The forces against doing business in Nigeria are so many- Toni Kan

By Amechi Obiakpu

Toni Kan is a journalist, writer and a Public Relations practitioner, who recently added teaching as part of his occupation since he co-founded The Media Training Room (TMTR), alongside Peju Akande. He was made the editor of Hints magazine at age 26, Thereafter he ventured into the corporate world, working for organisations like Zenith Bank, Visafone and most recently Ntel Communications.

To say that he has impacted lives by his various involvements is an understatement as the Delta state born says that is what gives him joy. He spoke with Amechi Obiakpu in his Lagos office recently. Excerpt.

You some time ago cashed in on a goldmyn, in the sale of Sabinews, congratulations, how does it feel?

Well it feels good. It also feels like a validation- because of our journey in the media world. I did journalism when I was very young at Hints and left to work in corporate Nigeria and I kept writing for the papers.

I was teaching at the social media week for the second time and somebody asked me what was my blog called? I said I didn’t have any, the person asked what was my website called I said I didn’t have. He said ah ah…you come here and you teach us yet you don’t have a site. How are we sure that what you are teaching, you are also living by it? That was the challenge, then I called my partner- Peju Akande and said it was time for us to start a website and one that will be well runned with ethics and professionalism imbibed. That was the push we had to start the website, Sabinews then. We said to ourselves that it should be different- not just talking about all the lowest moments of gossip within the industry.

Though, they are valid concern but I think there is more and we can not all talk about Dbanj and Don Jazzy or who is sleeping or divorcing who. Higher concerns, so we focussed mainly on news and analysis. Something that was like a dare – can you do what you said? It was possible, we had writers and paid them whatever we agreed and in four years we sold. It is a validation that we can do good work in Nigeria

So, why take the decision to sell?

We were approached to sell- and we did.

But, you could have turned it down?

Yes, for us it fits in with the story. We want to tell the story that you can start a website  in Nigeria not having to retract any story, run the site well and then somebody thought he should buy. I mean we were not the first he approached but he asked for tax payment slips, etc to know if it was a structured company we had all these, which was key for us to sell – it was not like he decided he was to buy from Tonikan. He thought that nobody had the kind of online paper he needed to buy and grow than us.

Did you start Sabinews to want to sell?

No, we started Sabinews May 11, 2014, few months after, Hoftin post merged with American online- we were joking and I said to my partner, I will like us to also build and sell it one day. It was a mere wish that came through – when the buyer approached us, remember that was about the time we were to launch thisislagos, so it was like instead of keeping two papers. It was the right moment because we were at the time of thinking how to make the two papers work – the offer came. It is only in Nigeria that people want to hold on to businesses- we sold Sabinews to someone, who has the money and good structure. It now has good feel and better structure. That is what I planned for it but I didn’t have the resources and its good that they kept the name because you can see the legacy of what you created.

People talk about brands outliving their founders, at what point can this play out?

You can never talk about Sabinews without talking about Tonikan or Peju Akande- not possible. We created the idea, even the name is unique on its own. It is only in Nigeria that people want to hold on to businesses, abroad is different, people build and sell that is why they are called serial entrepreneurs. Here we want to hold on to what we build, this is good but… people have asked what I have done with the money.. the money has not been spent at all and very soon they will see what the money is used for. Though we took part of it to give to our friends who supported us from the beginning, but the bulk of the money is still there. The money was not to be spent on cars or house but invested and that is what we are going to do with it. What am saying in essence is that, we have other business ideas we were looking at, about the time the money came in and instead of going to the bank, we decided to invest the money into it. And I think that is the way business should go.

You have Radi8, a PR/Advertising firm, TMTR and until recently Sabinews, at what point did you think it was necessary to have all these?

If you go to a business school, they will tell you its always right to have many streams of income. Go to Zenith bank, there is Zenith Insurance, Zenith Capital, CyberSpace etc and that is one man. Mike Adenuga has Conoil, Glo etc, Dangote has Cement, Flour, Salt, among other businesses. It’s a trial and tested thing. I will give you an example, some time ago, we needed money to take care of some things and haven done jobs for some clients the money didn’t come and we got money to handle some trainings from which we used to pay salaries. You see in that sense, having more than one business helped us to deal with money constraint. Its just a smart thing to do, I mean I have ideas all the time for what to do, the thing behind the business we do is that, we need to solve problems. Radi8, started because we felt start-up don’t have access to PR cause they cant afford it, we ask them to tell us how much they can afford to pay so we give them the service. We have a company we started around 2011 who were small then and have grown to a point we can afford to charge them N1m. and we have more businesses to launch next year.

Is it safe to now say Toni Kan and partner have ‘arrived’?

