Throwing a Shoe at the "Rebranding Nigeria" Project

My friend and long time colleague, Maero Ozako had created a group on Facebook (we belong to the ‘Agbayas on Facebook Clan”) titled “Throw a shoe at the Rebranding Nigeria Project” (a la the Iraqi Journalist who pelted past President Bush with his shoes recently.

Incidentally, I find that ingenious act very amusing and strangely satisfying. If I was as bold as that guy, there are a few ‘leaders’ in my home space I would be ecstatic to pelt with rotten tomatoes and eggs as an expression of my disgust with their supposed leadership roles.

Many times, crimes of passion like this help release the tension of frustration… A note of caution though, no one can try that here or else, the trigger ready police guards would have massacred everyone in that press conference! Jungle Justice.)

Back to the main discourse; I couldn’t join the group fast enough because the concept of embarking on a wasteful exercise like Rebranding Nigeria at this” injury time” of economic uncertainty has exasperated me for some time. To assume that this was the silver bullet that would attract foreign investment to Nigeria and earn us the much desired respect as holders of the dreaded green passport sounded very naïve and out rightly pedestrian!

Especially if you have learned, researched, taught and made a career of branding as a concept of marketing for more than two decades like we both have. Could one dare wish that the President will rethink this impending colossal waste of scarce resources and veto this project? My post on that group page is as follows.

Maero, I not only want to throw shoes; my bag, wig, and everything I can immediately grab will follow suit! What kind of rebranding do you do for a product that the essence hasn’t been defined yet? Rebranding presumes we have a brand? What is the essence of that brand? The name "Nigeria"? Is that the brand?

Let Madam Minister and the hawks who are advising her as consultants please define Brand Nigeria for us and tell us what its USP is...what is its mood, promise, core values, essence, and distinct message?

As much as I respect Madam Minister's achievement in NAFDAC, someone needs to tell her she is way out of her league here. Methinks some people are bent on cutting her to size so they push her in this direction. She is expending her personal brand equity fast and if not careful, she can end up a spent and confused brand herself.

While I may accede to the fact that she doesn’t need to be a professional to head the Ministry, she should seek counsel from the honest practitioners in this business. There are principles that define the exercise she has embarked on and the current state of Nigeria violates every principle that guides the process of branding.

I really would like to know the supposed “Consultants” who are advising the Honorable Minister on this project. It is a sharp testimonial that all they are about is milking the nation at such a crucial point in our economic well being. No professional branding consultant worth the paper his/her name is written on would counsel a Client with a brand as sick as Nigeria is to embark on a rebranding campaign.

In case these “Consultants” are from outer space, may we remind them that Nigeria still defies every definition of nationhood? Internal distrust, ethnic, tribal and religious intolerance and communal supremacy are the current core values of this nation as is. We barely understand each other and we all insist our cultural ways are superior to our neighbors.

Our values are sometimes at variance with each other; we are separated by age, tongue, cultural orientation and social expectations.

We have gross attitudinal issues to work and community; we are a conglomerate of individual fiefdoms where everyone seeks to exert his/her supremacy over their neighbors. Our sense of communal dependence is grossly eroded. The concept of Nigeria means a different thing in the East, West, North or South.

We are not a people driven by the common good; rather we are motivated by personal or parochial gains. The only seemingly common denominators in the Nigerian project today are Lawlessness and Corruption.

There is gross indifference, callousness and outright wickedness towards our fellowman as we display obscene wealth in the face of extreme poverty. We walk by and turn the other way at a corpse on the street. Our streets are full of able bodied beggars and destitute who have no social security or recourse.

Basic rights of life are either nonexistent or grossly inadequate. Healthcare for women, children, the disabled or the elderly does not exist. Education is more of a privilege than a right.

Shelter is scarce, in most case grossly inhuman and inordinately expensive! Food and water are scarce and expensive. Our sense of value for the human life is close to freezing point. Security of life and property is only available to the highest bidder.

We have an underfunded, unmotivated and ill equipped police force who leads the blatant disregard for the law in simple things as traffic violations and pedestrian harassment.

Our roads are relics of the past generation; public transportation is either an experience in claustrophobic incarceration or temporary insanity (kombi bus or okada).

Our busiest airport was built when I was 6 years old… I am now 42 and no improvement, extension or even consistent maintenance has gone on through the years.

Core social values of integrity, honesty, respect, selflessness and empathy has been sacrificed on the platter of popularity, politics, “Bigz Boyism” (a la Jenifa, the movie) and power at all costs.

