From Bangabazar to Nigeria: How undocumented Nigerians set up an RMG export business 

Of a distinctive height, athletic physique and in clothes that mirror America's hip-hop culture, some shoppers at Bangabazar market turn heads and tend to stand out in the sea of local shoppers.  

Shop attendants at the famous market in Dhaka make the distinction even clearer when they fondly call on the particular shoppers with "Hey bondhu. Aasho amar dokane," (Hi friend. Visit my shop). This is a trick to lure in those customers with swollen wallets.  

The shoppers are none other than Nigerians. They have learnt Bangla so that they can bargain better. Unlike regular shoppers, they buy clothes in bulk, purposefully, to send them directly to Nigeria. 

Unverified sources say the Nigerian buyers, annually send garment products worth around Tk500 crore from Bangladesh to Nigeria. Apart from the Bangabazar, they collect garment products from Mirpur, Uttara and Ashulia. 

Some of the Bangabazar-based shop owners said that Nigerian customers are special to them. For a couple of years, the Nigerians have transformed that 'cheaper' garments market into an import destination, which was merely an apparel hub for the local middle-and-lower middle classes even a decade ago.

"Nigerians purchase stock lots. For example, small-scale businessmen buy 100-1,000 pieces of garments while giants [big-scale businessmen] buy 10,000-20,000 pieces. Whatever their purchase capacity is, they pay in hard cash. No dues," said Zafar Ahmed Talukder, joint secretary of Bangabazar Complex Shop Owners' Association. 

He added that the Nigerians kept the sales running in alternative ways even when the Covid-19 pandemic had halted the normal operation of the shops.

What items do the special buyers collect from Bangabazar? Colourful T-shirts, half-sleeve cotton shirts, denim trousers, singlets, boxer pants for adults and other items, including kids' wear for children aged between 3 to 7.

A good life in Bangladesh for Nigerians 

For years, the Nigerian buyers have developed a network with local stakeholders: shop attendants, porters and CNG drivers who help them transport the stock lot to 'hidden' warehouses in some Dhaka localities. The stakeholders try to protect the foreigners from external disturbances. 

However, this correspondent recently managed to sit with two Nigerians at a Dhaka restaurant. 

Tayo (pseudonym) migrated to Bangladesh in 2012, seeking a fortune in a Bangladeshi football club. He has been a professional footballer since 15 and even played football in a Norwegian club. When he sensed he was getting older than his teammates at the Norwegian club, he decided to migrate to Bangladesh. 

To get his visa extended, he enrolled at a Dhaka-based private university as a graduate student. And over time, besides continuing his sports and academic career, Tayo became involved in the garment trade operated by some fellow Nigerians in Dhaka. 

How does the business run? "Buy a T-shirt at Tk150 from the Dhaka markets like Bangabazar. Pack and send it to Nigeria. You can sell the T-shirt at Tk300 [around 1,300 Nigerian naira] to Nigerian importers. The transhipment cost is minimal. The more products you collect, the more profit you can earn," Tayo said.

Another Nigerian Eddie (pseudonym) arrived in Bangladesh two years before Tayo. Eddie said that the transhipment of a 60kg package [around 300 pieces of extra large T-shirts] costs only Tk5,000-Tk6,000. Shipment by marine freight takes at least three months to reach Nigeria.  

A rough calculation suggests that a Nigerian buyer earns around Tk45,000 by selling only 300 T-shirts to importers in Nigeria. However, the profit margin depends on how quickly and how much money they pay to the Bangladeshi middlemen.

The duo agreed, "This is a good business."

Tayo and Eddie, both Christians, don't want to go back to Nigeria which is now ruled by Muslim politicians. And there is immense threat from the radical militant group Boko Haram. 

"Apart from the religious reasons", they said, "There is an acute power shortage. Every family has a power generator there. You have to afford expensive fuel to run an industry. And the politicians are too corrupt. You cannot do good business independently even if you have millions of money." 

A thriving trade

You cannot find actual official records of the stock lots traded to Nigeria. Foreigners, without official approval and valid documents, cannot export. None of the Nigerians who spoke to TBS for this article have legal documents. 

Furthermore, due to restrictions imposed by the Nigerian government, Nigerian importers cannot carry out Telegraphic Transactions, or overseas wire transactions, worth more than $10,000. This restricts the scope of exporting to Nigeria legally.

So, how do they send the products abroad? A Clearing and Forwarding (CnF) agent, on condition of anonymity, explained the process to TBS. 

Infographic: TBS

The agent, who operates his office in Dhaka and Chattogram, said that the Nigerian buyers bring a cargo truck full of stock lots to a CnF agent's warehouse. The agent 'manages' the required banking and customs documents for clearance of the product. With the false declaration, the consignment is then sent to the Nigerian port.

"For example, a 40ft container can carry products worth $1 lakh. There would be documented products of $10,000. The vacuum would be filled by the stock lot," said the CnF agent. 

