Apologies for my long absence

I really have not blogged here in almost 2 years, many apologies. I hope to be able to resume again. I will be at the APCON's (Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria) Night of Fellows holding on Friday 9th November, 2012 holding at the Federal Palace Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos. I will start from there.

Attend Free Future Wealth Market Seminar By Olufemi Awoyemi

Attend Free Future Wealth Market Seminar By Olufemi Awoyemi, FCA, CEO of Proshare Nig. Ltd on the 24th of March 2010 at The Lagos Resource Centre, 9 Anifowose str, V/Island, Lagos.

Lagos Okada Riders and Death Wish

One of the challenges of living in a mega city such as Lagos is the pain and suffering Lagosians endure as they move from one location to another in a city choked with human and vehicular traffic. For a new comer to Lagos, (‘JJC’ in popular parlance), ability to jump on and off a moving ‘molue’, ‘danfo’ or other mass transit buses is one of the most important survival skills. Also ranking in equal importance are blessings and favour from the gods, of the good fortune of surviving a ride on a Lagos commercial motorcycle, popularly known as okada.

The public transportation challenge may not be peculiar to Lagos alone, as London with many years of organised rail and public transportation experience stills falls short in some regards, perhaps in a different and envious manner compared to the Lagos and Nigerian capital cities’ examples. Daily media reports in the U.K of ‘tube commuters miseries and woes’, ‘chaotic train timetable disruptions’ e.t.c suggest that the City of London and the U.K government still struggle to meet the transportation needs of an ever growing population.

For many Lagosians, riding daily on okada is an unavoidable part of their daily routine as only the ‘kings of the road’ have the daredevil DNA to waltz, dash, slide, ride and manoeuvre their way through the thick Lagos traffic. Their door to door service offering and cost effectiveness also sets them apart from other public means of transportation. This comes at huge costs though. A visit to the National Orthopaedic Hospital, Igbobi, Lagos and other hospitals in Lagos will reveal sad stories of young lives cut short, or maimed for life by the carelessness and sometimes overzealousness of the okada riders who obey only one law, that of the urban jungle which ‘accords’ them right of way in every traffic situation. For Lagos okada riders, patience is a relic word, now extinct like the dinosaurs.

There are reports that some state governments such as Cross River state, Imo state and the FCT administration have since banned commercial motorcycles in their state capitals. Perhaps, Lagos presents a peculiar challenge thus making wholesale ban of the okada impossible without the government adequately providing for easily available and other cost effective alternatives. The Fashola administration should be praised for its various strides in the area of improving public transportation through the provision of BRT buses and other initiatives but such efforts seem like drops in the ocean when juxtaposed against the millions of commuters that require public transport services to their places of economic activities every day in Lagos.

In Lagos, as in other cities, okada rides are for the rich, and the not-so-rich including school children who have now resorted to doing balancing acts seated 4 or 5 on an okada on a daily basis to and from school, a heart wrenching sight to behold. Okada rides are no respecter of persons and are not a determinant of one’s socio-economic status. Professionals, ‘big boys’ and ‘big girls’ alike have since joined the okada revolution. For many, the okada has become a ‘life saver’ helping them to keep vital appointments. A friend once took an okada from Funsho Williams Avenue to the Murtala Mohammed International Airport when it became clear to him that continued stay in his car which was stuck in the evening traffic would have meant missing his scheduled flight to London.

If you live and work in the Victoria Island area of Lagos, you may have discovered that the fastest means of moving around on the island is with okada, else you risk coming late for meetings and appointments. What many professionals working on the Island do, including yours truly is to park your vehicle at either Mega Plaza for a fee or in any other location and then flag down an okada to take you to your destination on the Island. A few survival tips may suffice here if you intend to arrive alive with your bones intact.

As a rule, I am always conscious of the person driving the okada I am about to hop on. I tend to favour mature okada riders who appear to have families; my thinking is that they will be more careful. The ones to run away from are those ones that look barely in their teens. Ride with them at your own peril, this is not helped by their very poor grasp of ‘Pidgin English’, with such CV, expecting them to read, understand and obey traffic signs becomes a tall order. It is important to adopt a master-servant role during the ride, and this is for a reason. Having been variously bashed, bruised, brushed and crushed by crazy Lagos drivers, your typical okada rider is an accident waiting to happen; their mentality has since turned to that of a victim hence the band of brotherhood they exhibit each time a fellow rider gets into an altercation with a car driver.

It is important that you attempt to control the mind of the okada rider even before you settle on his worn seat. How do you do this? You tell him clearly where you want him to take you to and agree fares upfront; ask him again to be sure he understands. Next natural thing for him is to zoom off with you in tow, but that’s where the control begins. It is actually within your powers to tame his ‘madness’ by telling him that you don’t want him to drive you to early death. You will be surprised that they will respond and slow down a bit, follow this up with an instruction to please not exploit every opening on the road as it is your head that may get crushed by the trailer. You also don’t want to climb on an okada that the driver has already twisted the handle as this makes balancing during manoeuvres more difficult.

