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The re-branding Nigeria
Translations available in: English (original) | French | Spanish | Italian | German | Portuguese | Swedish | Russian | Dutch | Arabic

Prof. Akinyuli has indeed given us a major topic to discuss...smart woman. I seem to agree with all the commentators so far, Branding is in the doing and not in the talking. Malaysians don't need visas to visit the UK, yes if you hold the Malaysian passport, just buy your ticket, move to the airport land in London straight. No visa applications, no paying of money to embassy, no traveling to embassy, no queuing at embassies, no humiliations from drop-out high school boys and girls interrogating the pants out of you calling themselves entry clearance officers -nothing like that, arrive UK in dignity and move into town. Yes we were like that before but our brand has been badly destroyed. The Malaysians have re-branded their country with physical and economic development. Nigerians are begging visas to visit some of the poorest places in the world. What is a brand when people are living in darkness? no brand at all. Please read on. My friend Manz Denga calls this hopelessness but I call it facing the reality, until we accept the reality we are yet to begin to look for solutions......



When most of the nation's dailies reported an attempt by the Federal Government to embark on another image shoring blitz ala the much-trumpeted 'heart of Africa project' that was the 'baby' of the previous administration. Reading between lines (which was something I was sure I did ), the Yar'Adua administration intends to deviate from Obasanjo's image laundering project in order to cut the picture of an administration intent on going about its own business and not kow-towing to the whims and caprices of the man from Ota. In one word, the administration intends to Re-brand Nigeria on a grander and more effective scale.
Branding has become such a mantra these days; it is fast becoming misunderstood. Branding, far from being a buzzword aimed at fixing any problem that is image-based, is a procedure aimed at entrenching certain beliefs about the brand in the prospect's mind. It connotes an attempt to create a lovely picture in the mind of the prospect about the brand. In other words, branding is first a careful and orderly process before it becomes a marketing appeal. The brand must have 'core values' which is in sync with those of the prospect or those which the prospect can relate with. Branding goes beyond the advertisement: An art that attempts to force the product into the mind of the prospect. A good brand does not necessarily have to shout from the rooftops to be heard, a good brand is self-selling and self- appealing. A good brand needs no hard sell.
'The heart of Africa' project even though laudable in its motive, violated all known laws of good branding. There is no gainsaying the fact that Nigeria needs more than a campaign designed by some agency to shore up what is internally and externally a blurred image. Grandiose campaigns aired on satellite television may appear to be effective on face value but could be counter-productive. The jury is still out on the gains derivable from the 'heart of Africa' project. But every day prospective investors shy away from becoming part of the Nigeria project, or we watch the news channels to witness another foiled attempt by our youths trying to get into Europe through the back door; any time we go through foreign tabloids to read about how badly the international community views this country and its citizens, we wonder if this country needs more than a re-branding to attract the gains of the free world.
There is a credibility crisis in the country's leadership at the moment and that is putting it very mildly. Apart from those who swoon around the corridors of power at all levels of government and their beneficiaries, it is debatable if the citizens of this country believe in their government. If we really intend to re-brand Nigeria, this would be the best place to start. For sometime now, the citizenry has become used to believing that what the government says is different from what it does. As one military regime gave way to another and one flawed election after another brought in a leadership without any moral substance, the basis for trust and accountability gradually flew out the window, giving way to cynicism and an utter distrust for whatever came out of government.
Add to this the ineptitude and an inability of government to fix anything, and you get the picture of a people completely at dissonance with the rulership. This widespread cynicism has become so endemic that it would take more than a mere 'academic re-engineering' of brand Nigeria to put things aright. Credibility is one of the pillars on which branding rests. If the government is really interested in re- branding the country, then a conscious effort must be made to restore trust among the citizenry. All forms of corruption which have over time contributed to the devaluation of brand Nigeria must be done away with. Credible elections at all tiers of government would also enhance the brand value of 'product' Nigeria.
