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The Heart of Africa: The Brand Concept
Based on the recently released census
figure, Nigeria is one of the largest markets in Africa with over 140
million people. She is one of three foremost economies in Africa
alongside Egypt and South Africa with a booming oil and gas sector and
emergent banking and telecoms industry. Nigeria’s film industry,
Nollywood, is the 3rd largest in the world after the American
Hollywood and the Indian Bollywood. These are the facts that make
Nigeria a great nation. Though things may not always go well,
Nigerians should not allow others to tarnish its hard-earned
reputation.
In a bid to rid Nigeria of nefarious
economic activities such as the Advance Fee Fraud (a.k.a. 419) and
corruption which were almost synonymous with national identity prior
to the emergence of democratic dispensation in 1999, the Obasanjo’s
administration embarked on general economic, political and social
reformations. Many agencies were established to respond to the
challenges and guide the social and economic aspect of our nationhood
through reforms. Some of those agencies include the Economic and
Financial Crime Commission, Independent Corrupt Practices Commission,
National Economic Empowerment Development Strategy-NEEDS and several
others. Virtually all public or government institutions – ministries,
agencies, parastatals, commissions and even the presidency – caught
the reformation fire as they designed their own internal mechanisms in
tune with the policy, subject to the consideration and approval by the
Federal Executive Council-FEC. The organized private sector was not
left out in partnering with the public sector under the Public Private
Sector Partnership to achieve maximum results.
Among the major change agents, is the
Frank Nweke-led Federal Ministry of Information and Communications,
formerly Federal Ministry of Information and National Orientation
which initiated the “Nigeria: The Heart of Africa” project, a cohesive
information programme for Nigeria’s image management and economic
progression with the objective of ensuring that the right kind of
information is received about Nigeria, both locally and
internationally.
The main theme of the project is towards
economic progression to “promote Nigeria’s national brand assets by
exhibiting businesses, products and Nigeria’s pivotal roles in
Africa’s development. Some of its objectives are to promote economic
advancement and enhance the international perception of Nigeria, her
economy and the value placed on her products. The programme which has
external and internal components focuses on economy, investment and
development. The implementation initiatives which are broad based but
clearly stated have under it the acronym PRIDE which among others has
“enterprise” embedded as one of its major components. The
implementation is designed to tackle major economic national brand
eroders especially the Advance Fee Fraud by encouraging Nigerians to
earn their living through legitimate means and to persuade or
prosecute fraudsters from dubious activities.
To achieve the objective of branding for
economic development, a team of brand management experts was set up to
recommend Nigeria’s strongest brand assets. The team identified
conceptual brands such as the Green White Green of Nigerian Flag;
media brands of reputable media operators; intellectual brands like
Nobel Laureate Prof. Wole Soyinka and Prof. Phillip Emeagwali; sports
brands like Austin Okocha and Kanu Nwankwo; educational brands such
centres of academic excellence; business brands like CBN and our
recapitalized banks; products brands like cocoa and cassava;
personality brands like Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe; place and tourism brands
like Obudu Cattle Ranch and Tinapa project.
Others are state brands like our
emerging world model city the FCT and green Calabar; competence brands
especially in areas of corporate business, governance and ICT in the
face of new corporate Nigeria; entertainment brands like our musicians
and Nollywood actors, as well as cultural brands when we remember
Benin arts and Kano’s rich culture.
A closer look at the brand assets will show agreement with the assets selected, though not exhaustive. It is interesting to note that in the assets identification, oil is not listed among our national brand even though the nation depends heavily on it. As some may argue oil doesn’t increase our GDP and has unfortunately been a curse to our development. It has succeeded in increasing the rate of restiveness of youth in the Niger Delta region. Diversification therefore, is the one of the major theme of the brand project.
The project has not also failed to
promote Nigeria’s pivotal role in Africa’s development especially
through her continued contribution to Africa’s economic development
and the brotherly roles in maintenance of peace amongst warring
groups. Business diplomacy is one of its implementation frameworks.
In all of these the central focus of the
project is to pass the true message that “for every one bad person,
there are hundreds of thousands of good Nigerians doing the right
things.” A project like the Heart of Africa is one step in the right
direction to re-orient Nigerians and the world about our brand assets.
It is heartwarming noticing some outdoor adverts on billboards which
read: “Don’t bad mouth Nigeria, we are fighting corruption” and
“Nigeria is getting better, we are tackling the problem of 419”. The
messages recapture our lost glory and on the need to rebrand our
battered image. There’s more economic advantage in projecting the good
image of Nigeria locally and internationally as the Heart of Africa
project promises.
I believe that in a few years to come,
the pessimism about Nigeria will give way to optimism as Nigeria is
joining the league of emerging and industrial countries especially as
we witness the diversification of the economy through privatization,
industrialization, and general
boom in economic activities outside the oil. These are some of the
economic implications of the project which we must all embrace.
Marshall Ifeanyi
National Press Centre, Abuja
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