When you think of African chiefs, you must think of black people dressed in exaggerated clothes and fancy faces, but you certainly did not expect that in Nigeria, Africa, there is a Chinese teacher who has become a local chief, according to local customs, he can have the right to polygamy, and 500 acres of fiefdom, as a foreigner, he can have private arms in the local area, even the president of their country has no right to ask.
He is Hu Jieguo.
Hu Jieguo
It is the hardcore Chinese chief.
But chiefs have always chosen candidates through hereditary methods, so how did Hu Jieguo do it?
This starts from the very beginning, Hu Jieguo was born in 1948 in Shanghai's Putuo District. Growing up in Shanghai, hu jieguo entered Shanghai Nanhai Middle School as an English teacher at the age of 24. Hu Jieguo rarely saw his father, his father first worked in Hong Kong, coincided with the economic depression, seeing that there was no prospect in China, Hu Father turned his eyes to the still barren African continent, determined to go to a foreign country to work, and took a few people to Africa. The Chinese people have always been hard-working, and So is Father Hu, who soon broke out of the world in a foreign country by his own efforts, the textile factory was very famous in the local area, and Father Hu also became the leader of the overseas Chinese in Nigeria. However, with the passage of time, Father Hu began to miss his hometown, and coupled with his advanced age, he gradually felt powerless about the affairs of the textile factory, so Father Hu found his son Hu Jieguo.
Hu Jieguo
Hu Jieguo grew up in China since he was a child and has a deep affection for his hometown, and at first hearing that Hu Jieguo wanted him to inherit the family business and go to Africa, it was inevitable that there would be resistance in his heart. Teacher Hu Jieguo was so good, why did he have to go to Africa to manage the textile factory? After the school learned of the situation, the school leaders stepped forward and persuaded Hu Jieguo to agree to his father and go to Nigeria for development. In addition to the school leaders, the Chinese ambassador to Nigeria returned home and found Hu Jieguo. After learning that the family business mentioned by my father is not only a textile factory, but also a very important responsibility, not only my father needs a successor, but also overseas Chinese need it. In 1978, Hu Jieguo, with the encouragement of the school leaders and ambassadors, set out from Luohu, Shenzhen, and officially embarked on the road to Africa.
When he arrived in Africa and saw his father who had been separated for a long time, Hu Jieguo was overjoyed, and when he officially began to study in the textile factory, he found that he had no interest in the textile industry, so he thought twice and told his father his true thoughts. When the father heard this, he did not say anything, but only hoped that his son Hu Jieguo could stay in Africa. After receiving the support of Hu's father, Hu Jieguo began to start a new business, looking for his own area of interest. Hu Jieguo is outgoing, likes to deal with people, and is an English teacher, and his language ability is naturally speechless.
Hu Jieguo
So he applied for a job at a five-star hotel and became an assistant manager of the restaurant. In the process of work, he is like a sponge that draws water, constantly learning about hotel management, and he finds himself interested in the hospitality industry. Relying on his own strength, Hu Jieguo's career development is getting better and better, and he has been promoted rapidly and has become the general manager of the hotel. Hotel investors are very optimistic about Hu Jieguo, and they also gave him shares for this purpose.
But Hu Jieguo's goal is not only to become the general manager of the hotel, nor is he to become a shareholder of the hotel. After all, his father single-handedly founded a textile factory, the business is very good, he is not far behind, so in 1983, Hu Jieguo went to Canada to study, study hotel management, after 4 years of study, he resolutely decided to leave the superior conditions of Canada, and returned to the economically underdeveloped Nigeria. Among the countries in Africa, Nigeria has the largest population, reaching 150 million people at the time, and although the economy is not as good as Canada, they have abundant oil resources. Oil exports rank sixth in the world, which has brought so many companies and delegations to Nigeria. Hu Jieguo sensed the business opportunity, and it just so happened that Nigeria's tertiary industry had not yet developed, so he immediately decided to invest in the construction of hotels.
Golden Gate Restaurant
In 1997, Hu Jieguo spent $8 million to build the Golden Gate Restaurant. In order to make the hotel have Chinese elements, whether it is from the choice of construction companies or the purchase of decoration materials, Hu Jieguo chose to choose in China, just so that the restaurant can have more Chinese characteristics and let more foreigners feel the charm of Chinese culture. After investing a lot of money, the situation in Nigeria has changed, and the withdrawal of some countries has led to unprecedented difficulties in the local economic situation. This also made Hu Jieguo feel worried, someone advised him to stop the loss in time, after careful consideration, Hu Jieguo did not give up halfway, and finally the restaurant opened smoothly.
