Lagos business etiquette: the dos and don’ts

This article is part of FT Globetrotter’s new guide to Lagos

So you have decided to come to Lagos for a business trip. Why? But seriously, welcome.

You may have heard that Lagos can be chaotic at the best of times. That is true. It’s an inevitability when the country’s smallest state by land area also holds its largest urban population of more than 20mn. There are more people in Lagos, a tiny strip of land surrounded by water, than in London and New York combined. Pack sunscreen — the sun really shines here. The heat and humidity can leave fairer-skinned people looking rather red.

The first thing to know is that Lagos is not for the faint of heart. Many visitors have opined that the airport, particularly the old international terminal that is now thankfully undergoing some renovations, can often be a taste of what is to come. The airport also holds a valuable lesson: you must exercise patience, lots of it, at every turn in Lagos.

Outside the airport, a sprawling city with snarling traffic awaits. Lagos is a mirror on wider Nigerian society where wealth, often gaudy and sometimes extreme, lives side by side with glaring poverty. If you, dear reader, are visiting Lagos for a business trip, it’s likely that you will see floating slum communities as you are being chauffeured to gleaming towers in the business district of Victoria Island or the fancy private members’ clubs that dot Ikoyi and its environs.

Anyway, welcome once again. And bear in mind that the only universal code in Lagos is that there are almost no rules and everything is being made up as we go along. If you’re a stickler for order or time, as I often am, that may be incredibly frustrating and you need to learn to roll with the punches. But if you’re a freewheeling soul not opposed to fun, you’ve found the perfect city. If there’s one thing Lagos knows how to do, it’s how to have a good time. After all, it is the home of Detty December, the month-long season of fun and good vibes that marks the end of every year and brings in the Nigerian diaspora and other nationalities too. 

The only universal code in Lagos is that there are almost no rules and everything is being made up as we go along

Lagos is also the capital of Afrobeats, the music genre that has taken the world by storm and got people dancing across the globe, from Johannesburg to London, New York and Australia. As the singer Banky W noted in his seminal 2009 hit “Lagos Party”, “Ain’t no party like a Lagos party”. He’s right.

Greetings

Hugs with people you barely know are rare (plentiful when you do know them); French-style kisses on the cheek are non-existent. A firm handshake works in most business settings in Lagos, regardless of the gender of the person on the receiving end. Like the rest of the country it inhabits, Lagos has a big culture of loudly cosplaying respect, so a bow of sorts while shaking hands, especially with a much older person, goes a long way. It costs you nothing as an outsider and garners you a lot of goodwill. There are no downsides to this.

In meetings in restaurants, expect to hear a lot of “Sir” and “Ma” from wait staff, who pepper every interaction with one or the other. I find most of it overbearing, but these are the unwritten customs of the land. Never call anyone by their first name unless they specifically ask that you do. And even then, exercise restraint. It’s usually better to address people as “Mr”, “Mrs” or “Ms”. Most people here use an honorific; you will almost certainly meet a “Chief” or “Dr”. Call them “Chief” and you’re halfway to earning their trust. Respect — or, rather, signalling respect — is a big part of Nigerian culture. Go against it at your own risk.

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Meetings

Schedule your meetings, but be fully aware that start times are a suggestion in Lagos rather than a binding agreement. If you’re 10 minutes late, there’s still a very good chance you’re early. But always be punctual, and plan ahead on how to beat traffic.

You may have to wait. It’s not unusual to be kept kicking your heels for 30 minutes or more, especially if you’re meeting a “Big Man”.

After the exchange of pleasantries, there will be chit-chat about how you’re finding Lagos, questions about your family, how the wife/husband and kids are faring back home. Do not fret; your interlocutor is not gathering intel for nefarious purposes. They’re trying to get you to relax before delving into the matter of the day. Indulge in it.

Phones will ring during meetings. Your host will almost certainly interrupt a meeting to answer one of their many phones at some point. Bring a business card and hand one out to everyone on the table. It matters little that they may already have your details. 

Most importantly, do not come empty-handed: bring “gist”. What is gist, I hear you ask? In Nigerian parlance, it’s laid-back chatter or gossip, which can be sprinkled throughout your meeting or conversation. You may have come to discuss an oil or telecoms deal, but you will also engage in this dissemination of information of the non-public variety — about a senator, say, who has secured a dodgy contract, or an executive out of favour with the authorities. A London-dwelling friend of mine who regularly visits Lagos for work tells me her meetings are incomplete without this ritual. It’s always better if the element of your gist is true, but do not be deterred by sharing that third- or fourth-hand scandalous story you picked up from another meeting. The city runs on gist.

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Dress code

Look smart and come properly dressed. This is important. People here often use a person’s clothes as a proxy for their wealth or standing in society. Mark Zuckerberg’s bland T-shirts would do him no favours here. I always advise men to ditch suits if possible in favour of Oxford shirts and trousers, because the heat is stifling and searing. But I am a journalist who is not necessarily bound to the rules of business attire. If you’re a man, wear a suit — you may or may not accessorise with a tie. Dresses are typically fine for women.

In the right circumstances, especially if it’s in the evening, do not be afraid to wear “trad”, as traditional African attires are called in the street lingo. Wearing this as a foreigner, either as a person of colour or an oyinbo (white person), will only delight your hosts and earn you praise.

Shop for trad while you’re here, too. Tailors will usually deliver to hotels, and your business associates will have tailors to recommend who, for a princely sum, can turn your raw fabric into a ready-to-wear outfit in a matter of days.

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Socialising

There’s a great chance you will be invited to lunch, dinner or drinks. Say yes. This is unlikely to be a quick coffee. Expect a feast. The city has excellent dining options, and people are all too happy to welcome you into their homes.

Being on a business trip does not preclude you from having fun, so lean into it. If this is your first time in Lagos, ask to try jollof rice, the west African dish — many countries in the region argue about whose version is best. I am biased but for me it’s Nigeria’s.

Booze will flow at post-work events. Many a deal is sealed in these relaxed settings. Drink in moderation, especially on weekdays. It’s bad form for people to assume you’re a drunk. If you’re teetotal, attend anyway and sip on the many virgin cocktails that restaurants here have on their menus. Warning: they are sugary.

Expect to eat meals at . . . not mealtimes. Dinner could be at 6pm or 11pm, depending how late an evening goes. Time is a made-up concept in Lagos. You will have to ignore your bedtime and push through.

Lagos loves a raucous party that goes long into the night, particularly at weekends. The party scene is flashy and ostentatious, with exotic bottles of liquor selling for multiples of the national minimum wage. That might be too much for a middle-aged business executive in town for business; ask your contacts to get you into one of the private members’ clubs in the city, where the fun is more serene and controlled.

It’s always better to have cash, but card transactions work mostly fine here too. Lagos is the epicentre of Nigeria’s technology industry, and fintechs and banks have largely solved digital payments. The economy is in shambles, and you’re quite likely to have spent more in one seating than your waiter makes in the entire month. Having foreign currency at a time when the local naira is falling also puts you at an advantage. Tip generously.

Aanu Adeoye is the FT’s west and central Africa correspondent

Do you have any Lagos business-etiquette tips? Share them in the comments below. And follow FT Globetrotter on Instagram at @FTGlobetrotter