Few years ago, I was speaking at an event in Oduduwa Hall, OAU. Everything I said within those few minutes, I backed them up with some quotes in the Nigerian constitution. I quoted some parts of the Nigerian constitution offhand.
Not long after I handed over the microphone to the moderator of the event, three law students came to me with the constitution (the digitized copy on the phone). They asked me to show them the section and subsection I just quoted.
Mehn…I collected the constitution and started searching for it. I nearly urinated in my body when I couldn’t find the exact place it was written in the constitution after five minutes. My village people were at work again.
The looks on those guys face were already saying “Alaye, don’t fall our hand oo”.
I went back to the table of contents and I was able to trace through till I found it. You need to see the smiles on their faces when I finally showed it to them.
If there is any part of law I love so much, it is Business Law. I understand the legal implications of some actions that most Nigerian entrepreneurs often ignore; contract, terms and conditions.
What does your business say regarding warranty and refund policy? Do you even issue receipts? What if someone dies or develops a reaction after using your product or visiting your restaurant?
Who bears the risk when your employee gets robbed of his personal belongings in the course of carrying out his job duties?
Do you have a lawyer for your business, abi na only faith and Insha Allah you dey depend on?
If you have a business in Nigeria, get a lawyer or have lawyer friends. Don’t wait until your ‘kasala’ burst. One legal problem can ruin your business and investment.
Before you sign that partnership or investment deal, get a lawyer. No let your matter be like Tuface Idibia and Kenny Ogungbe.
If you think that your business is too small to have a lawyer, ‘your mercy is doing me’ (translate to Yoruba).
Whenever I teach photography at the NOVEL Nigeria Event Academy, I take my time to explain to my students the basic legal knowledge every photographer must have.
I also have an unpublished manual that explicitly explains Copyright and Image rights for all Nigerian Photographers.
© Kingsley Ndimele
Your Reliable Consultant