Riding in a Lagos okada is like riding a crazy horse, even at that, crazy horses can be tamed, even if momentarily. Chances are that the okada rider will yield to you (he needs the money), if not, it is still within your rights to ask to be let off; afterall it is your life at stake. Remember that okadas are like trains, if you miss one, you can catch the next.


While we hope for better and improved public transportation system in all our cities, we will continue to patronise okada riders which are much hated but needed at the same time. Perhaps a programme of public education on basic traffic laws, health and safety etc for commercial motorcyclists in Lagos and other cities may be an interim measure to curb the risks that okada riders pose, for the average motorist who must now worry about not knocking the lawless okada rider down, and the wider society in general.

A Review Of The Glo Brand In 2009

By Uche Nworah (uchenworah@yahoo.com)

Many Indigenous Nigerian brands closed out the year 2009 in style. Despite the challenges experienced mainly by major financial services brands as a result of the ‘sanusitisation’ of the sector, it is interesting to note that other brands in the fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector, including the telecommunications sector experienced continued growth in 2009. As a brand scholar, I am fascinated by the success stories of indigenous brands that mount strong challenges against the marketing onslaughts of the established multinationals. Perhaps one should save the stories of Chi, makers of Chivita, Dangote, makers of Dansa, HiTV, Emzor and other proudly Nigerian brands for another day. Kudos to the owners and brand managers of these and other indigenous brands for proving that Nigerians can nurture and manage successful brands, and even turn such brands into world class brands.

Glo, the mobile arm of Globacom, Nigeria's first multinational conglomerate is an interesting brand. The bullish manner the brand entered the Nigerian GSM and telecommunications market when it launched in 2003 with the impressive industry acclaimed per-second billing is only comparable to the famed business approach of its owner and Chairman, Otunba Michael Adenuga who with his children Paddy and Bella are currently pursuing an ambitious project that will revolutionise telecommunications services, not only in Africa but across the globe. The Adenuga solo funded $800 million Glo 1 submarine project is set to crash even further the price of telecom services while increasing capacity, and making voice, data and video transmissions faster, more robust and seamless.

During the landing at Alpha Beach, Lagos, Globacom’s Executive Director (Human Resources) Mr. Adewale Sangowawa had remarked that “Globacom is the first single telecommunication company in the world to own its submarine cable”. The high capacity Glo 1 optic fiber cable will bring direct connectivity between West Africa, the UK and the rest of the world. The 9,800 km long cable will provide huge capacity on its 2-fibre pair system. The Glo 1 cable will also provide excess bandwidth to all the cities connected to the cable. The cable will connect 14 West African countries through the branching units to the rest of the world, and will boost economic activities in the region, create job opportunities and serve companies in Europe and Africa. Potentially, the Glo 1 project will give Nigeria the lead in telemedicine, ecommerce and egovernance, among other practices that transform economies. This project is a timely reminder to many Nigerians and others who have doubted our potentials as individuals, and our capacity as a nation that the best is yet to come.

The Glo brand acknowledges that it probably couldn’t have gotten to its current market position of over 20 million subscribers, and fast closing in on MTN which had a 4 - year head start without the support of Nigerians who continue to embrace the brand as their own, having bought into the original essence of the brand. Many branding enthusiasts will argue that Glo’s ‘green’ approach, through the adoption of lemon green as its house colour and the original empowering ‘Glo with pride’ pay-off line, which it later jettisoned for ‘Rule Your World’ was a master stroke which aimed to give Nigerians their pride back as individuals. The subsequent acquisition of national football team assets including the Super Eagles, and title sponsorship of the Globacom Premier League have been key branding decisions that continue to help endear the brand to millions of Nigerians, especially in a country where many ‘eat, drink and sleep’ football. It may seem therefore that the brand now feels it is no longer getting value for the one billion naira it spends in sponsorship money annually and have now duly notified the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) that it will not be renewing its sponsorship contract. While this decision has been widely debated, what has yet to come out is whether the NFF have bothered to look into the concerns raised by Globacom, and how these could be resolved as noted by Vanguard Newspaper’s Onochie Anibeze in his column. I think that the way forward may not be in NFF’s tough talking and boasts that it will get another sponsor as any new sponsor will still demand that the issues of grassroots football development, investments in infrastructure, improved officiating and some other issues raised by Globacom be addressed.

The loss of the sports assets by Glo may mean good news for the marketing communications community in Nigeria, who may now be challenged to think up other creative and imaginative ways of capturing the sponsorship money that should have gone to NFF. Already, Globacom has shown through its 2009 branding activities that it is a brand that wishes to engage its key stakeholders and connect to them using the 360 degrees branding approach, involving above-the-line, below-the-line, through-the-line, experiential and web 2.0 activities. Following in the footsteps of past experiential franchises it has ran such as Rock ‘n’ Rule and Win ‘n’ Rule, Glo thrilled thousands of subscribers in 2009 with a well received music and comedy show it tagged Lafta Fest headlined by Basket Mouth, and supported by other leading acts. The company says it is taking the Lafta Fest franchise to Benin Republic next, with 10 shows already planned over a 10-month period in 2010.

