Vacation in sunny Nigeria?

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Government's re-branding exercise is criticized by people who say fix problems first.

By Sarah Simpson - GlobalPost

Published: May 17, 2009 11:19 ET
Updated: July 20, 2009 14:39 ET

LAGOS, Nigeria — Holiday in Nigeria? Nigeria: a good investment bet? That's what the Nigerian government would like people to think.

West Africa’s oil giant — best known for its endemic corruption, collapsed infrastructure and crime problems — is being re-branded. In a bid to generate national pride and attract foreign investors and tourists, the government is sprucing up the country’s image under the slogan “Nigeria: Good People, Great Nation.”

Unlike previous branding campaigns, the government is targeting Nigerians at home, rather than immediately aiming at overseas audiences. Ownership and participation of this latest branding campaign is central to its success, said new Minister for Information and Communications Dora Akunyili.

“You cannot brand a country with an intervention that the people cannot comment on, that the people cannot identify with, that people cannot understand,” Akunyili said. “Any government policy that is not accepted by Nigerians cannot work.”

Previously the government tried to brand Nigeria under the slogan “Heart of Africa,” but the campaign was widely seen as a merely an opportunity for corruption, with the bulk of the multi-million dollar budget going towards international travel for top-ranking officials.

This time around, says Akunyili, re-branding will be principally funded by Nigeria’s private companies, especially from the growing banks and telecommunications sectors. The campaign includes some billboards, ads on television and radio and text messages sent out to cell phone subscribers. Akunyili says she would also like to see campaign buttons and T-shirts emblazoned with the new slogan and logo.

But in the streets of the commercial capital Lagos, where some 15 million people do daily battle with the city’s faulty utilities and violent crime, residents say it will take more than a re-branding campaign to improve Nigeria’s image.

T-shirt designer Malcolm Datondji, 20, understands the importance of a strong brand. He stamps each of his hand-printed shirts with his logo, which he says is a sign of quality. Nigeria, he says, could be a quality product too, if only the government would invest in some of its people’s basic needs.

“It is a great nation and we do have good people, but they [the government] don’t utilize what we’ve got very well,” said Datondji, who’d been snoozing the afternoon away after a power cut made work impossible. “I don’t see any reason for them to re-brand — how can they re-brand when our people are not comfortable?”

Comments:

3 Comments.

Posted by voiceofnigeria on May 17, 2009 13:40 ET

Why is this woman still in Nigeria? 90% of her articles are filled with biases. Like a typical white foreigner, she only sees the negative. Perhaps, the EFCC should look into her activities and have her deported. Love Nigeria or go home !! On the other hand, it could be she has no home to go to considering that most homes in her own country have either been foreclosed or entire city collapsed from massive real estate fraud.Fair reporting my foot !! Your biases are so obvious in all your articles about Africa, that one wonders why you are still there !! Do the people whose pictures you are distributing give you permissions to do that?
voiceofNigeria.com

Posted by Pelagius on May 19, 2009 12:53 ET

I also wonder why she is still in Nigeria. Ms. Simpson must have a deep affection for the area. Whatever she is being paid; it is not enough. I have been to the Niger Delta several times working for the oil industry and there is not enough money in the world to induce me to live there. I have never met anyone who has been to Nigeria who wants to return there, even for business. Only a masochist would go to Nigeria on holiday.

Ms. Simpson's reporting and analysis agree with my experiences in Nigeria. If she has any bias, it is a positive one. There should be enough oil wealth to make Nigeria the jewel of Africa, but it is wasted and stolen. Nigeria needs decent government and a commitment of its people to support national improvement, not a slick ad campaign that will only waste more public money.

Posted by Tanya on May 20, 2009 17:47 ET

She may be a white foreigner but at least she's speaking up for the disadvantaged black Nigerians who don't have to be that way if their government would just provide for their basic needs and stop taking public funds for themselves or using them on useless branding campaigns.