Corporate Governance in Nigerian Family-Owned Businesses: Why Airlines Fail to Scale
Alternative Thinking. _By Sam Caulcrick Corporate Governance in Nigerian Family-Owned Businesses: Why Airlines Fail to Scale To fix the bottleneck that keeps local airlines and major enterprises from becoming enduring, multi-generational institutions, we need a deep, accurate assessment of the Nigerian business ecosystem. This will require stepping outside the box. The collision between founder-centric control and institutional capital has created a growth ceiling that Western corporate governance models cannot fix. The Paradox: Family Trust vs. Institutional Scale Nigerian business is high-context and relationship-driven. This creates a growth loop: 1. The Trust Deficit: Founders keep control within the family because institutional trust in the legal and economic system is low. Succession is viewed through bloodlines, not merit. 2. The Capital Wall: Aviation is intensely capital-intensive. Lenders, lessor syndicates, and international banks require rigorous gove...