Infrastructural decay in Nigeria is legendary. A near comatose health care system, a non existent railway system, deplorable state of inter-state roads and poor state of public schools would remarkably increase the brand equity of the country in the eyes of the international community and at home. The government has to show that things can work in Nigeria beyond the endless cabinet re-shuffling and jumbled portfolio designations. Outside of our borders, the perception that nothing works in Nigeria is so entrenched that it would take more than an ill-fated image laundering campaign to correct same. A year ago, I found myself in the unenviable position of trying to woo a friend to set up a small-scale business in the country. He acceded to my constant pressuring as we chatted on a social networking site and flew into the country almost unannounced. He wanted a detailed view of the Nigerian business terrain and felt it would not be a bad idea to visit the middle belt region which had a certain proximity to Lagos. We rode off to Benin in a private car at 7am and got into Edo state at 3pm. The roads were in a bad shape and the traffic situation left us perspiring embarrassingly in the heat. We got into Lagos the next day with my friend spending a week with me. He took off to England and never returned. I thought he was enjoying himself while his sojourn lasted, but with the benefit of hindsight, I now know he never enjoyed the power interruptions and the agony we had to go through each day on the roads as we embarked on feasibility studies.
It is common knowledge that our hospitals have for a long time remained mere consulting clinics. Whenever I pay a visit to my cousin who is a doctor at the university of Calabar teaching hospital, we would discuss to no end on how the hospital had become something of an eyesore. And while the president and a privileged few can disappear out of the country for medical reasons, the nation's healthcare situation is groaning under the weight of poor management and a dearth of basic equipment. As the nations of the world brace up to enter into a new age of medicine hinged on biotechnology, we are still groping with how to stock our hospitals with the basest of equipment. Little wonder, brand Nigeria is gradually eroding right under our noses.
Nothing taints 'brand Nigeria' like our epileptic power supply. No nation can be truly called 'industrialized' without a steady power supply. Our 'big brother of Africa' moniker which we delude ourselves with daily is under threat as we watch 'smaller' African countries in the west coast take giant strides towards economic boom while our generator driven economy takes several steps backwards. Branding Nigeria? Come on!!! If we can fix the power situation in this country, our brand equity would take further notches up the scale. Power is such a catalyst for economic growth that it is surprising that regime after regime boast about an illusory 10,000 megawatts and yet cannot achieve a paltry 2000 megawatts before their tenure expires. The world knows we are still struggling with power generation and some folks in the industrialized nations of the world still wonder if power outages are a possibility.
One of the enduring images of 'the heart of Africa' commercial was that of a smiling president Obasanjo well bedecked in his babariga with the visuals of some serene places in the country giving the picturesque feeling of a tourist haven. True, Nigeria's tourism is not completely dead yet thanks to the efforts of a few state governments, but it would be self delusionary to think the watching world did not realize that side by side those images are suburbs bearing the mark of under-development, the militancy in the Niger Delta, one of the lowest per capita income in the world, high level of insecurity and a people bruised from the effects of failed government policies.
While the relevant government agencies grapple with the idea of another image laundering blitz at tax payers' expense, it is worth noting that marketing and brand experts are deviating from traditional branding practices to what is now called 'experiential' branding and marketing; which is what can be seen and felt. There is a limit to how much advertising can project a brand. Sound branding practices are hinged on positioning and recourse to gaining a considerable mileage in the prospects' mind. The real brand ambassadors on whose shoulders the bulk of 'brand Nigeria' falls upon is disenchanted with the state of affairs of their country and is jetting out in droves for pastures green. Wherever and whenever you meet a Nigerian, the first thing you are most likely to hear is that righteous indignation with the state of being of the Nigerian nation.
That is the Re-branding the country needs. A re-branding that would first attempt to tackle the myriad socio-economic challenges facing the country. Only then can the Commander-in- Chief afford to look at the cameras with a grin and a throaty laughter and all the babariga in Kano and say 'welcome to Nigeria, the heartbeat of Africa'.

May 17, 2009 | 7:29 AM Comments  0 comments

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The Gaming Culture And The Future Of The Nigerian Youth By Atsar Terver
Translations available in: English (original) | French | Spanish | Italian | German | Portuguese | Swedish | Russian | Dutch | Arabic

There is a culture which is fast evolving in Africa, Nigeria in particular, which is taking its toll on the Nigerian youth. It is what I call the ‘gaming culture’. It is a relatively new phenomenon that promotes a seemingly harmless but dangerous mentality that depends on luck, chance and to some extent, wits for instant fame, wealth and probably some joy in life. This culture is promoted majorly by the big names in the manufacturing industry and lately the majors in the telecommunication industry, in their ever increasing quest to dominate the market through propaganda and what marketers call positioning.

