Siege of the Nigerian Expatriates
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- July 5, 2008 at 12:03 p.m.
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By YEMI ADEBOWALE for ThisDay Newspaper Saturday Edition, 07.04.2008
Ugo Ikemba was one of the numerous Nigerians in Diaspora scattered across the globe. Sometime in 2003, he decided that he has had enough of the United States. He packed his bags and headed home. He returned to his beloved country with over 10 years experience in private equity, corporate strategy, capital investments, finance and sales in various sectors of the American economy. His first professional job in Nigeria was working for African Capital Alliance, a private equity company based in Lagos. Settling down was a bit tough. But Ikemba performed credibly and rose to the position of Vice-President of the firm within a short period. He has since moved forward. Ikemba switched over to Vectis Capital Nigeria, an international private equity firm as Managing Director in 2005. The firm has its headquarters in Greece. Under three years, Vectis under his leadership has become a leading private equity firm in Nigeria.
Ikemba is just one of the large number of Nigerian professionals who in recent years have returned home from abroad to take up highly skilled jobs. They come mainly from the United States, United Kingdom and some other European countries. This trend became prevalent after the GSM auction round in the telecommunications sector in 2001. The need to attract home Nigerian professionals to man the various departments of the telecommunication firms became pertinent. At a point, MTN Communications brought in Demola Eleso from Spain to work as its Chief Technical Officer. It also recruited Afam Edozie from the United Kingdom to work as its Chief Marketing Officer. Others include Edwin Momife who was brought in as Chief Marketing Officer of MTel and later rose to become its Chief Executive Officer. Then came the consolidation in the banking sector and the challenges of getting highly skilled bankers and financial experts as the banks rolled out new products, set up new subsidiaries and required improved risk management skill set in. As the banks delved into hitherto uncharted areas, and needed highly skilled professionals to man them, they reached out to Nigerian bankers and financial experts in Diaspora. With plum offers and posh accommodation, they have been attracting Nigerians and other Africans working for renowned international commercial and investment banks.
Recently, UBA brought in Kisseih Antonio, a Ghanaian with huge international finance experience, to head Afrinvest, its capital market and investment banking arm. Zenith Bank Plc brought in China Onyemelukwe, a Harvard University graduate with Wall Street experience to set up and head its asset management and investment banking arm, while FCMB recruited Francis Esem Wood, another Ghanaian who worked in the City of London (London’s financial district) to head FCMB Capital Limited.
Seni Adio, a United States-trained lawyer is another Nigerian who returned home after a 16 year sojourn in the US, to run the Lagos-based lottery firm, Lagos Lotto. He has since moved on to establish a law firm - Copley Partners. Another perfect example is Ngozi Edozien, a one-time professional with McKinsey, one of leading international management consulting advisory firms, who came home to become regional director of Pfizer East, Central and Anglo-lusophone West Africa.
INTERNATIONAL QUALIFICATIONS/EXPERIENCE…
Most of the Nigerian expatriates who have returned have intimidating qualifications and international experience with renowned organisations across the globe. Take the case of Ikemba. He holds a first degree, a master’s degree and an MBA from the University of Michigan, United States. He also worked for renowned US firms like Kimberly-Clark Corporation in Atlanta, CNH Global in Illinois and Pfizer.
Adio is licensed to practice law in Massachusetts and New York. Before returning to Nigeria, he spent almost 16 years in Boston, Massachusetts, most of that period practicing law out of the Boston offices of international law firm, Mintz Levin where he rose to become a litigation partner. He also represented clients before the United States Congress on Tort Reform Legislation involving Asbestos Litigation.
Onyemelukwe, on the other hand, has over 18 years of investment banking experience in Nigeria, the US and UK. His most recent investment banking position prior to Zenith Capital was at Merrill Lynch, initially in New York and subsequently in London. He worked in Merrill Lynch Capital Markets, covering emerging market equities and fixed income as well as Global Equity Linked products including derivatives, convertible bonds and asset swaps. He also worked in origination and syndication with the capital markets team.
TEETHING PROBLEMS…
But it has not been all-sweet stories for the Nigerian professionals that have returned home. Many faced challenges. Some were even forced to return abroad because they could not cope with the Nigerian system. For Ikemba, the initial challenges were finding adequate accommodation and moving his goods back from abroad. Acclimatising to the new way of life was also a bit tough. “In Nigeria, we are always fighting harder to get everything we want. You always have to hustle for everything – diesel, petrol, etc. Another problem was getting used to security risks,” Ikemba said. He was once robbed. “I have been beaten by armed robbers. I have felt the wrath of inexperienced management in the work place. I have felt the anger of people who are less privileged.”
However, he stayed because he was happy seeing friends who genuinely care about him: “I have gone through all that and will still say that my return home has been a success. It’s been great working in an environment where there is no limit to where you could rise. Knowing that you can self-actualise in the society. Knowing that you would get accolades for your work. You could get respect for your work.”
Professionally, the most remarkable challenge for Adio was the Nigerian courts. He recounted how on putting on his wig and gown immediately caused him to reflect on the stark differences in the form of appearances. He also recalled how he kept addressing a Judge as “Your Honour” instead of “Your Lordship or My Lord.” However, when he explained the reasons for his faux pas, the Judge had a good laugh and so did the other lawyers in the court – jokingly calling him “Boston Legal.” Settling down to the epileptic electricity supply in the country was also a major challenge for Adio.
SWEETENERS….
Most of these Nigerian returnees get lured with massive jumbo salaries and mouth watering perks almost commensurate to what they enjoyed while abroad. Their salaries and allowances are usually miles ahead of local professionals and are sometimes denominated in foreign currency. Some get posh accommodation in choice areas across the nation. In Lagos, some are housed in Ikoyi and Victoria Island. In Abuja, they settle for Maitama and Asokoro.
