In quotes: What to know about doing business in Nigeria

Doing business in Nigeria requires opening your hands to work. This is a country where you can’t afford to fold your arms; you need to put your hands to good use. Lazy people do not have a future in this nation. We cannot have Greenland and yet have people who will not roll up their sleeves and get to work.

In the past week, the media was flooded with news that Nigeria performed badly on the World Economic Forum (WEF) Global competitive Report Index.

Nigeria actually slipped seven places to 127th position.

However, the news has not gone down well with some people, including the chief executive officer (CEO) of the National Competitiveness Council of Nigeria (NCCN), who maintained that the report is an reflection of the present realities of the country’s GDP.

While the report may have cast a looming shadow on the laudable praises showered on the country’s economy, many believe Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy, has huge economic potentials that cannot be ignored.

For instance, with a GDP ratio of about 11 per cent, Nigeria is one of the fastest-growing economies in the world.

Aside this, its burgeoning population of about 170 million (almost twice the number of Ethiopia, the second-largest country in Africa by population) cannot be overlooked since it presents a large opportunity for multinational retail and manufacturing companies.

So while we decide on what faction we belong to, or whether the report is right or wrong in its estimation, here are quotes from businessmen and women who are doing business in Nigeria.

Most of them are heads of multinationals, so they are perhaps in a position to give a critical assessment of what it means to do business in Africa’s largest economy, right?

There is nothing to worry about regarding Nigeria. Investors should come and take advantage of the various opportunities and reap high returns on their investments.

Jim Ovia, founder of Visafone and Zenith Bank Plc,  ahead of the WEF summit that took place in Nigeria this year

Lebanon is where I come from, but Lagos is home. When I am away, anywhere in the world, I think about Lagos more than I think about Lebanon. This is where I became a man; this is where I lost money, made money, made friends.

Issam Darwish, Lebanese-Nigeria owner of IHS – Africa’s leading mobile infrastructure company

I am a Nigerian and I do business in Nigeria. I don’t think there’s any problem doing business in Nigeria and that is why I am still here.

Bismarck Rewane, managing director at Financial Derivatives Company Limited

Nigeria is a country where we have untapped resources. If you live outside the country, your eyes will open wide and you will begin to see lots of potentials here and you will wonder why the people here and the government are not taking advantage of the potentials to sell Nigeria positively to the world at large.

Kunle Aderemi, CEO Ethnic Public relations and Marketing

Nothing is going to help Nigeria like Nigerians bringing back their money. If you give me $5 billion today, I will invest everything here in Nigeria. I have not seen any country where you can make money like in Nigeria and I say it to anyone who cares to listen. The opportunities here are so tremendous.

 Aliko Dangote, chairman and CEO of Dangote group

Here in Nigeria, there is such massive opportunity for business. There are so many sectors that are completely untapped. If I was working for a different multinational and I wasn’t working in Nigeria, I would be telling the board that we should be looking at this country; it has massive growth potential and a huge untapped population as well.

Beverly Spencer-Obatoyinbo, head, British American Tobacco (BAT) Nigeria

Manufacture, don’t just trade.  There is money in manufacturing even though it is capital intensive.   To achieve a big breakthrough, I had to start manufacturing the same product I was trading on; which is commodities.

 Aliko Dangote, chairman and CEO of Dangote group

We need proper leadership, selfless politicians who are not in power looking to profit; we need government to be more concerned about the youth and we need more rich people that are concerned about the poor.

Nneka Lucia Egbuna (Nneka), German-Nigerian Singer/Song writer.

Without sounding a bit defensive, I think we tend to overbloat this issue of corruption in Nigeria and in fact, almost all the speakers who have spoken today are talking about corruption.

Tony Elumelu, Africapitalist proponent and chairman, Heirs Holdings Ltd.

Ten million Nigerians can raise N10bn by investing N1,000 only in our collective future but that is a pipe dream. The wealthy who complain about the challenges and incredible difficulties of doing business in Nigeria would never take the risk of supporting potentially better candidates so as not to suffer the ire of their known devils.

Dele Momodu, publisher, Ovation Magazine

Over to you, what do you think about doing business in Nigeria?