We have arrived a long time ago. The funny thing about Nigeria is that- let me tell something- a man we worked with in the past, who employs 5,300 people was called to give a talk some time ago, only 18 people showed up. And, I was called to give a talk at a Rotary event, and about 400 people showed up, maybe because they knew who I was.

But, if it were Davido or some ‘famous’ person was invited a lot of people would have turned up. This is someone who employs more than 5,000 people. Nigerians like flash, so when you say you have arrived well. I have been working since I was 26. I was the editor of Hints at 26, I bought my first piece of land at 27.  I built my first house at 34. So, I didn’t start making money today. But, this is not what am about, I mean I have properties in four different states and Lagos. This is not who I am, it is not the money that defines me but the impact that I make in the society. I think people just want to see how much money one makes. But if in arrival, I can take care of myself, my children, my parents, ensure that my staff salaries are paid on time, yes I can say I have arrived. That for me is what every responsible man should do and not look at driving a G-waggon, which I can afford.

Am not blaming anybody but we like flash. Now, people are talking about Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, I first heard about him in 2014. And I have told his story everywhere. He has always been important and intellectually astute but we didn’t know. It is now that he as VP he is now seen to be a popular person, but he has always been- we didn’t know. Now he is being invited everywhere to speak. So what am saying is that we wait for something to become popular before we identify with it.

Is it not normal that people follow popular brand?

I mean, why will somebody who employs 5,000 people and can tell you how to be rich get smaller audience compared to someone who happens to do a hit song and make some money. You have known me for a while and I have worked in different places until an offer came from Ntel which was a good one as far as Nigerian job space is concern. After a while, I left on my own. That is not what is it. If you are not happy with where you are, you move on. What am trying to say is not the surface thing. Nigerian online space, people are looking for grant and once they get it, they buy cars and not even pay their staff salaries. Why will you not pay your staff? I mean that is the most important thing you owe your staff. If I make a billion naira from this is Lagos this year, its my money but my staff will get paid. So, I think that we need to change our mind set about what we regard as success. It is not really about money, it is about impact. My point is that, we should begin to judge success by not what you drive or wear but more by the impact you have.

You alongside your partner, you have Thisislagos, Radi8, TMTR and until recently Sabinews and you are planning on establishing more, few years back, did you think it was going to be like this?

Ans: You know how they say once somebody dies they say what is his epitaph? So my friend died recently and they say there live the man who gave all to literature and poetry so I feel if I have the right man, I will say there live the man who refused to stand still. I don’t want to stand still. I think that when you have a gift from God, and you don’t use it its like you are being ungrateful so I look at Nigerian media space people are not arrested for reading. Journalists are arrested for writing, they are put in jail. I have been involved a few times where I have called to say certain stories to be removed and the publishers refuse then the client who called arrested the author of the story. Me, I understand they don’t even know they are doing anything wrong, and police will tell you that ignorant of the law is not an excuse. So, I said why don’t we start a school to educate people – which was what gave birth to TMTR, which means The Media Training Room (TMTR). It was basically for the media, but instead of leaving the name in full, we felt it will be too limiting, we decided to use the acronym, TMTR. It is because we thought the Nigerian media space is full of practitioners who have no training. To be a doctor, you have to go to medical school, to be a lawyer, you have to go to law school. But, in Nigeria to be a journalist people don’t go to the Nigerian Institute of Journalism (NIJ). You buy a laptop and internet modem and that makes you a journalist, you don’t even know what it means to lift someone’s story and publish it that it is a crime punishable by jail term or fine, people don’t know that. TMTR for us is not even a profit making organisation but designed to help our people understand the field they operate in. And because we know that not much journalists can participate if we put figure to it, we decided to approach corporate organisations to pay for them and its working out. Our target is to train 150 journalists this year, we have been able to do about 50, which is not bad because we thought we would be able to do 150. We want people to be able to say that Toni kan had a session on cybercrime and know I am richer in knowledge because of that. Did I think about these things, no, they come out as a need or a problem to be solved.

Lagos is one of the biggest cities in the world, but there is no where you can find Lagos as it is or a site we decided to start a site that directs attention to Lagos. We have not even started working on Thisislagos. We are just testing the ground. By next year, we will do what we want to do. This is to show you that when there is a need and you have the wherewithal to satisfy it, you go ahead. That for me is impact. We try to have impact in people’s lives. We try to provide answer to that need. I started the PR firm at least to feed my family but along the line other projects started to satisfy different need. I see people who tells me of how my teachings so many years imparted their lives even people that I don’t immediately remember. What more impart can be greater than that? Where you walk into a place for business and the person tells you Mr Kan, haba you will get it. You taught me this thing in the past. So nothing beats that. Those are the things I value something that affect lives.