Many subscribers took advantage of Glo’s Super Promo or text-4-millions promo which ran over a 3-month period. The promo produced 30 millionaires with one lucky subscriber Ibrahim Abukar, a 36 year old electrician based in Abuja and married with 4 children winning the grand prize of 30 million naira. Perhaps buoyed by the uptake and success of the Super Promo, the brand in a bold move is now running a 50% off promo on glo-to-glo calls. According to a company spokesperson, ‘this is to reward our most loyal subscribers’.

2009 has also witnessed a renewed relationship between the Glo brand and many of Nigeria’s leading actors and artistes. The brand signed on several of them as brand ambassadors and did the same in Ghana thus enhancing the star quality of the ambassadors plus the 6 digits figures many of them received. These ambassadors now feature prominently in Glo’s campaigns, a sure sign of the future of the brand’s brand communications thrust.

With an ever increasing branding budget to the satisfaction of the branding community, where do all these leave the subscribers in 2010? “Glo is positioned to offer extensive coverage, premium quality service at the best rates ever” says a company spokesperson. Only time will tell as Nigerians deserve nothing but the best.

Nworah is a brand scholar

nigerianbrands (call for papers, ads, brand news etc)

Good People, Great Nation – Yes We Are!

By Gbenga Badejo

A lot has been written and said about the Nigerian re-branding project. I must begin by admitting that I share in the frustration and anger of those who are against the exercise because of its perceived cart-before-the-horse approach.

I also understand those who are against the exercise because they see it as another example of a money-wasting project that may eventually go nowhere.

I equally feel the vibes of those who are wary of the inability of successive governments to continue with projects initiated by their predecessors. Those who take this line of argument believe that once the Yar’Adua government completes its term, the next government would probably jettison this campaign and starts its own afresh.

Like all rational Nigerians, I share all of the views above. However, having carefully and seriously given it a thought, I decided to embrace this current campaign after its slogan was unveiled. I must make it clear that I am not feeble-minded or gullible to be swayed by an ordinary slogan. I should also state that I do not belong to any political party - ruling or non-ruling. I have also not been paid by anyone to take this position. I chose to support this particular exercise only because of the following reasons:

1. Nigerians are good people
Though we may have bad leaders, Nigerians, from Port Harcourt toKatsina and from Kisi through Enugu to Yola are good people. We demonstrate this goodness particularly in the area of hospitality. Nigerians are extremely hospitable people. We are always ready to welcome people into our midst offering them our fatted calf – the best meal in the house, sometimes even to our hurt.

The goodness of Nigerian people is also exhibited in the way the extended family system has been nurtured as a supportive system for generations. For example, I spent most of my holidays as a young person with cousins and sometimes distant relatives. My eldest sister paid my secondary school fees though she was only 22 years old when she took up this responsibility.
I am sure that some people will accuse me of suffering from selective amnesia by glossing over the bad side of Nigerians. I do not pretend that we, as a people, have very serious weaknesses that require urgent and continuous behavioural modification, however I have come to the conclusion that, on balance, our ‘good’ far outweighs the bad side of us and this must be celebrated.

Re-branding or no re-branding, Are Nigerians good people? I bet we are.

2. Nigeria is a Great Nation
Again, irrespective of its ups and downs, there is no doubt that Nigeria is a great nation.
Nigeria is great because it happens to be the most populous black nation on earth. It is believed that 1 out of every 5 black people on earth is a Nigerian.
Nigeria is great because it is the largest country in the continent. We have 50 million more people than the next most populous country in Africa.
Nigeria is great because from Vancouver to Vladivostok, Nigerians are powering the economy of many countries around the world. I will be surprised to find a nation where Nigerians are not present.

Nigeria is great because we are a great foot-balling nation. Although we have allowed indiscipline to take the better of us in World Cup finals, we have however won an Olympic gold and the FIFA under 17 world cup three times.

Nigeria is great because it is blessed with a variety of natural resources, chief of which is its people who in my opinion are more natural than the oil deposit in our land.
Nigeria is great because it is a melting pot of several peoples, cultures, and languages, and somehow, we have been able to keep this marriage of different peoples, cultures and languages going.

Nigeria is great because of our mostly favourable weather system that means almost anything can grow on our soil from the arid North to the equatorial South.
Nigeria is great because it has miles of access to the sea for exports and imports.
Nigeria is great because it has the potential to compete with any country on many platforms be it agriculture, economy or socio-political matters.
Nigeria is great because it is the 8th largest exporter of oil in the world.
Nigeria is great because its people are resilient and hopeful.

