Anyanate Ephraim

The first time I heard about branding Nigeria was in 2004. The Olusegun Obasanjo government through the Federal Ministry of Information and National Orientation (the supervising ministry) headed by Chikelu launched the Nigeria Image Project at the time.  When Chikelu was dropped as the minister, the project was renamed in 2005 by the new Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mr Frank Nweke, and was then called the Heart of Africa (HOA) project. So much about names!

When John Odey was appointed he did not change the name or make noise about it. I wonder why. My question is- is there any evaluation of the project so far since its inception? Will it not be right and fair for Nigerians to know what has happened so far and what successes or failures have occurred and lessons that may be learnt? Five years is such a long time to have a project go on without feed back. With the appointment of Prof Akunyili as the new minister, the action woman wants action on what appears to be a sleeping project. To her it appears the shelf life of the branded product has lapsed despite the change of names and so our new minister has decided to repackage the medicine with a made in Nigeria package. A committee of 22 has been set up. So we are rebranding Nigeria. Well done madam and more grease to your elbows.

As a woman who has dealt with fake and genuine drug manufacturers, she knows the worth of branding. Branding is a strategic competitive factor in the market place for most organizations. It may seem therefore that in order to compete effectively in the global market place, and also be able to attract foreign investments, the way forward for cities, places and countries is to actively adopt branding principles in their various marketing campaigns for their regions or places. The Niger Delta and Nigeria are grappling with a myriad of security issues, which pose threats to their abilities to attract foreign direct investments. This can be seen in the efforts made by many governors especially of the Niger Delta region in traveling overseas to solicit for such investments.

So much has been said in the press about this new project of re-branding Nigeria by the new minister the amiable Professor of Pharmacology. I can not agree more that in these testing times there is a need for a new dimension to Nigeria’s image problem even if I do not know what has happened to the last project started in 2004. I believe that the rebranding is for the outside world and therefore if you ask any westerner about Nigeria now, what they will be discussing is the issue of security in the Niger Delta. Agreed that the Niger Delta is part of Nigeria, but with recent declarations by some of the governors in the region, it appears the area has been so neglected that it is difficult to classify it as part of Nigeria. The region is stained with blood of its indigenes. To my mind therefore, if Prof Akunyili wants to do a good job of cleaning the image of our Nigeria, she would need bleach to remove the blood stains and therefore would need to start with the Niger Delta. I believe if she is able to re-brand the Niger Delta, Nigeria will also be re-branded.  

Before Ribadu came to power as EFCC chairman, it was 419 and executive corruption. People became frightened to bits on the mention of Ribadu when he was doing his job. Politicians were trembling. Although these crimes still exist in the country, one can say that there appears to be a drop. Ribadu’s action did a good branding for Nigeria. There however seem to be other areas that now need more action if we want to make any good brand out of the country and methinks the most important is kidnapping and militancy which started in the Niger Delta but is now slowly spreading to other parts of the country. It will be interesting to see how Dora can convince the powers that be that to re-brand the region we need to get rid of kidnapping by creating employment and not putting embargo on jobs, flood the region with infrastructural development, enhance youth empowerment through education, exhibit transparency in governance as well as environmental clean up in the area. With these actions, security is likely to return. These are the key to rebranding the region and Nigeria as whole for now at least for the next five years or before she is dropped as a minister. Once there is security in the region and the gateway opens for free and fearless movements in and out of the region, the image of the country will brighten up again. To say the least now, there are travel warnings to Nigeria. One Niger Delta governor recently had to tell the British Government that they are part of the problem because of these warnings in place. It may be true that the issue is overblown but this is where Nigeria’s image lies for now.

Not taking anything away from our Prof, she was able to re-brand the drug sector and get the required recognition from the international world. But this is different. This is different because the issue of fake drugs is a universal problem that affects drug manufacturers many of whom are foreigners. The international community sees fake drug issues as hurting their economy. However, what needs to be done to re-brand the Niger Delta requires taking away the meat from these multinationals with headquarters outside Nigeria and as such I believe, she will not get the necessary support she got while at NAFDAC. Many people still pay lip service to the woes of the Niger Delta. Prof Akinyuli was able to increase public awareness about fake drugs and sanitized the system; can she do same for kidnappings in the Niger Delta? Your guess is as good as mine. So if we want to re-brand Nigeria, please let us start with re-branding the Niger Delta because the image problem is home based!

