How To Be Successful In Nigeria (15 Simple Tips)

Do you want to be successful in Nigeria? Well, if your answer is yes, you are at the right place because I will be discussing how to be successful in Nigeria.

Every country differs from the other. What works in one country might not work in another country. What works for you in other countries might not work for you in Nigeria.

You will need to learn some tips that can make you successful in Nigeria, this will help you achieve success faster.

There are some of the tips in this post that will work in all countries, so that is why you should read this post even if you are in another country.

Below are some tips that can help you become successful in Nigeria.

Get educated

Education is one of the important factors to being successful in Nigeria. Most of the successful people you see in Nigeria are educated.

One of the benefits of education is that it teaches you to plan and also manage your resources. Back in the day, we had a lot of successful musicians that made money and lost it because they were not educated and couldn’t manage their resources.

These days, successful musicians have learned to manage their resources because they know they cant be in the limelight forever, so they need to invest some part of their funds so that they can still be rich even when they are not in the limelight again.

Learn a skill

It is not enough to get educated, you also need to learn a skill. Learning a skill allows you to help others. Success comes when you can help and add value to others.

Learning a skill in addition to your education gives you an upper edge over those who are educated and without skills.

I have seen people that are succeeding in the tech industry, I have seen people that are succeeding in the fashion industry, I have also seen people succeeding entertainment industry and I have seen people succeeding in different industries.

This goes to show that you can succeed with any skill you learn. So, learn a skill and do your best to succeed in that line.

Get a job

I know some people might not agree with this point because they just want to get rich in a short period of time.

One of the reasons why you should get a job is because you will learn how other successful businesses run.

When you work with an organization, you can learn from the organization when starting your own business how to delegate roles to different departments.

Some people were designed to succeed working with organizations and that is where they will find their success.

Get a mentor

Nigeria could be a very challenging environment if you do not have the knowledge and experience you need to succeed.

Getting a mentor makes achieving success easier. For instance, if you want to go into spare part selling, it is better you learn the trade under someone who is successful in that line. It will make it easy for you to learn the processes and operations of the business.

If you try to figure things out yourself, you might still be successful but you will spend more time and resources doing so. You should get a mentor to put you through how to be successful.

Be hard working

If you want to succeed in Nigeria, you need to work hard. Nigeria is a challenging environment and it is not for lazy people.

There are many successful people in Nigeria and you can also be one of them but you need to be hardworking.

It will be hard for a lazy person to be successful in Nigeria except for those that engage in corrupt practices and that is not true success.

Start a business

One of the ways you can become successful in Nigeria is by starting your own business. Most of the successful people you see around are into business.

Nigeria has a large population, which is one of the reasons why starting a business is the right way to go because you will always see people that will patronize your business.

A lot of foreigners come to Nigeria to start a business and they become successful because they know there is a large population to patronize their products and services.

Exercise regularly

If you want to be successful in Nigeria, you need to be fit and strong. If you are not fit and strong, people will take advantage of you.

Exercising your body makes you fit both physically and mentally. You always need to be on the alert in Nigeria because the person close to you might want to take advantage of you if you look like a weak person.

It is good you present yourself to others as a strong and competent person if you want to succeed.

Build relationship

Building relationship with others is important for you to achieve success. You cannot do everything by yourself and expect to achieve success easily. A tree cannot make a forest.

There are always relationship blocks you are meant to build to get to the next level in life. You need other people to help you achieve some things in life and you also need to help some other people to achieve success in life.

In life, you will help people and others will also help you. We are all interdependent on each other.

Pray regularly

Prayer is the key! Prayer is a spiritual key that opens the door. If you want to succeed, you need to pray regularly.

Nigeria is a religious country and the most successful person you see around having spiritual backing. Some are Christians, some are Muslims and some are traditionalists.

I have also seen people who have achieved extraordinary feet in business because they prayed. In a challenging environment like Nigeria, there are some things you can’t achieve with your own strength but you will need divine intervention.

That is why you will see that most successful people take their spiritual life seriously.

Keep trying

It would help if you were rugged. You should not give up easily even when people do not believe in you or when things are not going as planned, do not give up.

You should have a “can do” spirit, believe that you can succeed, and keep trying until you have achieved success.

One of my mentors ventured into over 5 lines of business but he was eventually able to make it big in one of those businesses. He just kept trying even if he failed in other businesses. The failure he had helped him to build a successful business.

Be respectful

Respect means showing due regard for people’s feelings, wishes, or rights. The Nigerian culture focuses on respect and if you are someone who does not show respect, you will find it hard to get favour from others.

Showing respect to others will get you more favour than you can imagine. This tip really works, I have tried it several times and it always works.

Show up on time

Timing is one of the major reasons why some Nigerians do not succeed. This factor is known as the Nigerian time.

People find it appropriate to show up for appointments late and they will give excuses for showing up late.

For instance, you can schedule a meeting for 8:00 AM, people will show up by 8:03 AM and they feel they are early enough.

If you can be time conscious and always show up ahead of others then you are on your way to being successful because you will always be ahead of your competitors.

Stay humble

You also need to stay humble even after achieving your success so that you don’t get into trouble with authorities.

If you show off your success too much, the police or EFCC can come after you to start investigating you for no reason. Their aim of investigating you is so that they can get money from you.

So, my advice is that you stay humble so that you do not attract unnecessary attention.

Don’t be greedy

Being greedy means using shortcuts to get to your success point. Being greedy means supporting corruption and bribery. Being greedy also means investing in ventures with very high and unrealistic profits.

I have heard stories of people that purchased chemicals for replicating money. These people buy these chemicals with the intention of multiplying their money without working.

At the end of it all, they usually lost their money because the chemicals do not work. This is a case of being greedy because you are trying to make money without working for it and at the same time cheating the government by producing fake money.

Learn different languages and culture

People love it when you learn their language and culture. When you learn other people’s language, they see you as one of them.

Nigeria has several languages depending on the state or region you are residing. You should learn their mother language in the place where you reside.

I understand that some people are not good with languages but you don’t need to learn all. You can just learn some simple aspects of their language for greetings, negotiation, and the popular phrases that are used daily.

Learning the language, they speak in the area you reside, will really benefit you.

Then asides from speaking English, you should also learn to speak pidgin English if possible.

Conclusion

Every environment has its own peculiarity, and so does Nigeria also have. It is very possible you succeed in Nigeria if you do things right.

And it is also possible to be in Nigeria for years and not succeed if you do not do things right.

The ball is in your court, the decision is yours t make whether you want to be successful or not. My advice is that you make a decision to succeed in Nigeria. It is possible and doable.