In the absence of beef and prejudice, this challenge is created by the gap between the business culture in Nigeria and the US/UK. If you have never been in both business cultures, you can't know better, you'll only make assumptions as it suits your need to validate yourself.

The business culture in the US/UK is collaborative, the organizational structure is not as vertical as you have in Naija. The business processes and culture in the UK/US are built on team work. As an employee, you don't have to prove yourself individually or kiss any foot to build your carrier. Research shows that a collaborative business culture is what's relevant and effective in the twenty-first century. Employees work in teams in the most successful multinational companies. Failure, success and responsibility are shared....

You don't have to be general to prove your competence. people specialize and that's where team work is relevant. Its funny some people think that's an excuse. It's very important. You also don't have to work for 100 hours a week to show you are competent, as a matter of fact drudgery is counter-productive.

Eventually, Naija will come on board, and then the companies that fully adopt the team work culture, {where middle level management is reduced, where you have a horizontal organizational structure with the maximum integration of information systems) will be the ones with the competitive edge.

When this happens there would be more recruiting from abroad.

A lot of things have changed in Nigeria and I agree with most of the things Ajanlekoko has posted so far. You will be amazed that the foreign degrees and work experience we are brandishing no longer carry any weight. Just for the record, I am also based abroad and work in financial services(private equity) and truth be told, Nigerians are really pulling their weight in Nigeria.


The problem with a lot of us based abroad is that we have been brainwashed into believing that nothing good will ever come out of Nigeria. I ascribed to this school of thought till I started visiting Nigeria about two years ago and you will be amazed at the kind of deals originated by Nigerians at home. I recently had a discussion with a friend that I referred for PE job based in Nigeria and I was surprised when he showed a list of transactions they have structured just in West Africa alone. More so, a lot of these foreign based firms( GE JP Morgan, GSachs Rencap etc) are opening country offices in Nigeria. I have also worked with home based Nigerians without any foreign exposure( education or work ) and they have performed well above expectations. More so, I have also worked with foreign based expats. that have not lived up to expectations.

Of course, the trend for most coys now is to recruit abroad because the education system in Nigeria is below average and besides most firms now want to play in the global arena so it will only make sense to recruit internationally, just as GE recruits locally for their operations in Nigeria.

The debate about the work place is relative and depends on the people you work with. Personally, I have worked with crappy associates on both side of the divide. The ideal is to adjust just as a lot of us did when we first relocated abroad. In fact, in Nigeria the approach towards business also varies along ethnic lines. My approach towards transactions when I am dealing with Indians differs from the way I would approach it when dealing with my chinese or japanese clients. The point is that, the language of business is no longer universal as we are made to believe but rather a complex intrigue of twists and turns!


One thing I will not support is the condescending mindset that Nigerians in diaspora have towards their counterparts back home. This attitude is one of the major reasons why most returnees find it difficult to adjust when they return. No doubt,Nigeria has a long way to go when compared to the 'West' but hey, there are improvements. That said, I still believe that there is room for growth as we are not yet out of the woods yet.

The irony of this whole 'I am foreign schooled, hence I am better than you' debacle is that a lot of us championing this cause, were brought up in Nigeria, had our elementary education and maybe first degrees here and only traveled abroad for post graduate studies. God bless Nigeria!

Kudos to all of you guys that have contributed to the thread. This is one the best topic in Nairaland so far and I am impressed with the quality response, analysis and incisive we have put in here.
Ajanle, kokoye, oyb, tkb,did guy and others:
You guys are very correct in your own way but just different in perspective, experience and environment. I have worked with a yankee returning who’s CV was spiral-branded (loaded) but jst an egghead. I have also work with another returning that is very vast, professional and resourceful in his field. The business culture and the enterprise environmental factor are different. One of the reasons a yankee returning look fluff is because here in naija, they give you a job and they want you to get the tools, skill and everything you need to be productive in that responsibility but in US/UK, they give you a job, the tools, the training and just a little effort needed from you. The returnee have confident and they can market their self with the phoney trick even with no technical-know-how. I was surprised when i met a CCIE abroad returnee certified professional that does not know how to Ping an ip address and such fellow will be earning fat. And some really acquired the knowledge, skill and dispensed after comming back

It's been a long time since we had this argument.
And my views haven't really changed much. A lot of the so-called 'Diaspora Experience' is over-hyped and oversold. Most people returning to Nigeria from the Diaspora don't have much value to add. A few do, but most do not. Apart from the fact that they went to school abroad, in many cases for postgraduate after their mediocre degree in Nigeria. And they've suddenly become superstars after a years sojourn in 'abroad'.

