Although she belongs to the corporate world, it was always her passion to design and make beautiful bags with local fabrics. It was this passion that was taking her away from her familiar world into the business world as it was a passion she was being goaded to take to another level in line with many entrepreneurs all over the world who have turned their passions into viable businesses. Although having a colourful suitcase made of local fabric is a distinct advantage – if you will excuse the pun – as suitcases roll out of the conveyor belts at airports, making bags for church and social events which she had become good at, is vastly different from making suitcases. The former is personal and will likely be handled with care. The latter is impersonal and will likely be roughly handled at airports. It will also need a protective layer against inclement weather like dew, snow, rain or even sun. However, like most entrepreneurs, she saw a niche which she was prepared to exploit. She also received some encouraging promissory notes from those who have patronized her in the past. She therefore placed her order for requisite equipment, arranged for a bigger factory and got her team ready for a challenging but exciting venture. Unfortunately, no sooner had she started than the business climate changed for the worse. Fuel cost tripled; electricity cost tripled. Lagos State and Local Government officials came snooping, looking for anything that would bring them revenue – officially and otherwise. Containers coming into the factory were first highly taxed at the ports and then ‘taxed’ by belligerent youths who call themselves ‘omo onile’ – never mind that some of them couldn’t even speak fluent Yoruba. Productivity, caused by the lazy, laissez-faire approach to work by staff was such that more people were required to do less. When she punched the figures again, she realized she could never hope to compete with imported brands without some form of State concession. She has had to close shop – hopefully temporarily.

I write about this lady’s story because I know about it. But how many Nigerians have started out enthusiastically only to find visible and invisible walls blocking their dreams? We have talked about the ‘ease of doing business’ for decades but the needle has hardly moved positively in this regard. Instead, things are getting worse. Many of these entrepreneurs come to Lagos for obvious reasons – access to the ports, to labour and to a large market. Lagos, after all, is the largest economy in West Africa. But what they meet is a largely hostile environment. Lagos does not welcome new businesses or entrepreneurs irrespective of what is said to the contrary. It has largely to do with the mindset of those who drive the economy of the State. I was embarrassed to hear a high ranking official of the State describe land as the State’s crude oil. This was when he was pushing for payment of Land Use Charge. We have always known about this mindset, but to hear it said publicly and unabashedly was disconcerting. No progressive country bases its economy solely on crude oil – we are where we are today as a country because we refused to diversify our economy from crude oil. I can name at least five countries which have as much oil as we have but have moved their economies past it. No progressive official should therefore use oil economy as a golden yardstick. And no progressive body, corporate or individual, should boast of being a wealthy land owner. It is the laziest, most parasitic form of wealth.

The world is on the cusp of another industrial revolution but Lagos State is still leveraging on land. Given its unique position, it could leverage on commerce, on tourism, on finance institution, on the blue economy, on the emerging AI, or even on human capital. But all of these will require a change in mindset which would require a more business friendly approach. Instead, it has chosen a low hanging fruit. Its land is small relative to others and is in high demand. Tenement rates and Land Use Charges had been the focus for years. A few years ago, until public outcry forced the State to slow down, old people who had inherited or put up buildings in their younger years, were being asked to pay exorbitant amounts as Land Use Charges. A State official actually confessed that he had to pay for his father because he knew how deprived it would make him. It does not matter that the road to these places have not been attended to in years. Or that no extra amenity has been provided as succor to these pensioners. And should you decide to do a face lift to your old building, or install any amenity, you would need a permit- at a cost. It seems the State always looks for what to tax – including water – without necessarily thinking of what to give back. Recently, the business and property communities woke up to a new building permit rate. When the State announced that Lagosians desirous of regularizing their building status should do so without penalty within a window, it was seen as a positive move. But the State had something else in mind. What it gave with the left hand, it took with the right. The State insisted in reassessing most buildings, new or old, including those it had recently assessed. The rate it gave at these hard, trying times can only be described as harsh and insensitive. A developer who was asked to pay eighty million Naira for his building permit wondered cynically if the State wanted to help with the building. Unfortunately, this new rate will lead to a lull in compliance with its attendant consequences and a higher building cost which when passed on, will lead to a higher cost of living and a higher cost of labour for businesses. These will end up causing an even higher rate of inflation. One hopes the State will take a second look at the rates for the sake of its economy and that of Nigeria because none of these is good for business. As the story of the lady I mentioned illustrates, Industries are dying or leaving in droves because of a deteriorating business environment. The Industrial Estates I scoured as a young publishing entrepreneur searching for advertising support are now empty shells or places of worship.

This is not all due to the State Government alone of course. But still, it has to purge itself from a mindset that believes land, not people, is the most valuable asset of a State. It also needs to create a favourable land policy for business while earning a decent revenue.

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