Saturday, September 26, 2009

Rent....

When I first moved over here I believed it would be simply a matter of finding a good flat or house and like England putting a deposit for a month then pay the monthly rent. Oh how naïve I was!

The rental system here in Lagos is quite frankly ridiculous. To live in a place of similar comparison to UK standards in a relatively secure and comfortable location should be in areas like the lekki peninsular or Oniru estate, which are 'up and coming' areas. Rental prices vary but increase year on year- highbrow locations such as Ikoyi or Victoria Island can be twice the price of the peninsular. Fair enough, if your earning a reasonable salary or so I thought:

The problem and it is a large one is that rental must be paid for two years upfront in cash. A monthly charge is pretty much non existent. When prices start from Around 3 million naira per year you can see the issue. For those un familiar with naira that's around 12 thousand pounds sterling. Yet it doesn't stop there: one must then suffer the charges of your property agent who takes a maximum of 10% of the rental fee, there is then a 10% legal fee to be paid.

So just to recap:

3 million naira per yer

X 2 years = 6 million

10% agency fee & 10% legal fee = 1.2 million naira

So that's around 7.2 million naira or 29 thousand pounds sterling to be paid upfront. After that all you have to find is money to buy a generator to power the house when not if the electric fails and of course your furniture. Only then are you able to live in an approximate comfort to your life in England.

And so I realised it was a little unrealistic to manage to rent if I wanted to live in as much comfort as the UK. Thanks to my wife's family I was most welcome at their place and for a number of reasons have realised that I will be here for a while longer!

Monday, September 21, 2009

Reputation II - the Sony battle continues


It seems that the Minister for Communications firm letter to Sony after their Playstation advert highlighted Nigeria as a hotbed of Internet fraud has had the desired effect. Sony have made a public apology and removed the offending advert. You can view and read about it in my blog on reputation earlier this month.



The turnaround by Sony must be a welcome boost for the Minister, but the battle to 're-brand' Nigeria is far from over. The movie District 9 was on general release at the cinemas here over the last couple of weeks only to be pulled, once again due to references to Nigeria as being a country of Gangsters, Cannibals and Prostitutes!

Though it remains to be seen whether the Minister will have much luck battling Hollywood as well as the Gaming Industry...the Ministry seems to be heading for the style of the 3 wise monkeys rather than addressing the real issues at hand.

Phone promo...



And so Ibadan, geographically the second biggest city in Africa, was the location for one of the many Gameshows of the 9jillions promo of Etisalat  this Saturday, where the lucky few competitors would walk away with over a million Naira each, they and many like them would also have the opportunity to take part in a final show where the biggest prize fund in Africa $1million would be up for grabs. Of course I should mention at this point they are a client of mine!


The attendance was as you would expect for a country whose population aspires to riches, packed. And you could feel the tension as individuals waited to see if their number would be picked.

Over 11 million Naira is given out at these events to owners of an Etisalat line, and the 5th GSM company to enter into Nigeria is pushing hard to gain market share and catch up with the competition, so hard in fact that the other GSM companies have started their own promos to catch up.
The good thing about these promotions is that the consumer has a real opportunity to better themselves financially, and this in a country where often it is your connections that help rather than luck. Hopefully the promos can in the long run assist in a redistribution of wealth into many hands. At the least it will certainly help those who win to kick start a business or pay some school fees...

Party season begins...


Ramadan is over and the warm up to Christmas is here, and with it comes the party season.
After a month where Nigeria and Lagos is relatively quiet due to fasting, the party season has started with a vengeance.
Nigerians love to hold a party and for the highbrow section of society there is always the task of better thy neighbour.
The brash competitiveness of Nigerians comes out in force.
The finest halls are hired and often millions of Naira (around 250 naira - £1) is spent on venue, decorations, food, ushers, drink, entertainers of the moment and party favours. This season is filled with birthdays, weddings and any other excuse. It is big business in itself.

