protect him well.”
Born in 1948, Hu grew up with his mother and siblings in Shanghai. His father had left for Hong Kong to start a textile business. However, amid the volatile international situation after World War II plus the Communist victory in China, Hong Kong’s economy had become sluggish.