Avarice is a common strain in our DNA. We have had the misfortune of almost 4 decades of selfish leadership and self centered followership.

After almost 50 years of independence, we are still unable to ensure power supply consistently in our most urban centers not to mention the rural communities. ( I write this with electricity powered by my tired and overworked China generator…one of the 3 I alternate to ensure some power in the heart of Ikeja, Nigeria’s foremost industrial district!)

Industry is grinding to a total halt because the infrastructure required to sustain it has regressed over the years. We are a nation that produces nothing …except oil ( that is a discourse for another day) we import almost everything..even our social values and culture.

There is barely any part of the Nigerian society that is sustainable in the long term…we appear plan less, disoriented and confused.

Governance specializes in tokenism. We are expected to be grateful for getting our due as a citizen of a nation. Our leaders expect us to hero worship them or else we are cut off from the ‘national cake’.

A military man believes he is above the law…a politician assumes the federal purse is his family’s pocket book from which he spends without accountability or recourse to public scrutiny.

Our children learn on bare floors in dilapidated buildings. Our teachers are constantly disrespected and cheated until they go on strike.

The National Assembly’s primary concern seems to be to legislate on their remuneration and witch hunt in those sectors where ‘settlement’ is rife.

Our laws are so obsolete that the penalties for grievous crimes sometimes are a ridiculous fine of N50! (They were written in the days of Lord Lugard when N50 was equal to N500k!) And depending on who you know, you could get away with murder.

We operate a constitution that allows a man who rigged an election to become a governor, another chance to rig again. Election malpractice is no longer a criminal offence…if you are caught, then you get another chance to repeat the exam; no big deal!

This is the Brand Evaluation Report of the nation Nigeria. This is what the Honorable Minister is planning to repackage and wrap in positive, exciting and attractive visuals and slogans to present to a world that is very aware of all its inconsistencies.

Who would willingly buy an attractive package when they have facts that the content is rotten? No amount of creativity can achieve that feat…at least not repeatedly.

At the risk of sounding condescending, may I counsel the Honorable Minister and her team that the most potent tool for a successful brand is customer experience and satisfaction? How does the Honorable Minister hope to deliver on the brand promise when Nigeria is in the state described above?

Another principle of successful branding is Internal Branding. A successful brand must first achieve internal buy-in within the organisation before selling itself to the public. If Nigerians don’t buy the brand, how will we represent it to visitors who come based on the Rebranding Campaign?

The Honorable Minister must remember that she will not be the first person to welcome potential investors or tourists, the average Nigerian will. If her campaign is not successful at home enough to change our attitude and adjust our psyche, her external campaign will be futile.

All 140 million Nigerians are ambassadors for the Nigerian Brand. If the government does not focus on making Nigeria work for us, it will be difficult for us to represent the new brand since we are not experiencing it. It is not rocket science; just simple logic.

So if this administration is really serious about rebranding Nigeria, then the place to start is not the campaign. That is like starting to build a house from the roof without a foundation.

Let Madam Minister start by fixing the little things first. Make Nigeria work for us and we will be willing evangelists for Brand Nigeria.

Put the proposed billions for this campaign in one aspect of the Nigerian experience and you will get better ROI than paying the CNNs and Sky News of this world (after all the banks are already doing that so why duplicate efforts?)

Finally, may I recommend ‘The Tipping Point’ by Malcolm Gladwell to the Honorable Minister as great reference in her efforts at social reengineering? The basic principle for a successful campaign is taking care of the little things first.

Please the right people and they will do the tenuous job of reaching the multitude for you.

To transform New York City from the Mecca of crimes to one of the safest megacities in the world today, the Giuliani team started by fixing the little things first; a broken window here, cleaning the trash there, wiping off graffiti from the subway carriages, and arresting people for not paying their fare on the subway. Seems too simple in the face of thousands of murders and robberies but it began one of the greatest social revolutions of this generation.

Do I believe in Nigeria? With all my heart. That is why the Minister must read this, because there’s too much at stake to trivialize it with another tokenism like the planned jamboree called ‘Rebranding Nigeria’.

The solution requires more depth than that and I believe if there is anyone who can achieve it, it is the Honorable Minister. Her track record speaks volumes in her favor.

In fact, Honorable Minister, you did more for rebranding Nigeria as NAFDAC DG simply by doing your job…ensuring the safety and wholesomeness of food and drugs in Nigeria.

Let everyone else do their jobs too and we won’t need to embark on this unnecessary campaign. The Lagos State Government example proves that Nigeria can work. The question is, is the Yar’adua administration committed enough to make the necessary sacrifices? The jury is still out on that fact.