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The rebranding campaign championed by the chief image maker of Nigeria (as she can be rightly called) is an issue that has taken the centre stage in most discussions, discourses, talks and debates. This was the case even before the flagging off of the campaign on March 17th 2009, as many concerned citizens sought to know what rebranding Nigeria meant and what implications it had for Nigerians. Many questioned the campaign: why now, during a global economic slump, when it would undoubtedly involve a lump-sum?
“Forget the fact that whatever should be done can be done and should be done and that the only way to start anything at all is to start, and take into consideration the fact that things change, and the right time is now since the strategies of today may not be viable tomorrow for pursuing the same goal(s).” This has been the strategy employed by the Honourable Minister for Information and Communication, and it has triggered varied reactions from different quarters.
Interestingly, the negative reactions have made more newspaper headlines than the positive ones. Perhaps this is due to the biases and lack of objectivity exhibited by the press, who tend to report whatever will sell more papers and faster. Or perhaps it is due to the “pessimistic slumber” that a large chunk of Nigerians have sunk into.
The pessimistic responses sound especially concerned, whereas they are actually a wet-blanket on desired positive change. They demonstrate clearly the need for the re-branding campaign exercise. For now it is evident that we are still tied to the apron-strings of foreign narcissisms, and that we allow them to define us rather than ourselves taking the initiative in self-definition.
In the international scene, the name of Nigeria is so soiled that a Nigerian outside his or her homeland is treated with suspicion and contempt without being given the benefit of the doubt. A few members of the diplomatic community have had the opportunity to ply their career in Nigeria and can attest to the fact that not all the horrific stories that are said about our dear nation are true. Rather, Nigeria is a community of good people and a great nation that is hospitable, habitable, peaceful and very rich in its diverse cultural heritage and in resources, both human and natural.
There is no perfect society on earth, but the inferiority complex that has been inflicted on the black man by colonialism makes us feel that western nations are perfect. This is not a justification for the wrongdoings of Nigerians. Rather, it is an attempt to explain that every nation has corrupt people and idiosyncratic vices. But we are not as aware of these nations’ vices as they are of ours. Instead, we only know of their positive aspects and good deeds.
This is not surprising as these nations do not generally wash their dirty linen in public. And so, we think them to be better nations than they really are. They solve their problems as they see fit, unlike us here who believe that the Western World has solutions to 99.9% of our problems. Nigeria, for instance, held a conference on the Niger-Delta crisis in London not too long ago- as if there were no safe-haven in Nigeria to host this meeting to address Nigeria’s problems.
Perhaps we forget that London is the most famous tourist attraction in the world. Holding such a meeting in London would make ‘good’ international newspaper headlines and the world would come to know that there was turbulence in the Niger-Delta in Nigeria. The danger here is that foreigners may not understand that the Niger-Delta is just a sub-region in Nigeria, but may come to generalise it as the whole of Nigeria.
This is where Nigeria should borrow a leaf from others’ experiences. It is evident that Nigerians are partly responsible for the battered public image of their country. Nigerians must understand that this is not the time to lay wreaths for yesterday’s crimes, but instead to overcome our ethnic, religious, racial and cultural divides, and to move towards creating a positive image of ourselves and our dear country.
This challenge before Nigeria is the task of re-branding the nation. Unfortunately, many Nigerians have already begun giving in to their fears, assuming that the campaign will amount to nothing more than a colossal waste of time and resources. Perhaps they do not really understand what it means to re-brand, and that Nigeria needs it now.
When we ask ourselves how people look at us, then, we will understand why this re-branding is necessary now. Getting a true picture requires extra effort: an object had to be examined from all sides and one has to enquire about the truth behind it. Unfortunately, Nigeria has not been given this “treat.”
How do Nigerians see themselves? It is obvious that they still do not see themselves as ‘Nigerians’ but as strange bed-fellows. Nigerians see themselves in terms of their ethnicity, culture, religion or tribe. This is where we need cultural re-orientation, so that we may see each another as one. The Yoruba man should not see himself nor should he be seen by others as “Yoruba”; neither should the Igbo, Hausa, Urhobo, Tiv, Efik, Idoma, Ibibio or Igala. They should all see themselves as one people- Nigerians.
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Lubem
Lubem is simply an undergraduate of philosophy. He will be a philosopher king in a matter of a year. For now, I am on holidays and I like writing on certain issues that strike me in a particular way. I write though, but not so often. And most importantly I am a Nigerian child who hopes that all will be well for us some day. That is why I wrote on what I wrote.
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