One such bash was a party for a leading Oil and Gas company director this weekend. The guest list read like a who's who of Nigeria's oil producing elite and the champagne was flowing.
What was more than interesting was that a larger proportion of the guests were connected to some well known individuals here in Nigeria who are under investigation for various fraudulent business practices. But they seemed more than comfortable with the champagne in hand.
It gave me an uncomfortable feeling to know that this was occurring in a country where the UN statistics point to around four fifths the population existing on less than 2 dollars a day. The hotel where this happened charges 3 times my drivers monthly salary for a room per night.
My wife made an interesting comment drawing parallels between 18th century France and Nigeria today, where the elite numbers in the few thousand and controls 99% of the wealth how can fairness and justice for the many occur while the few enjoy their champagnes and canapes... Until there is a drastic change here there will be a vast gulf between the have and have nots...


Saturday, September 12, 2009

Swim...





I went to a 3 day swimming championship for 12-16 year olds "Age Group Swimming Championship" at the new Teslim Balogun Stadium in Surulere, Lagos today.



It was nice to see the place, a fairly new complex over the road from the dilapidated National sports stadium. Though one question came to my mind, as to why on earth was the money not spent on rehabilitating the National stadium rather than building another one nearby. Friends just smiled and gave the wink that means people wanted to 'chop' contract. ('chop' means eat in Nigeria, and they were suggesting that people were making money from the deal.)I was disapointed to see that the roof of the seating area around the excellent 50m outdoor swimming pool already had numerous holes in the corrugated iron roof


Out of a possible 36 states only 7 were in attendance at the event; Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Delta, Edo, Lagos, Ondo, and Kaduna. with individuals competing in the outdoor 50m pool in all styles, from butterfly to front crawl.


The Nigerian Swimming Federation held the 3 day event which was the first one in seven years,
Apparently the former Governor of Rivers State Peter Odili used to be the patron unfortunately management issues ofver the funding were abound and the event finally wound down.
Recently, some of the State coaches had managed to organise the event from their own pockets and the Championship was reignited.
According to friends, there is to be an international event in Mauritius which they hope to attend with a national team early next year.
It was fantastic to see the organisation, these children are not particularly from privileged backgrounds; talking to the Chairman of Delta State Swimming Association; Chief Chinoye Daphey, it became clear that the kids from Delta state actually train and learn in a natural pool, that exists in the River Ethiope at Obiaruku. The team actually won this championship.


As she says, though the river is free, its far from ideal! Her dream apparently is to open a swimming academy there with a real pool and proper facilities. As is the way with these things it may take a while before this dream is realised.
The nature of sports sponsorship and support from governments in Nigeria is a shattered one. Football is the most popular sport here, and corporate bodies are generally keen to help out with some spponsorship. However the other sports are less fortunate. It was noticeable at this event that there was no funding of note. The trappings normally associated with such an event in Europe were not apparent, keeness of participants was strong but it lacked what felt like support from the public and corporate bodies.



There is a crying need in Nigeria for more Sports sponsorship. Nigerians do love all sports, table tennis can be seen on nearly every street corner in Lagos, football of course is ever popular, a walk around the stadiums in Surulere at the weekend, shows numerous groups playing basketball, tennis, etc. When you find yourself driving early in the morning it is common to see Joggers shadow boxing on the roads. Sport as in the West can be seen as a way out of poverty. With greater help from business and Government funding this can become a real reality. After all this population of over 140 million should naturally have talented sports people within it.


It is unfortunate that most sportsmen and women feel the need to move to another country to ply their trade. A cursory look at the British Athletics team for example shows that many personalities are Nigerian in origin.

If only Sports marketing was more developed and Business realised the benefits to themselves and the consumers perhaps the desire of people like Chief Daphey may be realised, and the talented children could have the opportunity to grow into the sports stars of tomorrow and stay in their country.

The keeness of the children is not in doubt, it is now up to the government and business to assist them.

Thursday, September 10, 2009

juju.....jazz...Jesus & Islam

I was talking to a friend today when they mentioned that they had caught their House girl with some form of 'charm' in their possesion. They were immensely shocked by this and had remonstrated with the girl. I just shrugged...after all in my culture all this stuff doesnt really have any effect! Does it......?

It did get me thinking about the cultural differences which when you dig deep can be immense. There are three major tribes in Nigeria (Hausa, Igbo, Yoruba) and a total of around 250 ethnic groups each with differing cultural nuances. Alongside this is the religous demographic generally made up of 55% muslim 48.2% christian and 1.4% 'other'. Needless to say as with other areas of the world ethnic culture is intertwined with religion to form various rules and norms.
One such rule seems to be the acceptance that juju or jazz as it is known is everywhere, from the Malam selling charms of islamic prayers to the Delta militant with his special charm to protect from bullets. This practice is widespread but talked about with respect and in hushed tones nonetheless.


