Digital entrepreneur, Leo Stan Ekeh, has highlighted major reasons why multinationals are exiting Nigeria and warned that if nothing is done, more of such businesses and indigenous ones will close shop in the coming months and years.
Ekeh, who is the Chairman of Zinox Technologies Limited, a Nigerian conglomerate with international affiliations, urged President Bola Tinubu to address the critical issues of corporate blackmail and bullying, which he said frustrate the Federal Government’s effort at promoting ease of doing business in the country.
While acknowledging that scarcity of forex is a challenge for businesses operating in Nigeria, he said these challenges can be surmounted especially with the new push by the Tinubu government to inject more forex into the system.
He stated that the depreciation of the naira, which dropped from N460 /$ in June 2023 to N951.94/$ in December 2023 at the official window, following the floating of the naira by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), is only a convenient reason cited by the exiting multinationals.
“On face value, some of the exiting multinationals cite difficulty in procuring forex as a reason for closing shop in Nigeria, but they are only being diplomatic. Many of them have had to contend with all manner of blackmail and corporate bullying from professional blackmailers aided by our slow judicial process.
“This has become an emerging but very destructive business model in our country, and unfortunately, the legal system is handicapped to protect the victims because of the long years it takes to discharge a case,” he said.
According to Ekeh, the escalation of corporate blackmail over the years is responsible for the low attraction of foreign direct investments (FDI) relative to the size of Nigeria’s market and potential.
Referencing an open letter he addressed to President Tinubu, Ekeh cited an issue of blackmail against his Company, TD Africa and himself, as a case study of how much frustration investors suffer for doing business in Nigeria. He said that the matter had been investigated by several constituted agencies and was found to be false