The whole picture of the hotel has finally been revealed, and its decoration materials are unique in style, attracting many people passing by. Hu Jieguo took out years of experience and the results of overseas study to manage the hotel in an orderly manner, so that guests praised his thoughtful service. Not only is the service considerate, the environment in the restaurant is very comfortable, and the unique taste of the food is excellent, which makes it difficult for people to forget it.
As a result, Hu Jieguo's hotel has become the first choice for Nigeria's top brass, and many Chinese come to this country will also give preference to the Golden Gate Restaurant. This luxurious and unique restaurant has become a local landmark, and to this day the Golden Gate Restaurant remains one of the most luxurious hotels in Africa. Hu Jieguo's restaurant is thriving, but his father's textile factory is gradually showing decline.
Golden Gate Restaurant
For the dishes of the restaurant, Hu Jieguo also has his own ideas, the locals do not like to eat seafood, so the coastal areas are full of fish, shrimp, crabs and other animals, he resolutely put Chinese dishes on the nigerian hotel table, so that foreigners who have never eaten Chinese delicacies are amazed. Hu Jieguo's footsteps do not stop at the Golden Gate Hotel, he has invested in hotels, construction companies, etc., there is no boss shelf during the entrepreneurial period, the waiter does what he also follows, what the brick mover does, he also follows suit. Gradually, from the initial Golden Gate Restaurant, his business territory gradually expanded, forming a comprehensive company with catering, tourism, decoration, building materials production, mechanical processing, etc., with more than ten subsidiaries and holding companies, assets of more than 100 million US dollars, and more employees.
One day, Hu Jieguo came to visit a local school, the school facilities are simple and lamentable, the walls are bricks and iron, the floor is a potholed mud floor, even the doors and windows in the school are very small, and you have to bend down to get in. School facilities are so rudimentary, not to mention the facilities in the classrooms. The school didn't even have ordinary desks and chairs, and the children came to class with their own small benches, and they nestled on the small benches and put books on their legs, looking very uncomfortable. Due to the geographical location, the temperature is particularly high in the summer. Up to more than 40 degrees Celsius, they can only hide in the hot classroom, enduring the heat to learn.
Hu Jieguo
After learning about it, Hu Jieguo was surprised to find that the school he visited was actually a school with better conditions in their country. After hearing this, he could not imagine the facilities and equipment of other schools. Once a teacher with a sense of responsibility, he decided to take money to build a school so that he could provide a better learning environment for his students.
In 1999, their country happened to have a project to build a school, and the government could not come up with the money at that time, so Hu Jieguo raised funds from the bank in the name of his company and used more than 200 million yuan to build a school in the mountains. The climate in the deep mountains is humid, it is very difficult to build a cement house, in order to ensure safety, the foundation has been drilled for more than ten meters and then continued to be beaten. After a year of construction, Hu Jieguo worked overtime with the workers, and finally 6 months later, 4 schools were built in Lagos State. Each school is well-equipped, each school can accommodate more than 3,000 people, and local children no longer have to sit on small benches with muddy feet and listen to lessons. More than 200 million yuan has not been paid off locally, but Hu Jieguo does not care about it. This is also a continuation of the friendship between China and Nigeria.
Hu Jieguo
Since then, Hu Jieguo has never asked for a project from anyone else, and the government will naturally take the initiative to find it. Lagos State, where the four schools are located, pays special attention to education, because the school he built has greatly increased the local people's Chinese and has been recognized not only by the government, but also by the local people. Hu Jieguo did not inherit his father's textile factory, but inherited his father's sense of responsibility. Since 1998, he has helped companies that want to enter Africa.
In 2004, Hu Jieguo served as a special adviser in order to enable local small and medium-sized enterprises to develop better. The following year, Hu Jieguo also visited China with the Nigerian president, serving as a bridge for Friendship between China and Nepal. Nigeria has conducted business cooperation with China. Hu Jieguo's contribution to it is indispensable, not only allowing more Chinese enterprises to earn money, but also promoting the development of the local economy, which can be described as a win-win situation. Hu Jieguo took over his father's position and became an African overseas Chinese leader.
Hu Jieguo
In 2001, locals recommended Hu Jieguo, who was officially appointed tribal chief.
Former chiefs were tribal chiefs with absolute power, able to make laws, command armies, command wars, and so on. Chiefdom is mostly hereditary, some are patrilineal, some are matrilineal, and in the countryside of Africa, chiefs have a lot of power to regulate large and small and even trivial household chores. In many parts of Africa, chiefs are almost always polygamous, and small chiefs have more than a dozen wives, and it is not unusual for large chiefs to marry hundreds. It is rumored that a great chieftain once took 336 wives, which is truly jaw-dropping.