Positioning simply means placing an organisation’s product or trade identity side-by-side with a popular or accepted ideology, concept or icon in order to tap from the goodwill of the icon. For example, Guinness over the years has sought to promote its Gulder brand as a beer for the ‘strong’- a beer that gives ‘power‘ for action(whatever this means).So, in addition to several stunning adverts, in which a heroic figure (Michael Power) performs some obviously impossible feats to the admiration of credulous fans who are in turn lured to go for a Gulder, and in all probability end up in the gutter instead of the expected hall of fame, Guiness for the past three years has been sponsoring a game called the ‘Ultimate Search’. Participants are put in a jungle where they are expected to locate a hidden treasure. The lucky person who finds the treasure becomes an instant ‘millionaire’. Harmless, isn’t it?

Globacom, in what they claim to be an attempt to compensate their faithful customers, have supposedly given away hundreds of new cars to ‘winners’ who participate in the reload-and-win promotions. Customers are encouraged to load as much credit on their phones as possible to increase the ‘chances’ of winning. Needless to say, while the operator rakes in billions of naira through this promotion, at the end of the day some few winners emerge from some curious ‘lucky’ draws. Those who don’t win are encouraged to try again in subsequent promotions and the cycle continues.

These games come in various forms and concepts. It could be in form of beauty a pageant, a lottery, lucky dip, scratch and win (under crown caps) or reality show. All these have one thing in common, that is, they are games, reliant in the main on luck. An exception however needs to be made of reality shows and beauty competitions in which talent also plays a role. Even then their gaming nature cannot be disputed.

In Nigeria, where it appears we have been endowed with the peculiar anointing to excel in the wrong things and everything that has negative impact, this culture has been taken to ridiculous levels lately. All sorts of pageants have been introduced in Nigeria ranging from the normal to the bizarre. From the Miss Nigeria or MBGN, we now have Miss Nollywood and The finest Girl in Nigeria. Almost every industry is craving to have a beauty contest is its name. Miss Banking, Miss Insurance, Miss Hospitality, Miss Radio& Television . And very soon we may be having our girls lured to come out and contest for weird pageants like, the ugliest girl in Nigeria, the dumbest girl in Nigerian or The fattest girl in Nigeria.

In the area of reality shows too, we have not fared badly. Since 2003 when Bayo Okoh returned from Big Brother Africa in South Africa without the crown, we have had Big Brother Nigeria, Next Movie Star, Street to Star, Amstel Malta Box Office and it’s still counting.

But what is wrong with all these seemingly harmless games? To the ‘lucky’ few who happen to ‘win’ in these competitions, there could hardly be anything better or worth doing. What with the sudden fame and wealth? Who does not want to be a star?

Perhaps the well known evil of beauty contests and reality shows especially the Big –Brother-Model, is the promotion of nudity with attendant negative impact on moral sanity. It was this perception that caused the riots in the North in protest against the plan to host the 2002 edition of the miss World competition in Kaduna in November of that year. Interestingly Christians were targeted in this violence as if beauty contests are a Christian religious rite. But the reason is not farfetched. If the contest were planned for Lagos, there would have been approbation from the people of the south, who are predominantly Christian instead of protest. This is a silent query on our loose Christian values.

But that was just a diversion; I was trying to highlight the subtle dangers innate in the booming gaming culture. Our younger generation is gradually brainwashed with a different value system: A value system that dovetails with the fast-food-syndrome. We want fast fame, fast money, fast success, fast certificates, everything fast and just at the scratch of a card. Success in life is taking a different meaning. You don’t really need to excel in anything to become a star; one only needs to win a game. Success is now a gamble!

Unfortunately instant stars also vanish instantly and that is why one could scarcely count a beauty queen that has created any impact on national development beyond the one-year pet projects during their reign, which also vanish at the end of their tenure. No wonder the Bible says in Proverbs 31:30 ...beauty is vain. Come to think of it, the women who are creating positive impact on our national life are not the beauty queens. The Ngozi Okonji-Iwuelas, the Dora, Akunyilis, the Farida Waziris, are all the product of diligent scholarship and many years of hard work which the gaming culture tends to downplay.

Nigeria has indeed produced real stars in various fields of human endeavour but none emerged through gambling. Great men like, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, Chike-Obi, Sunny Okosun, Ernest Okonkwo, Bishop Idahosa, all of blessed memory, did not emerge through winning a lottery or a reality show. If Chief MKO Abiola was alive, he could have born me witness that real wealth (and of course fame) is created by great hard work and vision rather than winning a game that transforms one into an instant millionaire.