When you talk to people and the word start-up is mentioned, what comes to your mind?

People think that you must get funding right for start-up, like that is the norm.

Start-ups usually give me course for concern. We get funding from abroad and once the funding stops, that’s all- we move on. I have not seen any company growing from green field to brownfield as they say. Everybody wants this start-up mentality. So, I think young people in Nigeria are financially illiterate and they don’t have structure- they don’t know how to make money and keep money. In a Rotary event I gave a talk recently, I said everybody can be successful but very few people can succeed. because if am your friend, a governor and I gave you a contract worth millions of Naira. You can take the proceeds from that job to build a house which you can commercialize or use the proceed to buy a house. So made

How can the change happen where we are and concerning what you know?

How we react to money is very important. Whatever you want to do with it, are all valid transactions. See the thing about business people in Nigeria is that, the first money they make they want to buy new car, new clothes, move into a nice office and spend N10 million furnishing the office. Its not your house, its not your building- you have not even paid next year’s rent, you haven’t even made any money. Yes, an office should be habitable, it should be comfortable that is it. When you have N20 million and N10 million to tush an office. But, Nigerian young people have no idea of how to save money…..

Most of the young people who have cars don’t even have insurance. It is simple, if you say you want to be a N2 million car, save N2,200,000, so that you can insure the car. They will be like, insurance no dey pay. But its stupid.

So they don’t understand what that means and if you take it into business life, they will fail. I have had business people who I asked how much they earn, and their responds is, they don’t earn salary but only take money from the business when in need. How can you do that?

Why don’t you give yourself salary? When it comes fine, the period it doesn’t come pay yourself in arrears..

So, these are some of the things they don’t understand.. and are some of the training we do. Talent is good but there has to be structure and they don’t have structure so that is what I think about young business people, they are financially illiterate then they don’t have structure.

How then can the change happen?

Before you go into business, go and work somewhere, especially those people who are creative and feels that they have to be inspired. Go and work somewhere where the inspiration is like ‘Mr. man you are late and the time is just 8:02 you say oga there is traffic and he says and so what? Why didn’t you leave early? Even though you try to come to work early, the man will still curse you out. That is what I think that young people first go and learn discipline, especially creative, you just think we have to be inspired. Go and learn discipline- how to wake up early, how to meet deadlines.

Secondly, they should learn how to make money, how to spend money and how to manage it, its very important. People say you cant get rich working for somebody, why do you want to get rich? Our parents were they rich? Yet they sent us to school, they built houses, they were not Dangote, but nobody called them poor men. They were men in the middle class who went to school got job, went there every day paid their children schools and all. Does that make them poor people no, they were just content human being. Somebody wrote something that says, we all cant be entrepreneurs, we all cant be employees. That is it, some of us will work for people, but if all of us work for people who will work for us? If all of us were working for people who will employ us? It’s a balance- so I think you people need to learn financial literacy. Among creative writers are the worst because they always feel that it’s a hobby. So we don’t take it serious. Every comedian I know has a manager, has an invoice.. call Alibaba that you want to book him for a show, he will send you an invoice. I was in a seminar recently where someone said brand owners tend to force marketing ideas on creative firms simply because they are the ones paying.

Do you share that sentiments or do we get to a point PR/Advert agencies will walk out of a pitch when they are uncomfortable, even when they need to pay salaries?

So, this so called client has an office building with about 100 staff who get paid every month and you walk into with your UBER car and a briefcase and want to tell him how to make money. Its been making money since your university days and he built the company and wants you to just take it to the next level. And you think you can tell him how to make money. One would just been seen as being arrogant. This thing comes up all the time, and I say to people, a man has built his business and wants me to come and add value to it. We are working on a company that is 20 years old. We gave him a one-page-proposal of what we want to do-he agreed because he knew what we have in mind. That means he must have been doing something right. But to say otherwise, he looks at you and says who is this young boy. What I would solicit is, you ask the potential clients what he wants and then proffer other ideas. You cannot tell a man who has built a business he does not know what he is doing.

It is just like, you look at Dangote and tell him his advert is useless- are you okay? He is one of the biggest brand in Nigeria.. that means he must have been doing something right. Whatever you are doing is to support him, you cannot tell him that what he is doing is wrong. Who gave you that right. I hear it all the right. That is arrogant of the highest order. Client is always right. Am not saying He is always right, yea you are the creative person, he will give you an idea and turn it to money spinning. But any man who has built a business in this country and pay salaries and run for 5 years, you cant tell him what to do, he must be doing something right. So lets remove our arrogant by saying as the creative person we know everything- if that is the case go and set up your own business. The clients must have an idea of what he wants the business to be just support by guiding..

