Tonye Cole: Sahara Group Adopted Foreign Persona to Bypass 'Colonial Mentality'

Tonye Cole, a co-founder of Sahara Group, has opened up about the initial struggles faced by young Nigerian entrepreneurs in the oil and gas sector, detailing how he and his partners resorted to creating a foreign identity for their company. Cole revealed that in its early days, Sahara was incorporated overseas in the Isle of Man and marketed as an expatriate firm. They even introduced a fictional British character, 'Dr J,' to serve as the supposed face of the enterprise.

Speaking on the Afropolitan podcast, Cole explained that this strategy was necessitated by a prevailing 'colonial mentality' within the industry. This mindset, he noted, often led players to believe foreign companies possessed superior capabilities compared to local businesses, making it difficult for young Nigerian-owned firms to secure opportunities.

Cole stated, "What I remember about back then was that there was what you would call the expatriate mentality, colonial mentality at the time. It just meant that if you were white in Nigeria, then you would basically get everything."

He further elaborated that the observation that most successful entities in the sector were foreign-owned prompted him and his associates to re-evaluate their approach. "On the one hand, you had this colonial mentality, but at the same time you had a whole group of people who were tired of that and were looking for a way, and we found it as a very interesting niche," Cole added.

Their youth also presented a significant hurdle, as potential clients doubted the ability of individuals in their late twenties to own and run a company in such a demanding industry. "We would go into offices and realise that if we went in as young 27, 28-year-old people and said that we own the company and we set up the company, the people sitting there would be looking at you as if, ‘Who are you? You can’t do that.’ So there was that ageism issue," he recounted.

This led them to conclude that foreign registration or affiliations were crucial for progress. "Everybody who was in this business, the people who were actually succeeding in the business, had foreign companies or they were foreign companies. What we did was we set up, we registered the company abroad in the Isle of Man. So we had a UK entity," Cole explained.

To enhance the illusion, they collaborated with one of their former teachers to project an image of working for an experienced foreign businessman. Cole recalled, "We discussed with one of my partners’ teachers at the time and said, ‘You know what, this is who we are. You have taught us well. We’re going to say that we work for you.’ You had a lovely name, Dr J, which was not a Nigerian name."

The arrangement involved presenting themselves as staff of this expatriate company. "We set up this company where we were representatives to ourselves, but we would just go there and say, ‘Look, we are staff.’ We can cry, you know, staff. They fire me, beg and beg and cry, because they felt they were helping young Nigerians who were working for this expatriate company," he detailed.

This tactic proved effective in gaining client acceptance, as many were more inclined to engage with what they perceived as an expatriate firm employing young Nigerians. "Because they felt that they were helping young Nigerians who were working for this expatriate company and all of that, it helped us make a way," Cole noted.

However, the charade became increasingly challenging to maintain over time, as questions began to surface regarding the true identity of the elusive foreign boss. "It took them about three years to come up and say, ‘Wait, wait, wait, this Dr J that we always hear about signing all the letters, how come we have never seen the person?’" Cole revealed.

This experience, he emphasized, highlighted the significant structural obstacles Nigerian entrepreneurs had to navigate in the business landscape of that era. Cole also reflected on his entrepreneurial beginnings, which predated Sahara Group, tracing them back to his architecture student days at the University of Lagos, where he and his partners constructed architectural models for firms. He credited these early ventures with teaching him the value of collaboration, innovation, and adaptability.

Today, Sahara Group has expanded into a global energy conglomerate with operations spanning multiple countries. Cole himself later ventured into politics, contesting the Rivers State governorship election in 2023 under the All Progressives Congress banner.