No Nigerians! This 42-Year-Old Lagos School Admits Indians Only

No Nigerians! This 42-Year-Old Lagos School Admits Indians Only

A school situated in the Ilupeju area of Lagos State has been found to admit only Indian students.

According to Punch, officials of the Indian Language school, which has been around for 42 years, said they won’t attend to a Nigerian.

An X user @decommonroom had previously narrated his 15-year-old experience with the school.

“The Indian school in Ilupeju only admits Indians. You need an Indian passport for enrollment,” he had said.

“My experience with the Indian international school in Ilupeju dates back to when my school had a debate competition with them in 2009. I discovered there were only Indian students.

“I was curious as to why because my school was also an international school and run by a foreign embassy with primarily expatriate kids and few Nigerians. Then I was informed their passport was a prerequisite for admission.”

The Indian Language School stands opposite Rite Price Supermarket on Akinteye Drive, Ilupeju.

Punch said it saw many Indians leaving the school with their wards, and also noticed that some of the Indian nationals lived on Akinteye Drive. The Indians patronised Nigerian-run shops and stands.

The correspondent’s encounter in the school is documented as follows:

Returning to the main building and approaching the entrance, it was observed that at the security post, about three guard men were seen, with one on a uniform and another one, likely a septuagenarian, putting on a native attire. They were Nigerian security men from their dress and conversation.

Our correspondent asked to make enquiries for his uncle who had two kids and would like to enroll them in the school.

“But that your uncle is an Indian man?” One of the security men responded. Our correspondent answered in the affirmative to give room for further discussions as reports showed that at similar foreign establishments, Nigerians were barred even from the point of entry. However, this was not different even with the different approach.

The security man in uniform immediately took the details of our correspondent in a form and took the form with him to an office while our correspondent was asked to wait at the security post.

While our correspondent sat, Indian nationals were seen trooping in and out.

Upon returning after about four minutes, the security man said, “They said the person should come – the person that is Indian – should come with his two kids.”

“They said as a Nigerian, they (the management) cannot attend to you. So the person should come, the Indian person,” he added, noting that was the response of an unidentified administrative worker, said to be an Indian.

When our correspondent asked to meet the said receptionist or admin manager, the security man said, “The woman will not attend to you because that’s the message she asked me to pass across to you.”

When our correspondent informed them his Indian uncle had not arrived in Nigeria, they still refused him entry.

Asking why he was refused entry, another man at the security post told our correspondent, “You know if they (the owners) were people of our skin colour (Nigerians) now (things could be different), but these people, they are the ones that know what they saw that made them do things like that.”

Insisting the admin manager would not attend to our correspondent, the first security man added, “They are Indians. The admin is an Indian.”

When asked if our correspondent could come with his Indian uncle when coming to enroll his children, they responded in the affirmative, echoing “No problem.” “That one is sure,” another one said.

When quizzed further if Nigerians were allowed to school there, one of them said it was possible only if the child was born to an Indian national.

A worker in a supermarket opposite the school who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprimand confirmed the school was mainly for Indians when asked by our correspondent. “Yes it is,” she said, nodding her head.

A keke driver, Tolu Fafunwa, when asked about why Nigerians were not allowed in the school, said, “That’s what I heard too. If you’re a Nigerian, except you’re working there or have an appointment, you cannot enter. So we cannot even know if there is a shady thing going on inside there.”

According to the school’s website, the institution was established in April 1982 as a private school under the umbrella of the High Commission of India and is affiliated to the Central Board of Secondary Education in New Delhi.

An anonymous source at the Indian High Commission in Nigeria claimed that the Indian Language School was established based on some conditions.

“One of the conditions is that it will not enroll locals in the school. It is not their fault.”

In a similar development, Kindea Chinese Hotel in Maitama, Abuja, prevented Punch from entering its premises based on the hotel’s policy that only Chinese nationals could use its facilities.

This all happened after the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) sealed Royal Chinese, a supermarket in the China General Chamber of Commerce in Abuja, on Monday for preventing Nigerians from shopping on its premises.