Skip to main content

What are we rebranding?

March 18, 2009

We have embarked upon another herculean attempt to rebrand our nation Nigeria. What are we rebranding? What do we hope to achieve? The obvious idea is to improve our image, the way other nations view and think about Nigeria. They have come up with a new slogan and logo. Branded gift items with the new logo are now everywhere and comical enough federal ministers were seen with the branded baseball caps. As far as the ministers were concerned, the fact that they agreed to wear the baseball caps, they were at the fore front to rebrand Nigeria.

How do you rebrand a nation? Is it the same as rejuvenating the national consciousness or is it an attempt at window dressing to create a picture of “good people, great nation” for the outside world? The problem with window dressing is, it is devoid of substance and cannot stand the test of time. It is at best ephemeral in nature. So why waste much needed fund on transient image boosting projects? Do we really need to sell our nation to other countries? Do we need to rebrand? What are we rebranding? Is there a Nigerian brand? If yes, what is the Nigerian brand? Does it require rebranding? Obviously these are questions which those that sold the idea to our honourable minister of information, Dora, need to answer.


However if we must change the perception of other nation towards Nigeria and Nigerians the change must start from the top and within. If Nigerians are not happy that they are Nigerians (forget the BBC report that Nigerians are one of the happiest people on earth) how do we expect other nationals to views us in a positive light. Nigerians struggle daily for visas even to go to African countries. Some even cross the Sahara desert (with many getting killed in the desert by guides they paid to help them get across the desert) trying to enter European countries illegally. You find Nigerian graduates in foreign countries struggling to get menials jobs. Even in Nigeria there are factories owned by foreign nationals where Nigerian workers are treated worse than dogs and officials of ministry of labour allow such unethical labour practices to thrive. What is the effect of the rebranding on the dehumanized worker? What is the effect on rebranding on the foreigners who consider their Nigerian contract employees as slaves in Nigerian? Obviously to them “good people” means good slaves and “great nation” translates to great cheap labour. How can a nation that fails to take care of its citizens think of rebranding? Who is fooling who?

Just the other day a top government official went on a trip to England and attempted to sneak a private gun through airport security, either he thought that as a senior government official the “above the law” immunity he enjoys in Nigeria would also work in England. Obviously he has embarrassed his nation Nigeria. Dora and the agency of the gun totting senior government official will have to employ some spin doctors to spin us a nice yarn to conveniently explain the gun. If I may be of help perhaps we may say he was in
hot pursuit of some dangerous drug barons who he had painstakingly traced to the airport in England! Now every Nigerian government official traveling to the United Kingdom will be viewed as concealing a weapon or perhaps because Nigeria is so dangerous government officials never go anywhere without their pistol! Okay, now I think I can
actually see why we need to rebrand, but perhaps it will be better if we start with those in government who constantly give our nation, Nigeria, a bad name. Members of state house of assembly now go abroad annually to understudy parliaments in European countries when they can learn more from Ghana, but obviously it’s the estacode (dollar denominated allowance for official trips abroad) that is of primary importance and not the educational aspects of the trip. If those in government provide the right leadership, perhaps Nigerians will not need to change its brand.

Those in government flout their ill gotten wealth in the midst of majority of Nigerians wallowing in poverty. Convicted governors get to keep their loot with only a slap on the wrist, American prosecute their citizens for offering bribes, Nigerians promote and praise their citizens who take bribes. Who or what are we rebranding? Who is fooling who? We are told that we must fight corruption but the fight must start from the top. How do you tell a messenger to fight corruption when his Boss in neck deep in corruption? The earlier we get our acts together and stop fooling ourselves, the earlier we can start to move forward as a nation. We cannot have corrupt government officials parading the corridors of power and expect other nations to treat us with respect. We cannot divert foreign aid and expect that our image will improve with a new logo .How can a slogan help us improve our image when the Niger Delta is now a war zone. Branded baseball caps and T-shirts will not put food on the table, will not create employment so that our youths will stop going to foreign nations to eke out a living, neither will it create steady electrical power supply or provide good medical care. Our roads are death traps, armed robbers gain employment into the police, security has gone with the winds as senior government officials and politicians use policemen as personal bodyguards for their families and girl friends. How do you rebrand a defective product?

googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('content1'); });

We cannot change the way the rest of the world views us until we change the way we view ourselves. The change must start with the product-a good product will sell itself. We do not need to rebrand Nigeria ,what we require is to sell the favourable side of Nigeria to the outside world while we take stock of our negative aspect with a view to channeling our energy towards repairing or healing such areas that portray our unconstructive part. We cannot rebrand without reorientation. Our focus for now should not be what others think of us but what we as Nigerians think of ourselves and our leaders. Our leaders do not care what the people they profess to govern think of them, When leaders regard the    
people as slaves that they can use gun wielding bodyguards to brutalize, deny them of basic items like education, food, water shelter and medical care then no matter the effort they put into rebranding the nation; it will end up a futile effort. A nation that fails to take care of its citizens is a nation heading for chaos. The whole world knows that the government of the United States of America will go to great lengths to protect its citizens in any part of the world and because of this awareness (and the fact that the government of the U.S of A actually serves its people) Americans love their nation and would do anything to protect it. Despite the crime rate, terrorism and other vices in the U.S.of A,  we do not hear any talk of rebranding or nations warning their citizens not to go there.

The simple truth? Eighty percent of Nigerians will deny they are Nigerians if given the opportunity. The solution? The idea of rebranding Nigeria should be jettisoned. What we need is a moral reawakening; our leaders should stop looting the nation and use our resources to develop the nation. If Nigerian leaders are proud of Ghana ( Oh yes, many Nigerian leaders have investments and houses in Ghana) then let them learn from Ghana where the leaders put aside personal interest for the interest of their nation. Final word? Dora talk to your colleagues in government to do their jobs well for the benefit of Nigerians and stop buying choice properties and luxury vehicles. Let them lead by example.



googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('comments'); });

googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('content2'); });