Superstition of the type known in the west; the stuff your grandma used to tell you; such as a black cat crossing your path and never walk under ladders etc is an everyday part of life.
For example; People here will generally not pick money off the floor if they saw it, reason being it was probably cursed and you would go blind. Another is that you should not let a beggar touch you, again they would make you go blind. There are many of these rules to obey here.

In 'organised' religion the growth of 'Born again' christians is on an impressive scale. So much so that it's an industry all on its own, with branches opening up all the time.
The names of these churches could be the subject of a post all on its own:

• Jehova Sharp Sharp
• Huricane Miracle Ministry
• Healing Tsunami Ministry
• Satan in Trouble Ministry
• Fire for Fire Ministry
• Guided Missiles Church
• FIST OF FURY
• Run For Your Life Ministry and tell Ahab that Elijah is here Ministries
• God is Real Ministry. Motto: "Jesus no get muscle but he get power"
• Fire Burn Ministries
• JESUS THE LANDLORD, WE THE RELAXING PEW MINISTRY
• Happy Go Lucky Church of God Almighty In Jesus Name Amen
• Old time religion ministry
• Strong Hand of God ministry
• Best Spot In The Land of God Church
• Trigger happy ministry. Motto- "always firing the devil"

A week does not go by in Lagos without one 'crusade' or other by a church or night vigil where the congregation stay up all night to give prayer. The churches range from the biggest seating over 50,000 people in Canaanland Ojota just outside lagos to the shack by the side of the road numbering a congregation of 5.





All carry a similair message from their pastors. Pray to Jesus, pay your tithes (often 10% of a persons monthly income) and seek satisfaction that life will get better. It has to be commented here that many pastors do very well out of this 'business' with some driving brand new SUV or even utilising the churches 'private jet'. Something to my eyes sits untidily with the notion that much of their congregation are struggling to earn a decent salary. (The house girl I mentioned above receives the equivalent of £80 pounds a month)

What is clear through the myriad of beliefs, cultures and religions is the constant striving to improve their lot and the 'Nigerian hope' and belief that one day things will be better. This is something impressive yet perhaps disconcerting at the same time.

Inshallah, God dey, its in the hands of Jesus etc.

While we wait for hope to catch up with reality, maybe a charm or lucky rabbits foot is a harmless practice...or maybe Ill find I wake up blind?


Monday, September 7, 2009

Reputation....

What words & thoughts spring to mind when you hear the word Nigeria?
Lets be honest; Nigeria's international reputation is questionable.
The recent Playstation 3 advert is perhaps testament to the reputation Nigeria has abroad.



The advert, much to the chagrin of the Minister for Communication Dora Akunliyi and many others who have called to boycott Playstation; highlights the thought that Nigerians are renowned amongst other things for internet fraud.
419 (a reference to the Nigerian penal code for fraud) is a well documented and sometime celebrated fact in Nigeria. So much so that within the country it has almost become fashionable with various songs referring to it.



The Yahooze song refers to 'Yahoo boys' who utilise Yahoo email accounts to perpetrate international scams. The song above was a popular tune with immense airplay in the country last year. The song and the 'yahooze' dance was heard and seen in many events across Nigeria, and through all walks of life. I can distinctly remember seeing a number of high profile individuals (who shall of course remain nameless) dancing along to this song at many events last year.

My problem, is that while on the one hand many Nigerians are quite rightly angry at their reputation abroad, they on the other, celebrate an example of it.
Before I first came to Nigeria, my friends, colleagues and family were amazed that I had chosen this country. They filled me with horror stories; don't go out at night, its unsafe, kidnappings, corruption etc etc.
Not wanting to tempt fate, but now in my 3rd year I can safely say that so far I have not been kidnapped, robbed or scammed (apart from the usual inflation of prices for an 'oyibo'!)
I have found the people, though challenging and different to us in the UK, to be kind, generous, creative and honest.
The attempt to brand Nigeria, does however need a deep seated culture change in all aspects of life in Nigeria if it is to succeed. A strongly strategic plan, stretching through all areas of life, rather than tactical actions aimed at brand logos and pay off lines is desperately needed.


