The Great Campaign.

When, well-meaning Nigerians including this writer, advised our very own globally respected Professor Dora Akunyili, formerly of NAFDAC and current Minister Of Information And Communication, against embarking on artificial re-branding of the country, it was because, we were too confident that the elite—politicians— who, in the main, were and are still responsible for the battered image of the country, and its perception, as home for the criminally minded, was going to make her effort, worthless.

The summary of the argument then and even now, was that our image problem could not be corrected by government sponsored propaganda, on influential television channels like CNN, but through decisive actions, aimed at eliminating the root cause of the image problem—corruption—in our body polity; but those working with her, thought otherwise; arguing that there was something unique, in concept and design, about theirs.

To this, we disagreed. Nonetheless, they had their way. But, events in the country since the former launch of the campaign on 17^th March have proved it critics right even though, I am sure that they would have loved to be proved wrong. Apart from the then, almost daily visitation from government and non-governmental institutions, heads to the minister, to pledge their support to the “re-branding project”— as if their pledge is a personal favour to her, to clean up her mess— it has been business as usual.

After the exhaustive use of highfalutin grammar to sensationalize and grab headlines and attention for months, it did turn out that the House of Representative; probe committee on power was only on a tour of the federation on, public funding. This is about the only way to explain the fact that a contractor who, even at this moment, is still bellyaching over an unsuccessful bid to execute some of the jobs under probe was engaged as a consultant to the committee, not just to advice but also, to write the report! And guess what, it returned a verdict of almost $16b, capturing even proposals as actual expenditures. Meanwhile, another investigation on the same issue has submitted that a far lesser amount—a little above $3b was appropriated and less than $2b, spent.

And then, you have the executive that seems to do the right thing at the wrong time. Consider this: the senate after passionate appeals from affected Nigerians did decide to look in to the issue of demolition and allocation of lands in the FCT. And it did establish that the former minister had allotted some of the lands in choice areas of the territory to himself, family members and few friends in and out of government mainly through fronts. When he was called to account, he decided to do so from a save distance. So he quickly gained admission overseas and relocated. The noise appropriate his conduct then was made and matters were allowed to rest under “investigation”

Been the pocket dynamite he was once called, he exploded from distant lands on the government of Yaradua and with all alacrity, an extradition process was put in motion. Former vice president Atiku got his security details “extradited” back to the police force, after he made similar statement against the government. and only got them back following public outcry. The question to ask is if, the actions of the government had been on their agenda or was just a reaction.

And look at how we have handled the Halliburton scam, our biggest opportunity to make a definite statement about a re-branded Nigeria, to the international audience, for next to nothing. Tanker drivers whose lawlessness was tolerated during the military regimes under the guise of clamour for the return democracy today, picks and chooses what law or regulations affecting their operations, to obey.

Talk about a cancerous power and you remember the Ekiti re-run election. An election that was conducted for less than a million people generated so much confusion that for over a week, victory was swinging—in the papers—between the two candidates; necessitating the resignation of the resident electoral commissioner, for the state. And may be, to arrest the confusion and possible violence that was bound to follow such madness, the announcement of results for a local government—oye—was delayed, to give the government time to mobilize more troops.

And to remember that one of the contestants had had almost a two years of “awoof” time to re-brand the opinions of the voting public in his favour coupled with the support and goodwill of the presidency, his immediate “poorforming” fellow governors and his party, makes the whole thing, an embarrassing verdict on the combined performances of them all. Imagine a re-run in Lagos or Enugu.

Finally, remember this: that what Ghana and South Africa did on a countrywide basis is what we could not do for some 63 wards of just ten local council areas of a single a state. Re-branding my foot!

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