Importers in Nigeria do not require a Letter of Credit (LC) before importing products from Bangladesh, so they can unload the Bangladeshi consignment even though its customs declaration is false. 

"There is no business risk. Garment suppliers receive hard cash, and so do the CnF agents and other facilitators," the agent said.  

How do Nigerians arrange the money?

A Special Branch of Police member, who preferred to remain anonymous, informed that the Nigerians receive the capital money in advance through some international money transfer devices such as Western Union. "Besides, the money comes through active Hundi networks in Dubai, Malaysia and Singapore," the officer said.

Untapped potential

According to the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) statistics for 2021-22FY, garment products worth $4.40 million were exported from Bangladesh to Nigeria. During 2012-13FY, the export earnings were only $9.19 lakh.

UN Comtrade reported that Nigeria had imported garment products worth $103.9 million globally in 2021. Five years earlier, Nigeria's garment import size was $15 million only.  

Bangladesh, despite being one of the largest RMG exporters in the world, covers only a small portion of rapidly growing Nigerian market.  

Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association's Vice President Shahidullah Azim said the garment market in Nigeria is small for Bangladeshi exporters. 

"Nigeria's import of stock lot from Bangladesh is only worth $1.6 million. Some owners of small RMG factories are facilitating the trade. However, BGMEA members are not targeting the market. The South African market has bigger potential," Azim said.      

Of discretion and fear   

If you happen to spot a Nigerian at Bangabazar, you will see that the foreign buyer is carefully checking the clothes, piece by piece. Not that they will reject the clothes if it's defective. Why would they do that? They have come to this market to buy clothes rejected from RMG factories. They evaluate the clothes carefully for bargains actually.

In that crucial time, like a tea tasting job, they usually don't pay heed to others. If you introduce yourself as a journalist, they simply refuse to speak. Because "they are scared of strangers. Because they are migrants living in Dhaka without a valid visa," said Musa Miah, a Bangabazar-based shop owner

They are scared of curious folks because they are well-informed about media reports on criminal activities such as cybercrime, scams, narcotics and sex trade allegedly involving undocumented Africans in Bangladesh.

According to Bangladesh Police's special branch officials, there are around 1,200 Nigerians in Bangladesh. Among them, only 38 have valid visas.  

Broadly, the Nigerians arrive in Bangladesh with sports and business visas. But there is evidence that many Nigerians have entered Bangladesh by trespassing through the Indian border and intentionally disposing of their passports to hide their real identity. Sometimes, they are caught by border guards. 

On 5 September this year, three Nigerians were arrested by the Tripura Police while trying to enter Bangladesh crossing the Konaban borderline illegally, reported Northeast Now news portal of India. 

Last year on 8 July, three other Nigerians, including a child, were arrested in Sylhet for illegally entering Bangladesh from India. More than 100 people from nine African countries including Nigeria, Cameroon, Tanzania, Ghana, Algeria, Mali and Kenya are now in jails across Bangladesh, according to news reports. 

Police investigations have found that the people originating from poverty-stricken African countries find the South Asian countries, particularly India and Bangladesh, safe havens for fraudulent activities.

"The criminals from African origins are mostly from Nigeria. Collectively, police call them 'Nigerian frauds'. They are carrying out cyber crimes in disguise of RMG merchandisers," said Special Superintendent of Police SM Ashraful Alam.   

Local RMG suppliers who deal with Nigerians regularly, claim that people from Kenya, Uganda, Ghana, Cameroon and other African countries who live in Bangladesh are actually the ones involved in criminal activity, but they identify themselves as Nigerians.  

"They are committing crimes tarnishing the image of the Nigerian buyers. That's why the Nigerians are shifting their business from Bangladesh to Pakistan, another RMG manufacturing country," said a CnF agent who often forwards Nigerian consignments. 

Future of the business 

The two Nigerians who spoke to TBS said that if the Nigerian businesses get work permits and Private Investor (PI) visas, they could properly run the Bangladesh-Nigeria RMG trade, and without any hassle.  

The problem is that there is no Embassy of Nigeria in Bangladesh. India has a Nigerian embassy and that is why Nigerians first arrive in India and then enter Bangladesh, they said.   

One Special Branch of Police officer recently hinted that plans are underway to issue visas for some Nigerian buyers who have no criminal record in Bangladesh. He didn't provide any details.  

Export Promotion Bureau's Director General Mahbubur Rahman, avoiding the visa issue as it was not his responsibility, told TBS that there are plans to make the garment trade between the two countries prosper.

"Bangladesh cannot export the garments products rejected by the European buyers because the European importers run their outlets in Nigeria," he said, adding that there should be a 'finished' Bangladeshi brand that is affordable [cheap] for the customers of stock lots in Nigeria. 

EPB has been negotiating with Nigerian importers as well as the Bangladeshi parties in this regard. 

"Discussions were halted due to the Covid-19 pandemic. However, we have resumed the negotiations," Mahbubur said.