In Africa today, chiefs don't have as many rights and are more like a crown of honor. Hu Jieguo's contribution to Nigeria was obvious to all, so he was granted privilege after his appointment as chief. He can have an armed guard of nearly a hundred people, under the command of Hu Jieguo, the salary government does not say, he can also go to the police station to pick his own. As a foreigner, it is indeed a preferential treatment to be able to have private armed forces or to send money from the government. In this regard, Hu Jieguo said that he did not have any privileges, but he could see the governor and president at any time to speak out on behalf of the locals.
Hu Jieguo was appointed chief
One night in the year in which he was appointed tribal chief, Hu Jieguo suddenly received a phone call to learn that several staff members of the Chinese Embassy in Nigeria had been abducted and in a very dangerous situation. The robbers, armed with guns, had already killed several intercepting policemen, and for a moment there was a stalemate, and no one dared to make a move. When Hu Jieguo learned of this, he quickly called up his own guard, rushed to the scene, rushed to the forefront, and confronted the robbers. The robbers had already killed several policemen, and who cared that they would kill several people, and kept attacking them with guns. In the face of a rain of bullets and bullets, Hu Jieguo did not flinch, still chasing the robbers, all the way to the border of Nigeria. Where could the robbers have imagined that the few diplomats they had kidnapped could provoke all the people and horses along the way to follow closely, and when they were close to the border line, they refused to give up, so they decisively released three staff members and fled the scene. Faced with such a dangerous situation, Hu Jieguo resolutely stepped forward to save his compatriots.
He always put the Chinese first, and since becoming the chief, things have been busy, either attending meetings or helping the local government deal with the time related to the Chinese, so that he has delayed his business. Some Chinese failed in business and could not repay their debts, and when they were found with a gun, it was Hu Jieguo who stepped forward, and he directly brought cash to help pay off debts. Hu Jieguo's efforts are seen by all the Chinese in Nepal, and many people trust him and will find Hu Jieguo to help him after encountering things.
Hu Jieguo
For more than a decade, Hu Jieguo has been committed to helping small and medium-sized enterprises develop. The number of enterprises that he brought to Nigeria alone was as high as hundreds of dollars, and the trade volume in 1995 was only 200 million US dollars, and over time, the trade volume increased countless times to 14.9 billion yuan twenty years later. He has helped many people with practical actions, built schools, matchmaking, provided a better learning environment for local children, and made people feel warm to their compatriots who are not familiar with life. Hu Jieguo has been away from his hometown for many years, but he has never forgotten the land that nurtured him, and he has really provided help by treating the things encountered by his compatriots as his own affairs.
A Chinese ambassador to Nigeria once mentioned Hu Jieguo, saying: "Hu Jieguo is as rare as a panda, and it must be well protected." ”
It is really rare to be able to keep the original intention unchanged and persist for decades as a day. He has won the recognition of the locals and the Chinese with his actions, and his character is impressive.
Hu Jieguo
Hu Jieguo was able to stand up at a critical moment, not afraid of the rain of bullets and bullets, and resolutely led the team to pursue the robbers, many people were amazed after hearing his deeds, such courage is not something that anyone can have.
For example, in the evil deeds and injuries exposed yesterday, nine big men beat up around several girls, and there were many men present but none of them stood up. Most people are hanging high and hanging high, each sweeping the snow in front of the door, and there is no intention of helping in this kind of event. Only girls dare to come forward to help.
Hu Jieguo
Hu Jieguo also helped his compatriots during the outbreak of the epidemic in 2020. For security reasons, Chinese companies let employees self-isolate, but the number of employees is so large, where to go to quarantine? Hu Jieguo took the initiative to find the embassy and proposed that his hotel be used as a quarantine place, helping many compatriots. Hu Jieguo said that people entering other countries can also stay. Compared with those who go abroad and forget their roots, there is no comparison.
There are about 30,000 compatriots in Nigeria, and in the decades of foreign countries, Hu Jieguo has had good relations with local foreign friends, and sometimes jokes with the president in private, and gets along very well.
Hu Jieguo has experienced several coups in Africa and has faced many questions about whether to leave. But Hu Jieguo still stayed, and when talking about this matter, he said: The reasons that prompted me to stay at that time were first, Nigeria was still a developing country; Second, it may have something to do with the education we received from childhood, having feelings for our black brothers; Thirdly, I have a great partner in the local area, he treats me like a son and we have been working together for 30 years and have had a great time.
Hu Jieguo, who has such a precious character and always cares about the motherland, embodies the gentleness of our Chinese, embodies the style of a big country, and is the pride of the Chinese.
Former Nigerian President and Hu Jieguo