Robot  # 1 | 09.03.2009 22:30

Anyanate Ephraim The first time I heard about branding Nigeria was in 2004. The Olusegun Obasanjo government through the Federal Ministry of Information and National Orientation (the supervising ministry) headed by Chikelu launched the Nigeria Image Project at the time. When Chikelu was dropped as the minister, the project was renamed in 2005 by the new Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mr Frank Nweke, and was then called the Heart of Africa (HOA) project. So much about names! When John Odey was appointed he did not change the name or make noise about it. I wonder why. My question is- is there any evaluation of the project so far since its inception? Will it not be right and fair for Nigerians to know what has happened so far and what successes or failures have occurred and lessons that may be learnt? Five years is such a long time to have a project go on without feed back. With the appointment of Prof Akinyuli as the new minis...Read the full article.

Anyanate  # 2 | 10.03.2009 06:42

My appologies for spelling Prof Akunyili's name wrongly

Uncle Sam  # 3 | 10.03.2009 21:40

You need to have a brand to be able to re-brand or re-position that brand. Of course we have a brand.... Nigeria as product ...tainted as armed robbery ridden society, lack of security for life and property, lack of structures-management or infrastruractural, corrupted governments etc... Of course, we can re-brand that according to our marketing guru Uche Nworah Abegi..... Uche has been "bought" over.

Abraxas  # 4 | 11.03.2009 22:08

Hi, Ayanate! Well spoken. In fact, you have said it all: REVAMP THE NIGER DELTA AND YOU WILL REVAMP NIGERIA'S IMAGE. Muchas gracias, mi amigo. Don Juan-Carlos ABRAXAS (III)

omaks  # 5 | 12.03.2009 00:04

You can almost certainly recognise those projects thata are deliberately created by our political leaders with the sole aim of stealing money. One of them is the recurrent road resurfacing/construction projects that are often embarked upon by our state and federal public office holders. The other is this stupendously foolish idea of REBRANDING Nigeria's image. They both have the same characteristic of metamorphorsing from one form to the other time and time again, and with no real sign of IMPROVING. Nigeria's image doesn't need REBRANDING as it currently obtains, 'cos nothing has really changed about our image or reputation before the comity of nations. We are largely still a nation of UNFULFILLED DREAMS in spite of ABUNDANCE OF RESOURCES both human and material. We are still notable before the comity of nations for our ENDEMIC CORRUPTION. So no price really for guessing what o futile project this REBRANDING is somewhat turning out to be.

denker  # 6 | 12.03.2009 03:29

=Abraxas;335992>Hi, Ayanate! Well spoken. In fact, you have said it all: REVAMP THE NIGER DELTA AND YOU WILL REVAMP NIGERIA'S IMAGE. Muchas gracias, mi amigo. Don Juan-Carlos ABRAXAS (III) dat's Anyanate, not Ayanate...dis nobi rivers state where una dey change all Igbo names...take your time for dis village...:evil:

Abraxas  # 7 | 12.03.2009 13:33

Hi, Mr. Denker! Thank you for the tasteless insult that you heaped on the good people of Rivers State. You are really too much: no be small. (I'm telling you!) Muchas gracias. Don Juan-Carlos ABRAXAS (III)

denker  # 8 | 13.03.2009 05:34

=Abraxas;336251>Hi, Mr. Denker! Thank you for the tasteless insult that you heaped on the good people of Rivers State. You are really too much: no be small. (I'm telling you!) Muchas gracias. Don Juan-Carlos ABRAXAS (III) ..Abraxas, nwam, me no get problem with you..you bi intelligent man..use your intelligence in a correct way and abeg, change your evil ways...denker, as man of GOD dey see your NAKEDNESS...--nothing is hiden!...comprehend! ..now, back to real business.....Re-branding Nigeria Through The Niger Delta:1love:

Abraxas  # 9 | 16.03.2009 04:32

Hi, folks! De t'ing wey oyibo dey call small pikin wey dey no dey respect 'inhm papa na "motherfuckingsonofabitch"! Obrigado! Don Juan-Carlos ABRAXAS (III)