Nigerian Networking

Today our seamstress Victoria arrived at our house to work on a couple projects. She had trouble getting in touch with one of our neighbors regarding another sewing project and asked if I knew where he was. I quickly e-mailed him and arranged for the cloth she needed to be dropped at my house for her retrieval tomorrow. She then pulled out a package of Popsicle sticks that she had bought for another neighbor. I asked her, "where the heck did you find Popsicle sticks?" Well, you can't always find Popsicle sticks she replied, but if you ask enough people at the market someone is bound to know someone who has them.

That it how things work here for just about everything. The reliance on personal networks is invaluable for survival in Lagos. Just take the restaurants for instance. The first time we visited "Bottles," the only Tex-Mex restaurant in the city, our driver took us down this windy back road and parked us in front of a rundown building. Hmmm...no "Bottles" sign in sight. He pointed to the door, and sure enough we found the lively well-maintained restaurant inside. Most of the restaurants and businesses are like this in Lagos. But really...why do you need a sign when you can just ask around?

On my recent trip to Badagry, networking proved key to our successful trip. A fellow expat had been there just a couple of weeks before, so I sat with her to discuss the dos and donts in the former slave-port city. She told me to show up at the Heritage Museum (just ask when you get to Badagry and the locals will point you in the correct direction) and there I would find a guide named Tunde who basically knows everyone in the city. He was able to get us from point A to B to F for a nominal fee and safely on our journey back home.

For someone not used to the Nigerian way, networking may seem a nuisance especially in a work setting. Picture the following situation: you work in an office shared by three others trying to get your day started and projects on a roll when an entourage of coworkers come to visit, talk...yep, network. Perhaps this is why socializing and spending time with others is so valued here. It's a necessity and plays a large role in how your performance is viewed at work.

You need something, just ask around. You have something to sell, just mention it in conversation. You need to find labor, someone knows someone else who would be "perfect" for the job. Like in the States, networking is considered a "must" for finding a job. But in Nigeria, networking is also a "must" for life.