3. The slogan could become an aspiration

I feel that even for those who doubt the goodness of our people and the greatness of the nation, the new slogan can become the aspiration of every Nigerian. By this, I mean EVERY NIGERIAN. Not just those in government or in private or public leadership, but every individual Nigerian. In other words, if every reader makes the effort to do good in their personal, social and professional lives from now, we will achieve both the ‘good people’ and the ‘great nation’ we desire.

Finally, I must make the point that all Nigerians, including those for and those against the exercise are patriotic citizens of this country. The intensity with which those against the re-branding project attack it is a confirmation of their passion and love for Nigeria. My hope is that we can all channel this same passion to make a difference in our individual spheres of influence.
Let us take the spirit of goodness to our homes, to our churches and mosques. Let us take it to our schools, and places of work. Let the teachers teach with integrity and the bosses take the welfare of their staff as priority.

Let goodness flow through you to the people in the city of Lagos and to those in the remote corners of Ute in Ondo State. Wherever you may go in Nigeria, from the lowest point of the Atlantic Ocean to Chappal Waddi, the highest point in Nigeria, let everyone you meet be able to tag you with goodness.

We can truly achieve more greatness and be seen as a great nation if we allow goodness, rather than filth to litter our 853 kilometers of coastland. We can achieve greatness if you and I become conscious of our environment and stop throwing refuse in the drains.

Let us throw away the shackles of greed and the chains of oppression that hold everyone of us – the oppressed and the oppressors -- captive. I have learnt that the smile we offer people and the little help we give makes a world of a difference. Let us therefore do good not only to strangers, foreigners and the strong, but to the disabled, the weak and the poor who live right in our midst; who attend the same Church with us every Sunday, who go to the same school with us, who work in the local eatery.

We will be great when we stop, and ponder about the future we want for Nigeria and for our children. We must not just talk about it, write about it, or shout about it. We must make it happen by the choices we make today. In doing so, we must be singly focused and not unduly bothered about what the government or the next person is doing or not doing.
A better day is coming for Nigeria. Let us make it happen because we all benefit when we do things right.

Gbenga Badejo is the Principal Partner of ParkRoyal (www.lagosfinishingschool.com) - a people, business, and national development company. He is also the publisher of Postcard from Lagos www.postcardfromlagos.com

Nigeria Confidential (Out Now)

Guys, my new joint - Nigeria Confidential just dropped on Amazon. Spread the word and grab a copy. It is a blook (blog entries published into a book) of musings about country and citizens written in my chraracteristic witty style.Click on this amazon link to purchase a copy.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Nigeria-Confidential-Bloggers-Musings-Country/dp/1440126453/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1237641462&sr=1-2

Nigeria Unveils 'Good People Great Nation' Rebranding Campaign

By Uche Nworah

Nigeria has unveiled a new logo and slogan for its national rebranding campaign which the Information and Communications Minister, Prof. (Mrs.) Dora Akunyili says signals the march towards national re-birth. The slogan selected was Good People, Great Nation while the logo is simply the word – Nigeria but creatively interpreted.



At the unveiling ceremony on Tuesday, March 17th 2009 at the International Conference Centre - Abuja, several prominent Nigerians and members of the civil society, organized labour, private sector and students took turns in expressing their hope for a better Nigeria and their desire for a corrupt-free Nigeria and one that guarantees individual rights and liberties.
Nigerian President, Umar Yar’Adua was represented at the occasion by the Vice President Dr. Jonathan Goodluck and he urged Nigerians to support the campaign through value re-orientation pointing out that nation rebranding should not be seen as just a one-event affair. He decried the situation where the activities of a few Nigerians have come to taint the world’s perception of Nigerians and Nigeria.



General Yakubu Gowon, ex-Head of State and Chairman of the Occasion praised the Pete Edochie led- National Rebranding Committee for their choice of logo and slogan selected from thousands of entries sent in by Nigerians at home and in the Diaspora.



The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Information, Senator Ayogu Eze who represented Senate President Senator David Mark at the occasion said that the National Assembly will support the Ministry of Information and Communications in the re-branding project asking that all Nigerians should be carried along in the process.



His House of Representatives counterpart, Honourable Dino Malaye represented the Speaker Dimeji Bankole and he delivered a well received speech that had the whole house applauding him every step. In a firebrand but frank tone, he advised that Re-branding should start from the top, from the President and then cascading down to the Vice President and top Public officials who have a moral duty to uphold the rule of law at all times. He spoke on the need for genuine electoral reforms and care for citizen’s welfare. In a lighter mood, he advised that those entrusted with the re-branding campaign should not use the opportunity to rebrand their pockets promising that the National Assembly will be watching on behalf of Nigerians. Prof. (Mrs.) Akunyili had earlier in her speech promised that her ministry will publish twice yearly a statement of account of the re-branding project.


