Doing Business in Nigeria

I was going to title the blog "doing business in Africa" till I recognized the fact that doing business in Nigeria is quite different from most other places on the continent, and for the wrong reasons.

We could discourse ad nauseum about the power situation, transportation network, security (or lack thereof) and the big grandaddy of all - corruption - but these are all common knowledge. Which begs the question - if we all know these are the problems, why aren't we doing anything about it? Why do we keep electing nincompoops to run the affairs of state? Why aren't our youth taking over the streets the way everyone else in the world is (for good or for ill)? 

Of course, there are many entrepreneurs on the Nigerian scene - and some who are quite successful (I know a few personally) - but even they agree that a guarantee of the basic necessities would make their lives and businesses a lot smoother. It's truly a sad state of affairs when the government cannot deliver on its basic responsibilities.

Turning Words into Action

As I write this quick blog (after a lengthy absence, although I've contributed articles to various media - Sahara Reporters and Think Africa Press - in that time), I'm on my way to Nigeria for what I am calling a "feasibility assessment". I've written a lot about the ills on the African continent, using Nigeria as a bit of a placeholder for all those issues. In my last few posts, I started talking about doing something. I have no idea where this trip will lead, but I'm keeping an open mind as I explore the terrain, seek out fertile ground and hopefully plant a seed or two. A bien tot.