I was lounging at an open-air garden somewhere in Ikoyi Lagos State the last time I was in Lagos State for a conference when I got drawn to this fair skin, goldish hair, green eyed lady downing a plate of fufu and egusi soup with her bare hands in a corner table not far from mine. She was all by herself. She would shake her head like something in her brains were screaming “mmmmmm…. very delicious”. I watched keenly in disbelief for a moment before a beep on my phone distracted me from her.
Hello, I am Orla; said the petite lady I was watching a while ago with hands stuck out in my face. It took me a while to fully place the face as the sun rays mixed with my phone’s light reaction was blurring my vision a bit. I am Orla, she said again with a little high-pitched voice. Diplomatically, I blotted out Amalachukwu, you can call me Anabel if you like. I prefer Amaaalaaachukwu, she laboured with the pronunciation while she pulled out the opposite chair across me and sat.
At that moment, it clicked. Oh my, the egusi lady! What in God’s name was she doing in front of me? I comported myself and told her with a little smile on my face that Anabel was actually a Nigerian name that was coined from my surname “Anebelundu”. She was really happy to hear that, while I kept wondering who this oyibo that is more Nigerian than Nigerians was. She said she caught me staring at her while she was eating and decided to come say hello.
I told her I was staring at her because she was breathtakingly beautiful and we both laughed. She said I was lying. Honestly, she is a beautiful lady; but yea I admitted to her that I lied. Told her I was shocked watching her savor fufu and egusi with her bare hands. She laughed and told me she was a business woman who loves travelling and experiencing different cultures. She said she fell in love with our egusi soup the last time she was in Nigeria and that was why she ordered it. She was quite very bold and we got really familiar and talked about a whole lot of things. I completely enjoyed and loved every bit of our getting to know each other and all.
Along the line of our conversations, I got to know why she was in Nigeria again despite visiting a month ago. Aside her love for Nigerian egusi soup, she was actually back because she wanted to expand her foreign owned business in Nigeria and was promised by a big mall owner the last time she visited that he will help her market her goods in Nigeria and even introduce her to farmers that will supply raw products for her products to equally be locally produced in Nigeria so as to cut cost and still deliver quality because everything will play in like the one she distributes in her home country. Beautiful, I said to her and asked her the name of her Company, she told me and I ran a quick search on the Corporate Affairs portal and her business was nowhere to be found.
I asked her if her business was registered and she laughed and said of course; yes. She said her business was properly registered in her home country and her business was a very well-known brand in her country. I told her I meant registered in Nigeria. She was surprised with my question and stared on wondering why she needed Nigerian registration where she had her foreign registration. She said the mall owner promised to help her move hands in custom for them to let her do the first few importations; that if people love her product, they will upgrade to local productions in Nigeria. As a Nigerian Corporate Lawyer, I became weak and felt really sad for her. I told her we just met by God’s divine connection else she was about making a very big mistake that would have attracted prosecution to her if her business wasn’t registered in Nigeria before she starts carrying on her business in Nigeria. I gave her my business card for proper consultations. She placed a call to me three days later and was well guided by me on what is required of foreign businesses before they can carry on their businesses peacefully and legitimately in Nigeria.
Orla’s foreign Company has been properly registered in Nigeria now and permitted to carry on business now in Nigeria. This was done by me and I am very happy I got to help her out. The joy I saw in her after I got that done for her was what motivated me to share this story that earned me my first oyibo Client in Nigeria/a lifetime friend with the world.
My Little Education:
A foreign business or Company cannot just stroll into Nigeria at their own pleasure and start carrying out business in Nigeria. Any foreign business or Company that does that is liable to prosecution and shall be heavily penalized by the Corporate Affairs Commission.
If you wish to carry on your foreign business in Nigeria, you can do that by either do so with the name of a Nigerian’s registered business in your business niche or you partner with a Nigerian to create a Company with a name you both choose for the business or you try to get your Company registered in Nigeria with the Corporate Affairs Commission. You can get a lawyer (preferably) or any accredited Corporate Affairs Commission Agent to get that done for you.
I recall that during one of my many conversations with Orla before we built the required trust that made her trust me a total stranger then with the responsibility of helping her register her Company; she once mentioned a German engineering consultant she befriended on her flight while visiting and how she spoke to him about what I told her about registration of her Company and how he said he didn’t register his own Company and was operating fine.
I told her to ask the German engineering consultant if he owned the Company he was working under and if no to ask the real owner if he was on an exemption list. Orla called me back three or so days later apologizing for questioning my legal advice and she further sought for further knowledge from me on foreign exemption list. Of course, I was happy her doubts were cleared and educated her more on why her German friend’s Company was operating without registration without prosecution.
Now the reason why Orla’s German friend’s Company was operating in Nigeria without being registered was because the Company he was working for was on the Exemption List. There are foreign Companies that cannot be compelled to register their Companies in Nigeria before they start operating in Nigeria. They are foreign Companies on the Exemption list. Foreign Companies on exemption list sell their craft/operate in Nigeria unregistered.
I know your next question will tally with Orla’s next question at this point… lol. Who gets exemption? Oh well:
- Foreign Companies that were invited to Nigeria by the Federal Government of Nigeria or with the approval of the Federal Government of Nigeria to carry out any specified individual projects in Nigeria are exempted.
- Foreign Government owned Companies that are solely in export promotion activities
- Engineering Consultants and Technical Experts that are carrying out any special projects on contact for any of the Nigerian Governments or a body or person. The contract nonetheless must have been approved by the Federal Government.
That notwithstanding, they don’t just walk into Nigeria and start operating like that ooo… my people. They must first apply to the Minister and get approved before they can be on the exemption list and they must notify the Corporate Affairs Commission that they were exempted by the Minister from registering their Company in Nigeria before they can carry on their business in Nigeria. Their exemption usually last as long as their reason of being in Nigeria lasts and can sometimes be revoked by the minister who issued it on justifiable grounds though.
I am sharing this knowledge because of you, yes YOU with sharp mouth…lol. Ok, let me get a little more serious. I am sharing this knowledge so that harmless mistakes that can lead one to prosecution may be avoided. I have heard of students who go to study abroad or some others who visit abroad and start pitching their marketing skills to some foreign businesses, thereby convincing them to come to Nigeria and establish their branches without letting them know that they ought to register their business in Nigeria FIRST before they will be allowed to legally operate in Nigeria.
This knowledge is also for you; yes, YOU foreigner who loves to travel, explore and expand…lol. You do not just walk into Nigeria and set up or start marketing your business. You will be PROSECUTED! Please speak to a lawyer (PREFERABLY) first to help you get registered or exempted as the case may be. Worse off if you are not too sure of how long you may wish to be in Nigeria or if your faith is shaky; you partner with a Nigerian and register a Company under a name together. That way, you get the person running the business here for you; while you monitor from wherever it is you wish to do so from in the world.
I hope this helps someone out there. Meanwhile; Orla my oyibo friend says hi to you all. Cheers.