With this, it is hoped that Nigerians will begin to reject the negative labels and adjectives used to describe and qualify both country and citizens by the western media and even by Nigerians themselves, and strive to do good, to think of nation first and stand proud and tall amongst other citizens of the world. As the slogan suggests, Nigeria is a great nation of good people.

Why We Must Rebrand Nigeria

By Uche Nworah (uchenworah@yahoo.com)

Since the Honourable Minister of Information and Communications, Prof. (Mrs.) Dora Akunyili announced her ministry’s intentions and commitment to revamping the national rebranding campaign begun by Chukwuemeka Chikelu, former Minister of Information during the Olusegun Obasanjo government, a lot has been written in the press, and debated on the internet, TV and Radio concerning the pros, cons and timing of such a national image campaign. Some of these debates bother on the presumed cost of such a campaign with the debaters wondering if the federal government could not channel the funds meant for the rebranding campaign to other areas requiring urgent attention.

With due regards to the opinions of those who have argued strongly against such a campaign, in the context of today’s realities, the question should no longer be whether Nigeria should initiate or resuscitate a national branding campaign but rather how should such a campaign be managed to achieve maximum impact and avoid repeating some of the mistakes experienced with the Heart of Africa campaign. Prof. Isawa Elaigwu, a member of the Committee on National Rebranding placed the issue in context while giving reasons for accepting his nomination to be a member of the 22-man committee which was inaugurated by the Minister of Information and Communications on Friday, March 6th 2009; “What is the alternative to not re-branding?” If one may add here, can we as a nation continue to drown in shame as a result of the various labels which have gained popular currency and which are now used to describe Brand Nigeria and her people? Should we walk about without a sense of national pride and let others define how we see ourselves and relate with one another? Are we only a nation of scammers and corrupt people? Is there nothing good about our country and people worth celebrating? Is it not about time we start telling our own stories and defining our essence as a people? A well managed nation branding campaign like the one being proposed by the Ministry of Information and Communications will help provide answers to some of these questions raised here and even do more, helping to reposition our national image, rekindle the passion and spirit of patriotism in us and make us believe more in the beauty that lies in us, and in our country despite the challenges we may be facing today.

Several scholars have written extensively on the concept of nation branding including Simon Anholt who theorised on the country of origin effect and the impact it could have on national economics. Mr. Anholt who is the world’s leading authority on the subject believes that part of the challenges the developing world is facing today beside poor governance and weak infrastructure is the issue of weak national brands and identities, this he says reduces their attraction in the international community and places them in low positions as potential brides in the competition for tourism and investment dollars.

Randall Frost (2004) also makes a strong case for nation branding campaigns when he remarked thus; "There's no arguing that the image we have of another country says a lot about how we view it as a tourist destination, a place to invest or a source of consumer goods."

There is therefore an understanding within Anholt’s and Frost’s views that nation branding goes beyond fancy logo designs and slogans or insertion of ads in the media. This has also been validated by Prof. (Mrs.) Akunyili who remarked at the Rebranding Committee inauguration of a move towards multi-agency (MDAs) collaboration to ensure that the issues which Nigerians have raised and which they maintain erode the national brand image are tackled.

Perhaps some of those arguing against a national rebranding exercise may have found some comfort in the words of the American, William Drenttel (2004) who had argued against the concept of nation branding in his essay My Country is not a Brand; “Even nations have become brands… The symbol for a country should not be created by branding experts. When the vocabulary of a nation's foreign policy is the vocabulary of branding, then it is, in fact, selling Uncle Ben's Rice. This transaction, with the vocabulary of the supermarket counter, is not how I envision my country (America) speaking to the rest of the world."

However, adopting such a simplistic view of nation branding as opined by Drenttel hardly does justice to the wider benefits and fails to take into considerations other factors including good governance and public diplomacy which make up enabling factors that may lead to the success of any nation branding campaign. Before we dismiss the current project, it is important to explore even though in some small measure what the concept of Nation, Place or Destination branding is, who it is for? Which nation, place or region has done it in the past? What are the benefits? How much does it cost? Who should fund it and is a nation or region better off without running such a campaign?

As a member of the global community of nations, Nigeria as a country should in addition to meeting the local needs and aspirations of her citizens seek to align some of its thinking, processes and activities to global best practices. In this era of globalisation, technology has made it possible for individuals, countries and nations to tell their own stories, to be visible, to be seen and to be heard. People in branding will tell you that in national economics, image is everything. That the whole world is flocking to China today to buy various goods and services does not necessarily mean that Chinese made products are better or cheaper than those made in other parts of the world. The shoes made in China being bought today by the rest of the world and by Nigerians in particular could easily have been shoes made in Aba, but unfortunately for Aba shoe makers, no one has bothered to work with them to up their game and processes, or to promote their services and products more or polish their act a bit and help place their wares on an international pedestal.

Instead of inviting the world to come to Ariaria market Aba to buy shoes and other goods made in Aba, we deride such and call them ‘Aba made’, or ‘Ibo made’, all negative terms which knock down entrepreneurial spirit rather than nurture talent.

