Anyone who has worked in Nigeria for a few years often gets asked ‘what’s it like doing business in Nigeria?’ The question is inevitably loaded with the many negative stories concerning security, corruption and ‘419’ (the penal code for fraud usually associated with the advance fee variety). The reply depends not just on the personality of the expatriate but on the sector in which he or she works. For the average oil industry executive the answer is one of compound life. Security is tight even in Lagos and, by necessity, an obsession the closer one gets to the Delta kidnap zone.

Business is conducted in air-conditioned, modern offices and Nigerian colleagues are inevitably western educated, urbane and articulate. There is no reason to stray outside the “Manhattan” of the best residential areas without an escort. For the manager in a consumer facing business, the reality is very different. Here there is a need to get out there in the market place and understand the drivers and patterns of consumer behaviour. This is when the vitality and diversity and the challenges of this huge country and its people hit you.