A couple of months ago The Minister for Communication inspired debate throughout the PR industry and within the people of Nigeria as to how Nigeria as a country should be branded. This occurred during the launch of the new Brand logo and collaterals developed by the Ministry.

An interesting paper on Country branding can be found here:
http://www.brandchannel.com/papers_review.asp?sp_id=604

Commentary from the PR industry through PRCAN on the rebranding exercise is available through the link below; a number of interesting articles discuss the challenges that present themselves in branding Nigeria:

http://www.blueflowerafrica.com/PR%20Review%20feb%20009.pdf

How Nigeria changes its reputation over the next few months and years will be an interesting topic to watch. Hopefully a change can occur where the people are represented for what they truly aspire too: A successful, talented country with a wealth that can be used for the benefit of all, not just Yahoo boys and the like...

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Sounds....

Lagos...
Aside from the sights it is the sounds that hit you in this city.
A bombardment of noise from all corners at all hours.
There is a constant drone of generators assisting the epileptic power supply that is NEPA (Never Expect Power Anytime) now named PHCN (Please Hold Candle Near) Nigerians often find humour in the strangest of places. The saying if you didn't laugh you would cry is never truer here.
These generators are present everywhere, from the small ' I betta pass my neighbour ' sets for individual use puttering along to the enormous systems powering office blocks of head offices; you cannot escape.
Then there is the traffic: cars, buses, trucks, sirens, horns and okada (motorcycle taxis) that often are pimped to carry a horn better suited to a truck so that cars will hear them and move in panic.


 The numerous markets around Lagos; Balogun for example where the old CBD of Lagos island used to be, is a hectic place where anything can be found for sale. The sellers shout out at the top of their voice asking shoppers to look at their product, attention is often grabbed by a curt hiss or kissing sound, making you turn, once eye contact is taken the hard sell is on. People will shout 'Oyibo' (white-man) which will then be replicated by others the further you walk down the street.
Even the bars and clubs have their music on so loud that its difficult to communicate except by sign language, or perhaps I'm getting old!

At prayer time the distinct call from the Mosques can be heard while on a Sunday and odd times of night, hymns ring out from the numerous churches that spring up from seemingly nowhere.
Early in the morning by my house I hear a girl shouting "buuuuuuuuuuuy breaaaaaaaad" in a high pitched wail, mixed in with barking dogs, bull frogs and cicadas and occasionally the odd radio.
There is rarely true silence in this city. Even at the beach the waves have a voice.

My first time back to London, I arrived at Picadilly station on a Monday at around 8am.

 I remember in my first visits there from the north thinking that London was a hustling city full of noise, this time I was astounded by the peace and quiet, I swear I could hear a pin drop.

Perhaps all the noise here is one reason for the shouting, Nigerians often like to shout. Its not that they are particularly angry, I think they just like to be heard above the constant din.


Drive time...

They say if you can drive in Lagos you can drive anywhere...
I think this used to be because the roads had no rules. Traffic would not obey the standard driving laws, if there was a traffic jam or 'go slow' as its called here, cars would just drive on the other side of the road.
Some semblance of order has arrived with numerous enforcement agencies and some communication programs from Lagos State.
That's not to say the Go Slow has disappeared and it is the endless streams of traffic in the mornings to work and evenings home again that causes much hardship for the people of Lagos. Even the day time is a gamble as to whether you hit traffic or not.


In fact you are lucky to attend 2 meetings in one day and all movement requires good timing and of course luck not to hit jams.
Though there are many cars on the roads, the main form of transport for the majority of Lagosians is the bus for longer distance or motorcycle taxi (okada) generally used for shorter distances.

Most offices tend to provide a bus for their staff which does a circuitous tour of Lagos dropping off or picking up at various points.
The staff for their part must meet this bus in the morning or suffer a long journey by private owned 'public' transport.
Our office is much the same, the majority of staff either do not have a car or do not want to face driving through the go slow, while the bus provides a service for them, it comes with its own problems.