We would gladly spend thousands of pounds or dollars to fly to the islands of Malta or Barbados for a week’s holidays when we could have been lying in the serene beaches of Azumini in Abia state or even the tropical beaches of La Campan Tropicana in Lagos for a fraction of that cost. Instead of agreeing to meet our business partners or lovers at exotic locations abroad, an act that only contributes to the growth of the GDP of other nations, why don’t we schedule such meetings and invite our foreign partners instead to Nigeria to local destinations in Nigeria such as Obudu, Shere etc to help boost the local economy. Are we consciously telling our friends and associates who are non-Nigerians that we have beautiful tourist sites in Nigeria or are we still consumed with the self-defeating stories bothering on corruption, armed robbers, power outages etc. Should life stop for Nigeria and Nigerians just because we are still grappling with challenging social issues? Don’t other countries have their own challenges and have they stopped marketing themselves to the outside world waiting until all is right before they throw open their national borders to visitors?

In this Obama age of ‘Can do’ attitude, what better time for Nigerians to rekindle their passion for nation than now, or should our ‘Yes, we can’ expressions stop only in our thoughts? What about the doing part? If we must take the Obama philosophy forward, then we must all put on our ‘self-belief’ garments and resolve to march on as a proud and patriotic people. We need not have waited for Prof. (Mrs.) Akunyili to remind us of the need to reposition our thoughts. This should have been something that we should all have begun on an individual or family level extending to our places of work etc; Prof. Akunyili’s message would have only served as a reminder.

It is difficult to tell if it was the message from John F. Kennedy to Americans to think not only of what their country can do for them, but also to think about what they can do for their country that has driven Americans to such high level of patriotism. It is such now that the average American despite whatever issues he or she may have with the American government concerning governance never lets that come in the way of their patriotism. They sing their anthem with pride and the expression ‘I’m an American’ once uttered by an American serves as a call to duty for country, also reminding them of their proud heritage.

No one nation should see itself as an island. Therefore, Nigeria as a country should embrace the concepts of place or destination branding. We must actively seek to market our country as a favourite destination for tourism, trade and investments. We must tell our own stories and seek to shape the agenda of both local and international media, if we don’t, then we should not complain when the media, particularly the international media only showcase the negatives about us.

Germany rode on the back of successfully hosting the 2006 World Cup to launch a national rebranding exercise which was aimed at uniting Germans and restoring back self – belief which has been battered by long years of self-pity and international derision over Nazi crimes.

The governments of the United Kingdom, U.S.A, Greece, Turkey, Australia and South Africa have variously launched successful national image campaigns. Even towns and regions have been known to run own campaigns, a good model closer home is the Cross River state government example which provides a good template for others states in Nigeria to adopt.

While the costs of running such campaigns may be huge, however they are easily scalable and the campaigns could be adopted in line with available budget. This will lead to the achievement of quick wins. In one of her speeches, Prof. Akunyili had informed that the present initiative will rely somewhat on Public Private Peoples Participation (PPPP). According to her; “My team and I know that we cannot successfully re-brand Nigeria without the support and buy-in of Nigerians. A new thinking under this initiative is the Private, Public, Peoples', Partnership, PPPP, under which the people are joint stakeholders.”

There are indeed opportunities to get the private sector involved since they will be beneficiaries of the investment dollars being targeted. While speaking at a CNN interview in June 2008, Dr. (Mrs.) Cecilia Ibru, Group MD/CEO of Oceanic Bank had indicated the willingness of the private sector to contribute to a common fund from which an initiative like this could be funded. She had passionately argued that if Nigeria wins through such a campaign, then the corporates win too.

While the argument of potential waste of resources in the management of the rebranding campaign funds may have some merits given past experiences, there are still ways resources could be maximised. The process has already begun with the composition of the national rebranding committee which is made up of representatives from the civil society, professional associations and trade groups, Nigerians in diaspora and other qualified experts. One expects that Nigerians will embrace this project and continue to support the work of the committee by sharing ideas with them and taking the message of the project to all corners of Nigeria.

According to Sunday Dare, Senior Special Assistant to the Minister of Information and Communications and a member of the technical committee of the rebranding project, “Nigerians have demonstrated support for this exercise through the thousands of entries received by the ministry during the call for logo and slogan submissions”. He reminded that this was in line with the Honourable minister’s promise to make this a people –driven campaign. Mr. Dare also said that the committee which comprises of notable Nigerians and professionals such as Pete Edochie, Lolu Akinwumi, Hilda Dokubo, Prof. Ikechukwu Nwosu, Dr Tony Iredia, Julia Oku – Jacks, Alhaji Garbi Bello Kankarofi and many more are committed to supporting the ministry to formulate strategies which if implemented will give the image of our beloved country Nigeria a new lease of life.

