2.
The practice of having ambassadors – who are supposed to be grilled in the Senate before
ratification of their appointments by the President – just take a bow and proceed to another country
without initial training in foreign affairs, must end.
Ambassadors need to coordinate with the organized private sector (OPS) to understand the trade rules of
Nigeria and his/her host Country. Ambassadors must, as a matter of necessity, be given targets on what to
do as marketing managers of Nigeria in their host countries. Also, reports on foreign trade missions
should be made publicly available by the office of the Nigerian ambassador in those countries where
Nigerian trade delegations are received.
3.
The organized private sector is another angle. Their differing positions to government on the
signing – or not signing – the African Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA) agreement is a good example
of the division of our business associations. The OPS of today is not the same set of business associations
of 20 years ago. They have put themselves in a position where they are unable to truly hold government to
account, rather than focusing on how to assist members and the government in addressing the economic
issues of the nation.
The Business terrain
Another factor – or set of factors – to consider is the business terrain, i.e. factors external to the business
operators but generally applicable to all investors in the country. These factors are economic, social,
cultural, technological and government. In managing today‘s business, no organization can afford to ignore
the impact of these external variables. For example, the influence of governmental contract on business in
terms of its regulatory role, taxes, prohibitions, registration of business, granting and withdrawing of
licenses – all play significant role in shaping the course of management in any situation.
The environment of export marketing
Export business from the days of slave trade to our present situation of deficit all the way is still trial and
error. To truly create an environment that supports exports as a means of growing the economy, there
are 4 areas of pillars to focus on:
1- Farmers or the producers of solid minerals or crude Petroleum
2. Silos and warehouses, production or refining centers, certification centers and labs
3. Transportation - pipelines, roads, rails and
4. Packaging, labeling, inspection, local markets and then export.
It is sad that close to 60 years after political independence, still find it difficult to follow the rules of the
game when export simple commodities like raw yams, fruits and vegetables which do not need value
addition.
To create an enabling environment for export marketing, we need to holistically analyze the business chain
with all the stakeholders from the point of the task environment, which consists of those components of
the general rules of the game directly or indirectly, that are relevant to the exporting organization.