View Larger Map



To or from Victoria Island to the mainland where most of the Lagos population live can take between two - four hours each way. This is for a journey of maybe 20 kilometres. Many staff will wake at 5am in order to meet the bus in the morning. In order to leave the office at night one must wait for all staff to finish their work. If one memeber of the team has a deadline all others wait, on average they leave at 6 or 7 pm and face at least a two - three hour journey to a drop off point before making their way home. By all accounts it is a difficult energy draining journey and makes you realise that you are lucky to live near the office and only have to battle through 45 minutes worth of traffic.
A solution to the problem is something that is necessary, but perhaps beyond one office. Lagos state has some strategies to help, with a lot of construction and projects to ease congestion like the Lagbus, BRT and ideas to utilise the plentiful creeks with ferries but as with all big projects it will not happen overnight. Until then my staff and the people of Lagos just have to go on 'suffering and smiling'





Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Give me access...

A lot of talk within PR seems to be around 'social media'. While the Western world clamours for this 'new thing' a country like Nigeria is in some ways still struggling with the more traditional concept. That's not to say that it is misunderstood, far from it. Clients are tuned into the trend, however it is sometimes the understanding that its reach to consumers is not as extensive as other parts of the globe.
In a country of over 140 million people, where according to the UN 90% live on less than $2 a day, the internet is not a primary concern of the masses. The NCC has licensed over 500 ISPs, but only about 50 are active in the market.
An Africa Analysis study estimated the total number of dial-up and narrowband internet subscribers in Nigeria to be 1.5 million with a total user base of 7.75 million at the end of 2008. The same study estimated 27,600 broadband connections for the whole country at the end of 2007.
Cost of internet access is extortionate when compared to the UK, to buy a USB CDMA modem can cost up to £100, then you must pay at least £50 for either monthly access or 250 hours. All for less than 200mbps speed. With costs like this it is only the well paid that can connect. The rest are reduced to an hour here or there at a cafe.
Of course dependent on the type of product, there is an argument that the wealthy segment of society are a large enough market for companies to concentrate on, so targeting them through social media such as Facebook etc. is desirable. Unfortunately if you dont target the rest of the consumers the opportunity for sector growth is limited.
New backbone cables are connecting Lagos and Nigeria to the rest of the world in the next few months. Sat3 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SAT-3/WASC_(cable_system) which had problems earlier last month is already operating, Glo are to connect anytime soon and MainOne should be online June next year. These backbone providers will have the effect of crashing internet price to the ISP providers at least.
Hopefully we can expect this to be passed on to the consumer at some point in the future. This of course is dependent on maintenance and the desire by companies to discount.
Until then online social media remains mainly a preserve of those with money, whilst the rest will be left to be social on the bus or through text and phone calls.


PRNigeria

I thought long and hard before deciding to begin this blog. Is there anything to say that has not already been expressed? What content will truly set this apart from other blogs? And is anyone really interested in ramblings and information from an 'oyibo' who has only been here nearly 3 years?
Well I can't answer any of these questions so it's down to what feedback, hits and comments I receive.
What I do know, is that Nigeria is a country of sharp contrasts. One day you will feel like the country is a dangerous messy place with little or no organisation and no potential to be a member of the Global society. The next day you will feel that everything is possible here, and with a little bit of luck and good management the country, its people and yourself will improve.
You can be driving in Lagos, after a hard day's work, in the foulest of moods, cursing and spitting wrath at all comers until you see a sight on the road that just makes you burst out with laughter at the sheer lunacy or beauty of the world around you.
It's that type of place; up one minute, down the next and as sure as the sun will rise so too will your spirits once again.
When I first arrived I loved Nigeria, particularly Lagos. It reminded me of the city of Ankh Morpork in Terry Pratchets fiction: Dusty, chaotic and disorientating. I buzzed off it and would drive with the windows rolled down talking to anyone and everyone who shouted to me.
3 months later I hated every Nigerian, and despised Lagos for exactly the same things I had loved.
After that, I seemed to have mellowed, fitted into the life, begun to understand the Nigerian psyche in business and social circles and accepted my lot.
Today it seems like anywhere else in the world, it has problems, crime, chaos, but also a strange sense of order and common sense. You just have to know where to look.
The idea of this blog is not just to give a semblance of direction to life here, be it business, government, religion or culture, but also to commentate on the PR/communication industry in local and global terms.
Much like Nigeria it will no doubt be chaotic and varied in content, but you should see a semblance of order come through amidst the colour!