However, this five-star treatment has been causing disaffection in offices across the country. Some local professionals feel cheated. “This policy of paying these expatriates massive salaries, sometimes even exceeding very senior executives in the company, is causing disharmony in many companies. We are not against the jumbo pay they are earning. All we are saying is that we should also enjoy such big pay rises,” a financial analyst with one of the second-generation banks told THISDAY on Wednesday.
However, Afolami Suleiman, an investment analyst thinks the jumbo pay is justifiable. “These Nigerian expatriates were brought back to man highly specialised areas for which counterpart locals lacked the experience. People with the required skills and qualifications for these jobs are not available within the country. This is why companies go abroad to attract competent Nigerians. Some of these people work for world class companies and were well paid. To bring them home, you need to pay big.”
Nonetheless, the competitive spirit in local professionals is compelling some of them to brace up to the challenge. Some have consciously taken time out from work to get additional qualifications from the best universities overseas, acquire additional training and international exposure. For them, they don’t want to sit back and complain about the disparity between themselves and their colleagues who have returned, they would rather enter the rat race to emerge on top of the heap.
THE MOVE BACK CLUB …
A non-governmental organisation called Move Back Club (MBC) has been at the vanguard of attracting a lot of these Nigerian professionals in Diaspora. It was established about four years ago, with the basic objective of assisting Nigerians who want to return home. Elisa Salazar-Chukuma, a Latin American married to Chukuka Chukuma, who is also one of the returnees and is a senior executive at StanbicIBTC, co-ordinates the club from Lagos.
What influenced the setting up of the club? Salazar-Chukuma found out that there were many Nigerians eager to return home and work, given the right opportunities and decided to assist: “A lot of Africans get frustrated when they return home and cannot get good jobs. They need somebody to put them through and help them settle down. That was how the MBC started. It is a social network which started in Lagos. What we do is provide information about job opportunities in Nigeria. We also share experiences after moving back. Many people come home without African work experience. We hold networking sessions once a month. We use this to support each other. There are usually many issues for returnees - how to get goods home, how to find a reliable shipping agent and many others. For somebody moving his whole life from Europe or the US, it’s a big move. Some will have small children with school issues to sort out.
“Returnees need the support of people with experience. If they don’t get it, it will make the return home very difficult. For years, there have been issues pertaining to security in Nigeria. We try to educate them on this and provide them with as much information as possible.” Because of the success of MBC, several leading Nigerian companies contact Salazar-Chukuma via MBC to help get Nigerian specialists from abroad especially in relatively new areas like asset management and mergers and acquisitions. MBC regularly sends out information on job opportunities via e-mail to its members who oftentimes forward it to Nigerians seeking to come home.
THE PERFORMANCE QUESTION…
But questions have been raised as to if some of these Nigerian expatriates are living up to expectations. A couple of years back, a major telecommunications company refused to renew the contract of an expatriate Nigerian it recruited from Europe, blaming him for its network glitches. Similarly, the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), the first government agency to use donor agency funds to attract a lot of Nigerian professionals from abroad, had to terminate the contracts of one or two of these so called professionals for lack of performance.
Salazar-Chukuma concurs there may be some cases of poor performance but they are far and in between: “I’m sure there are some cases like that. Employers want to ensure they are hiring for the right reasons and are getting commensurate returns for the salaries they pay these people. Returnees really have to be prepared for the challenges. I don’t think everyone coming home will be successful. It will work for some and it won’t work for others. I remember one of our members who returned to work for a bank in Lagos. The culture of working very hard is the same in Nigeria as it is in the United States. People also work long hours here. But she did not know this. She thought she could run away from long hours of working. This was not to be. She got frustrated and went back. For people who want to return, they must be committed to it and give it 100 per cent.”
But Suleiman believes under-performance is not rampant. He says: “Yes, there are isolated cases of poor performance. However, we should not generalise. Companies do their checks very well before bringing in these professionals. They also undertake periodic performance assessments. The Nigerian expatriates may experience some initial problems with the local environment. But once they settle down, they perform.”
WORD OF ADVICE…
The returnees have some advice for others thinking of returning to Nigeria. Ikemba says: “This market is tough. You must learn to adapt. When you invest in a business and run the numbers, before you start, they will make sense. But as soon as you start, all sorts of costs will crop up. In the last three months, Steel has increased two to three hundred per cent. Diesel has gone up and going to 100 per cent rise. Cement is close to N2,000 per bag. When you open up a shop, the government comes and tells you about one hitherto unknown tax that you have to pay. All these things will determine the success of the business. These are the challenges. However, the opportunities and rewards are bigger here with all the big risks.
“If you are afraid to get your hands dirty, then don’t come back. If you want a cosy job, don’t come back. If you want to come back, you must be prepared for the tough challenges. If you are the type that is creative, diligent and not afraid of challenges, then come home. In Nigeria, each person is building their own mini infrastructure to keep them going. There is a critical power problem.”
Salazar-Chukuma is also very frank when talking to Nigerians thinking of coming home: “If you are earning very big abroad, you should not expect that here. However, the taxes are lower here and you will probably be able to save more here. In the US and UK, bills will eat up much of what you earn. If you are expecting the employer here to offer you the equivalent of what you earn abroad, then Nigeria is not the place for you. You must be willing to concede some luxury. Every day, we get e-mails and phone calls from people asking questions about the right time to move. Of course, there will never be a right time. They just have to make up their minds and move. Reach out to family, friends and colleagues to have a good idea of the situation at home. If possible, visit the country and talk to employers and workers about what is on the ground and how you will add value. You should not just leave and expect that when you come, you will be treated like a king. When you eventually move, it should be with all your heart.”
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