By Chukwuma Umeorah
Reputation management expert, Dr. Jossy Nkwocha, has urged the Federal Government to prioritise Nigeria’s reputation, stressing that sustainable development and meaningful investment cannot be achieved without a deliberate and professional approach to image building.
Nkwocha, MD/CEO of Reputation Masters Limited and former group head, Corporate Communications at Indorama Eleme Petrochemicals and Fertilizer Group, Port Harcourt, made the call during the maiden Prof. Justitia Odinakachukwu Nnabuko Annual Integrated Marketing Public Lecture in Enugu. The event also marked the celebration of Nnabuko’s 71st birthday.
He said Nigeria’s repeated attempts at image branding had failed largely because they relied on sloganeering and propaganda rather than concrete actions. “The reputation of a country is not built on sloganeering, propaganda, or the so-called image laundering. A positive reputation is earned through our actions and utterances, as well as the values we bring on the table.”
He argued that reputation forms the true foundation of effective nation marketing and stressed the need for professional bodies to be involved in the process. “There is an urgent need to deploy national resources, both human and financial, to build and manage the nation’s reputation in a professional manner,” he said.
“The Federal Government should support the efforts of professional bodies such as the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR), the National Institute of Marketing of Nigeria (NIMN), and the National Orientation Agency (NOA) in their bid to re-engineer the reputation of our dear country, Nigeria.”
Nkwocha identified nine factors necessary for rebuilding Nigeria’s reputation, including effective governance, strong public institutions, a stable economy, political stability, social infrastructure, an appealing physical environment, effective public communication, friendly people, and social harmony. According to him, when these factors are present, they attract foreign investment, tourism, trade advantages, international conferences, and respect for the country and its citizens.
He reviewed past government-led branding campaigns, including the “War Against Indiscipline” under the Buhari regime, MAMSER during President Ibrahim Babangida’s administration, the “Nigeria Image Project” during the Olusegun Obasanjo era, and the “Good People, Great Nation” campaign spearheaded by Prof. Dora Akunyili under President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua. He noted that despite huge financial commitments, these initiatives failed to deliver sustainable improvements in perception.
“Some marketing communications experts believe that the initiatives lacked professionalism and the political will for action,” he said, adding that they were often “stronger on sloganeering than on professional management of the image, perception, and reputation of Nigeria.”
Nkwocha stated that in the course of putting the lecture together, the celebrant, Prof. Justitia Nnabuko, shared the same vision. “My conversation with her showed that she desires her fatherland, Nigeria, to enjoy a positive image, perception, and reputation based on truth, honesty, good governance, infrastructure upgrades, peace, harmony, unity and progress. I desire that God will turn the heart of every citizen, especially the leaders, to righteousness. This is because sin is a reproach to any nation, but righteousness exalts a nation.”
He urged Nigerians both home and abroad to play their part in building the country’s reputation.
“We must be intentional in behaving well, obeying laws, and living in harmony with one another. The government and citizens must live by the revived national anthem: ‘Though tribes and tongues may differ, in brotherhood we stand.”
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