Rebranding Nigeria: Myths and Realities

By Charles O’Tudor

Without doubt, globalization has intensified competition not just among industries, markets, and investments but among nations. In the wake of the issues of cyber crimes, drug and human trafficking, piracy, money laundering, embezzlement and all forms of corruption that have marred our national identity, we cannot fault the idea of rebranding.

The recent emergence of a “Rebranding Nigeria Campaign” under the Prof. Dora Akunyili led Ministry of Information and Communications has generated a flurry of reactionary postures from professionals, brand and communication consultants, other stake holders and patriotic Nigerians alike.

The campaign, anchored on a sensational logo and slogan competition thrown upon to the public has been hailed by some as the magic wand that will propel Nigeria to Brands Paradise while also attracting opprobrium as simply another blind step in the wrong direction. For me, the issue is not with the idea of rebranding Nigeria and not so much with the Minister being out of her depths. While her initiative might be borne out of a genuine naiveté, the methodology has thrown up a myriad of inquiries about our nation’s core essence.If the process is flawed, all that follows is futility. As a professional and having dedicated a major part of two decades of my existence to the study of brands and branding, and having also had the opportunity to pioneer one of the foremost indigenous brand consulting firms in Nigeria, I feel a sense of duty and obligation to respond to the issue at hand. Branding cannot be conjured or invented by mere logos and sloganeering.

A brand is built through an internal processing of its brand’s DNA based on empirical research. As a country, we need personal, corporate and institutional reformation to achieve a transformational repositioning of our national brand identity. The internal process is what automatically reflects in the external processes. A good case in point, an ophthalmologist does not go ahead to recommend corrective lens for a patient with an eye defect, without first finding the nature of defect; say is it myopia, hypermetropia or astigmatism? It is based on such findings that he recommends appropriately. Everything outside this process is blind therapy. Thus, the modus operandi of the ministry under the present dispensation is flawed as professional consultants were not factored into the build-up process.

There should be a team of selected brand professionals, who will dissect components of the Nigerian brand DNA from the standpoint of its cultural and socio-eco-political realities and then make recommendations to government on the way forward. Here, it is pertinent to note that external projection will not be the first step in the way forward. Whereas the effect of ignorance has heightened the misconception of branding as simply an issue of logos, graphics or pay-off lines, it is far from that! Only very few Nigerians have an in depth understanding that the processes are deeply scientific, and that same scientific approaches must be employed in the processes of branding.

The strong scientific intricacy involved is what guides rationales and professionalism. It is then expedient to ask; is rebranding Nigeria the function of a mere logo or slogan? How will this resuscitate the battered image of Nigeria? Is it in the name of the campaign or the processes and strategies? How do we as a nation hope to sweep the decay of several decades under a beautiful carpet of logos and catchphrases? What happens when another Minister comes and jettisons the current rebranding project for a new one? How long should we continue revolving around a vicious cycle of ineptitude or defunct? We talk about rebranding a country where corruption still holds sway in all segments of our individual and corporate beings. We talk about rebranding when the most basic amenities of life continue to elude government’s delivery capabilities. Is it not funny how we want to rebrand Nigeria when citizens of our country cannot walk the streets safe and secure from hoodlums and sometimes even the law enforcement agents that ought to protect them? Before rebranding Nigeria, we ought to perfect the internal processes that constitute the brand DNA.

A good product sells itself in the marketplace, but at the moment, Nigeria is still a hard sell, even to its own people. Let somebody tell government that countries of the world that ever ran successful branding campaigns did not just wake from slumber to initiate a campaign of logos and slogans. Before India began its national branding campaign, they had put in place impressive infrastructural standards. Their educational system is today regarded as one of the best in the world. A country like the United States of America has been branded as a successful nation by the successful products associated with it; from Microsoft software and Boeing airplanes to MacDonald’s hamburgers and Coca Cola drinks. Japan is associated with quality products produced by global brands such as Sony, Toyota and Nikon. The strength of these brands and the economic power they have delivered to their owners have propelled these nations to leadership of the global economy.

Before we begin to rebrand Nigeria, we should first ask ourselves, what is left of our national heritage that we can first sell to ourselves, and the world at large? Is it Corruption? Infrastructural decay? The Niger-Delta crisis? Electoral malpractices? Every nation, quite like humans have their peculiar struggles and issues. As they coast through their life cycle of vulnerabilities and triumphs, they must ensure they manage the delicate image balance, by evolving ways to reinforce the acceptable identity and seek ways to address the unacceptable ones. A country’s failure to strengthen its identity means that it gets submerged under the fast expanding frontiers of national greatness.