Cases of examination malpractice, 419, drug addiction and smuggling, prostitution on our campuses (they call it called RUNS for style) and even armed robbery among our youth could be traced to this gaming culture. Our students want to pass examinations instantly without effort; so they cheat. The young school leaver, who graduates through cheating must also make fast money through 419 or do drugs and armed robbery because indeed he has nothing to offer society. The female students also want instant cash so they go for RUNS.

Our youth must be reoriented to understand that life is not just a big gamble. The era of hard work and academic excellence should not be antiquated. Their models and mentors must be chosen wisely. For example, a wise girl should rather make Professor (emeritus?) Grace Alele-Williams her mentor, than Agbani Darego because being a beauty queen is not a career. Instead of struggling to win every lottery or enter reality shows, the wise youth should understudy the lifestyles of successful businessmen like Aliko Dangote, Mike Aadenuga, Bamanga Tukur and make one of them his models. Society must also strive to recognise and reward diligence over and above instantaneous and effortless prosperity, which is the root of corruption.

Unfortunately today an average schoolboy or girl is more likely to respond eagerly to an invitation to participate in a reality show than a writing or science competition! If this trend is not halted, then the future of our youth is in serious jeopardy.

Those who hunt instant fame and wealth through the gaming culture would only wake up belatedly to realise that, it’s a mirage. Promoters of these shows do it for what they could gain from the participants and fans and not vice-versa, even though they paint the picture of the former. It is part of the whole game. The more you look the less you see.

October 26, 2008 | 11:57 AM Comments  0 comments

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ISN’T IT SURPRISING?
Translations available in: English (original) | French | Spanish | Italian | German | Portuguese | Swedish | Russian | Dutch | Arabic

Is it not surprising that ten naira seems a large amount of when you give for offering, but a small amount when someone wants to eat biscuit?

Is it not surprising when you are praying, you cannot find a word to say, but when you want to talk to a friend you have many words to say?
Is it not surprising that we believe everything that newspaper said but we question the word of God in the bible?

Is it not surprising how two hours seem so long when you are praying, and how short it is when you are watching a movie?

Is it not surprising that a student fears his fellow student than his parents?

Is it not surprising that someone can use five thousand naira (N5000) to buy shoes or cloth but to buy Bible at the rate of Eight Hundred naira (N800) you find it difficult?

Is it not surprising that everybody wants to go to heaven but struggling for it is a problem?
It is boring and difficult to read one page of the scripture, but how sweet it is to read 100 pages of a novel.

Isn’t it advisable to switch off handset when in church but many find this difficult?





October 4, 2008 | 6:32 AM Comments  0 comments

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HELP THE ONE THOUSAND NAIRA NOTE GO TO CHURCH.
Translations available in: English (original) | French | Spanish | Italian | German | Portuguese | Swedish | Russian | Dutch | Arabic

A well worn one thousand naira note and a similar distressed five naira note arrived at the central bank to be retired. As they moved along the conveyor belt to be burnt, they struck a conversation. The one thousand (1000) note reminiscent about its travels all over the country. “I have ha a pretty good life, I have been to Lagos, Ibadan, Benin, Kano and Abuja, the finest restaurants in Victoria Island, Kaduna and Eastern Nigeria, performed at centre and all Glover halls, hottest night clubs all over the country and even cruises on the Atlantic and pacific oceans.
“Wow”! Said the five naira note. You’ve really had an exciting life! So tell me, says the one thousand, where have you been throughout your life time?
The five naira note replied: oh, I’ve been to the apostolic and Methodist churches, the redeemed Christian church, the deeper life bible church, the Catholic, the C and S church, CCC Lutheran Church… “What is a Church”? Interrupted the one thousand naira (N1000) note
Please help the one thousand Naira go to church!!!


October 4, 2008 | 6:29 AM Comments  0 comments

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SMILES
Translations available in: English (original) | French | Spanish | Italian | German | Portuguese | Swedish | Russian | Dutch | Arabic

The sun smiles with earth
withering our cloudy mist
piercing the darkness through and through

My impossible possibilities
manifest its alluring coloure




July 1, 2008 | 12:54 PM Comments  0 comments

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