Gan Jiaxuan, a Chinese trader from Wenling county, Taizhou, is appointed as head of the western Kogi State branch of the Nigerian Youth Association on Aug 29. [Photo/taizhou.com.cn]

Gan Jiaxuan, a Chinese trader from Wenling county, Taizhou, was appointed head of the western Kogi State branch of the Nigerian Youth Association on Aug 29. 

Gan has become the first foreigner in the history of the Kogi State to hold this position.

Gan, born in 1986, arrived in the state of Kogi in Nigeria in 2009 to sell mobile phones.

In early 2016, he registered two companies in Nigeria and Hong Kong selling redwood furniture produced in Kogi to Dongyan in Zhejiang province and Zhongshan in Guangdong province. 

His company in Kogi hired more than 200 local employees and six armed police in its second year of operation, generating 1,000 logging and transportation jobs. 

Gan is well-liked among locals, as he pays double the salary of similar other companies in the region. Gan also dug a well in the area to help alleviate the shortage of drinking water. 

In November 2019, Kogi State granted a chieftaincy title to Gan for his remarkable contributions to local economic development.

Gan's story has inspired many businessmen from Taizhou to invest overseas. After contacting Gan, a businessman surnamed Xu, also from Wenling, invested nearly 20 million yuan ($2.89 million) in the construction of two factories producing plywood and cashews in Nigeria after 10-plus-day inspection trips to the country in late December last year.

The association Gan is set to chair has jurisdiction over seven locations, from the provincial capital of Lokoja to Ebey. During his five-year term, the Chinese businessman pledged that he will strive to unite and lead the youth of western Kogi.