Today we are not just combating the negative perception, but the years of inaction, insensitivity and negligence to our national identity. We have lost potential investors, business opportunities because perception as they say is reality. Branding is not a one run-off campaign, but a continuous evolution, hence every individual, organization and nation must keep seeking ways to differentiate, upgrade and evolve by asking the question, does my brand name connect with the consumer? What are my brand assets? What is my position on the consumer sync? What should we reposition? What should we perfect and translate into the external? Does the brand resonate with the changing salient needs of the consumer? These leading questions can only be established by empirical factors and research not so much as elitism and the delusional grandeur of creativity. A good nation brand must have longevity. It must transcend election cycles and special interests by capturing the core of a country and its people and what they offer the world. It must engage citizens and national organizations at home while winning recognition and respect abroad. Basically, nation branding like global branding must be taken from three prolonged perspectives, Meta branding, corporate branding and personal branding. A report by the World Press Institute on Transparency stated that Nigeria was spending about $35 million every year on image laundering in the US Media.

The new approach must first be experiential - the economy of brand strategy for survival. Brands need a more evolving strategy that stays as close as possible to the needs of the market. The “Rebranding Nigeria Campaign” might just be another failed attempt, if what we say is not in synergy with what we are. Internal and external rebranding machineries must synergize. This further buttresses several aspects of my thoughts on the essence of nation branding succinctly captured in a series of articles I have written in the last few years while writing on the Nigerian brand renaissance in the column – BRANDSARISE on BusinessDay. These articles, already being compiled into a compendium will soon be unveiled to the Nigerian public after a series of BRANDSARISE empowerment seminars across selected Nigerian campuses. These empowerment seminars are anchored on the philosophy behind the BRANDSARISE compendium which asserts that when individuals rise, the communities will rise, and when the communities rise, the nation will arise. Still on the essence of nation branding, I observed in the forthcoming BRANDSARISE book, that “Branding, for countries, it must be noted, only works if truthful. For example, to attract investment, in general a country must be governed by the rule of law, must protect private property, must have modern infrastructure, etc. If it lacks these ingredients, it cannot expect a branding campaign aimed at enticing investors to be successful.

The result of this recognition should spur the creation of conditions conducive to investment.”On the personal plane, a strong national brand is a collection of strong personal brands. As was experienced on Wednesday, February 18 at the University of Lagos where the likes of Chief Dele Momodu, Uche Nworah, TY Bello, Sammie Okposo among others joined me to inspire hundreds of young Nigerians who converged on the University’s Main Auditorium for Season II of the BRANDSARISE Youth Empowerment, the clarion call is for us as a people to arise to our full potentials. Indeed, it is upon the strength of personal brands that a great nation is built. The quality of a nation derives from the quality of the people that constitute that nation. Here, leadership is a critical factor. Our leaders must come to terms with the true essence of leadership. Leadership is not as titular as it is attitudinal. Furthermore, we must conspicuously redefine and retrieve our drowned cultural values. A major part of our national identity is embedded in our diverse cultural heritage.

Meanwhile, as we allow imperialism to submerge or culture, we lose not just the moral fabrics that are married to our cultural heritage but our national identity derived from it. Having become a society that prioritises wealth over integrity, our youths upon whom our nation’s future rests, have embarked on a wild goose chase for the Golden Fleece, crushing our collective identity in their lust for materialism. We must return to the roots – the family circle and begin from there. How do we raise our children? Do we forget that paradoxically, the child is the father of the man? When Abraham Lincoln said, “I don’t care who my grandfather was; I only care about who his grandson will become” it was an introspection into the past in order to lay the future’s foundation in the present. It is instructive to those who care enough that we cannot change Nigeria from the outside.

We must begin to harness the power of thinking towards the internal – that which is locked inside of us. On the other hand, people in government must understand that rebranding Nigeria starts from the top. There is still a sightless continuum in the relationship between ‘Nigeria’ and ‘the Nigerian’. There is a loud absence of a social contract between government and the people. This is as a result of the dearth in leaders who execute the business of governance with transparency and selflessness. We need true tested leaders in our country. The domino effect of this will become a citizenry that looks up to its government as a reliable leadership structure that holds in dutiful trust the well-being of the masses. In the light of this, the citizens on their part become naturally obliged to their nation. Developed economies of the world thrive on this Rousseauan philosophy. Patriotism is not commanded but earned. Nigeria must adopt more scientific approach in its rebranding effort or else we will end up with achieving nothing but what may be termed for want of better description – the doughnut effect. Let’s put in place proper structures that will accentuate the process from thought to finish. Not a free for all “Dugbe market” approach.

As I conclude, I leave you with the words of Howard Jeta, former United States Ambassador to Nigeria. “Some people say that Nigerians are brash and aggressive; I say that you hold your own down and some folks are intimidated by your self-confidence.” We Nigerians have a can-do-spirit that can conquer any mountain. We are not more corrupt than most developed nations of the world. We are a rich country that must channel its strengths in the right direction. Rebranding Nigeria is first a call for us to arise in all our internal structural processes. When we arise inside, we can then beat our chest to the world. We must not appear as whitewashed sepulchers with a corruptly interior. BRANDSARISE.

Charles O’Tudor is the Principal Consultant, ADSTRAT BMC Limited.