Corporate communications is supposed to be a management support function management has the strategy it wants to push a business then it run to the corporate comm to achieve your target.

Why in your opinion do think we don’t have global brands originating from Nigeria by extension Africa?

I was at the FT conference last month, where we talked about Lagos, Dangote was there, Dangote, GTB, Zenith are all global brand. But look at it, Fords motors, HSBT, are talking 100 years, how old is Dangote, Zenith? You also need to understand that you cant just be a global brand. It takes time, there is maturation- time will past, you will grow, people will know you.

When we went to work for GE, which employs about 150 people meanwhile Google employs over 300,000 people, how old is Google- so with technology this whole global thing is changing. You know that people know DSTV more than some people in South Africa, it just shows you that globalization is not a joke. Even Julius Berger is not known by some people in Germany, but here in Nigeria is like a baba. Am just giving you perspective. There are very few global brands that are known everywhere. I think that we will get there. Take Dangote, GTB, Zenith, UBA these are companies that are beyond the shores of the country and are doing well in Africa and beyond. And it will get better with time. I don’t think that going global is something that can happen in 10 or 20 years. It takes time

There are things that make business grow- people talk about scale – we have radi8 with my partner. I am into media and PR and my partner from advertising. If I have three clients that are on retainer, why scale, why do I need to be bigger than I am? Why should I hire people that I will have problems paying in future? Running business in Nigeria is a difficult enterprise you cant get bank loans not even support from the industry where you work. Is it not in this Nigeria that somebody got an account and the industry took him to court to say that he was not a member of the association? And how do you grow if this thing is happening to you? The forces against doing business in Nigeria are so many.  There was a report by LEAP Africa, where they were looking for Nigerian business that lasted for 50 years, it was difficult to find. Yes you start a business because you dnt want to work for somebody.

I spoke with Mr. Biodun Shobanjo, he told me that when he left Grant Advertising, he was 39 years old and he tried to get Nigerian Brewery account for 9 years, he was not successful, a former MD of Grant Advertising. NB Plc didn’t give him the account because he was a black man. They didn’t want an organisation managed by a black man to handle their brands. Yet he persisted until he got it. Imagine if he didn’t have any business to fall back on. But, it took him nine years to get NB account, so what did he do for 9 years? If tomorrow we get a big account people will say I don hammar. But we are doing what we are doing for free, logos among others for free just to make ends meet. To walk into a business that is already established you can say that, if you start a business by yourself you will know how hard it is to run a business and to attain that global status. There are different levels of investment. I might be here with four staff you don’t know where I play- whether I bring money on a large scale but I don’t have the capacity to employ 40 people. We can do what we do here with three/ four people and get paid well and on time. The last time I spoke with Shobanjo, they were employing 8,000 plus people.

How can the Nigeria society help business grow?

I don’t believe in helping anybody because when I start making the money you are not going to help me spend it. I feel that the enabling environment should be provided. Make it ok for people to do business. In my office we pay radio tax, yet there is no radio in the office. When we talk they will say one day we will have radio so pay it. Imagine if I have my sign post outside, I will be getting calls from a lot of people yet I cant do it because I have to pay LASAA. You will have to find way to survive, pay your tax etc. But then that is where what JIM Ovia calls ‘Adversity Quotient’ comes in. how you can survive adversity situation. I have the IQ to start the business and I need the AQ to survive the business. I don’t think government owe anybody.

What am saying in essence is that everybody has opportunity to make it in life. You can be successful depending on how discipline you are. Do you know that there are rich people in Nigeria than Dangote that are unknown? Even if you give some people tax incentives for 10 years they will still not grow.

Has PR done a lot to help the industry grow?

Two things have helped the country grow and has become a problem, the coming of GSM and internet. With GSM we enter a whole new level of billion dollar spending which is good because everybody are internet compliant. Before they came in, what did we know about experiential marketing? Now its grown- with different branches of employment- ushering jobs for activations etc. Look at the people we call influencers- people who just have followers on their social media platforms- the PR industry is doing a lot we may not be as big as the banks but we are doing our bit. PR, Publicis, Exp, etc it’s a big industry…

Technology has grown that you can compete with organisations like Insight Communication even if you are in your small room with your computer once you are creative.

When we worked for GE all our invoices were sent to India, we did their contract for two years and didn’t deal with anybody in their Nigeria office just one person who supply their India info in finance. You send the invoice they pay you, seamless. Why did they use India and not America? Because while America was sleeping Indians were working.

What advise do you really give aspiring business owners who come across you?

Have you worked? Do you know how to manage and spend money? Because running a business is serious matter.