You hardly see any surgeon, medical specialist, financial accountant, practicing attorney, engineer(that is gainfully employed as one!), scientist, etc, coming back to Nigeria. If any of these people come back, they go straight to the top of the food pile. And you don't really hear noise from them; usually they are in a particular niche, making big bucks, in the same Corporate Nigeria. It's only the MBA generalists and the 'finance' wannabees that come back and struggle for jobs with the locals. FACT.

My advice to any returnee would be that they treat the locals with respect, and not try on that Sambo-Mlambo uppity-negro nonsense. What riles me is the contempt with which Corporate Nigeria is treated, like it was some sort of Battle-of-Musanga mish-mash of confusion. Nothing could be further from the truth. Unilever for example, recruits the best graduates from Nigerian universities, trains them in a specialized program for three years, puts them on rotation across the continent and the globe even, exposing them to varied practices. Yet some are still quick to dismiss 'Corporate Nigeria'.

There's essentially little difference between Corporate Nigeria and the Corporate West. All you need to do is come in, show everyone what you can do, how your knowledge, experience, and exposure can be made to the challenges of our business environment. If you approach it like that, sky is just the beginning for you. Else, stay where you are. It's not enough to stay afar and turn your nose up at what people are doing here. If an Englishman who has been CEO of major telcos in five continents can come and work in Nigeria, rolling up his sleeves to full effect, then who might you be?

I currently work in the hedge fund industry in New York, went to a good uni here in the States but schooled in Nigeria all the way to ss3

My only experience working in Nigeria has been an internship in a global firm and I have to agree with the general sentiment here that the typical or avergae "local" is more resourceful than those in diaspora. I have found in many cases that a lot of Nigerians that come to the States for international projects within their company actually get asked to stay because they are good.

However, I would say that there is simply no competition in comparing stellar locals and stellar diaspora (went to an ivy school/really good school, worked in a very good company for a few years and comes back). Network, creativity, grasping, practical intelligence wise, they are much better. You find that these people usually go back and start their own business or work in industries/companies that not hire too many locals(eg private equity).

Stellar diaspora, as described in the previous paragraph, do not aspire nor hardly work in oil industry, consulting, investment banks etc that locals dream of so locals only come in contact with the average diaspora in these organizations so the comparisons are a bit bias

My 2cents

AjanleKoko: It's been a long time since we had this argument.
And my views haven't really changed much. A lot of the so-called 'Diaspora Experience' is over-hyped and oversold. Most people returning to Nigeria from the Diaspora don't have much value to add. A few do, but most do not. Apart from the fact that they went to school abroad, in many cases for postgraduate after their mediocre degree in Nigeria. And they've suddenly become superstars after a years sojourn in 'abroad'.

You hardly see any surgeon, medical specialist, financial accountant, practicing attorney, engineer(that is gainfully employed as one!), scientist, etc, coming back to Nigeria. If any of these people come back, they go straight to the top of the food pile. And you don't really hear noise from them; usually they are in a particular niche, making big bucks, in the same Corporate Nigeria. It's only the MBA generalists and the 'finance' wannabees that come back and struggle for jobs with the locals. FACT.

My advice to any returnee would be that they treat the locals with respect, and not try on that Sambo-Mlambo uppity-negro nonsense. What riles me is the contempt with which Corporate Nigeria is treated, like it was some sort of Battle-of-Musanga mish-mash of confusion. Nothing could be further from the truth. Unilever for example, recruits the best graduates from Nigerian universities, trains them in a specialized program for three years, puts them on rotation across the continent and the globe even, exposing them to varied practices. Yet some are still quick to dismiss 'Corporate Nigeria'.

There's essentially little difference between Corporate Nigeria and the Corporate West. All you need to do is come in, show everyone what you can do, how your knowledge, experience, and exposure can be made to the challenges of our business environment. If you approach it like that, sky is just the beginning for you. Else, stay where you are. It's not enough to stay afar and turn your nose up at what people are doing here. If an Englishman who has been CEO of major telcos in five continents can come and work in Nigeria, rolling up his sleeves to full effect, then who might you be?

Chairman, i beg try respond to my mails.
Thanks.

Interesting thread. There were very insightful comments.

However

Most of the posters campaigned and voted for Buhari in 2015, thereby enthroning a feudalist who knew nothing about basic economics and had a terrible antecedent dating back to 1984. Today, ALMOST ALL of the posters are based abroad. Yes, go through their posts and profiles, which I did, the vast majority are outside Nigeria.

Y'all voted for a Sharia campaigner who could not even manage a cattle farm profitably, only to flee Nigeria. E no go better for una! Useless modafvckers!