Image project: What image project?
By Levi Obijiofor
WHEN people say there is something wrong with Nigeria's political leaders, you wonder why. Well, here is why. President Olusegun Obasanjo spent the better part of his first term as an elected president junketing round the world for two reasons: to polish and restore Nigeria's image in the international scene and, as a consequence, to attract to Nigeria the ever-elusive international investors. The "Nigeria Image Project" proposed by Obasanjo's government is an admission that Obasanjo's overseas trips aimed at scrubbing Nigeria's image have failed.
Obasanjo's image project is a bogus project. It is a mirage. It is a waste of taxpayers' money. On a scale of waste of public funds, the image project ranks next to Ibrahim Babangida's "Better Life for Rural Women" in which a majority of the rural women never experienced or saw a better life during the propaganda campaign. But Obasanjo's image project has reaffirmed the widely held opinion that Obasanjo has run out of ideas on how to govern. In this regard, he seems to be clutching desperately on anything that his ministers throw at his ideas' table without proper evaluation of those ideas.
The image project launched by Obasanjo's government in its eagerness to improve the nation's image in the international community is a clear indication that the government has no regard for the people. When political leaders refuse to consult with the people in order to determine their needs, the result is evident in policies made on the run or policies that are based on hunches. The outcome is also an engagement with meaningless projects that have absolutely nothing to do with the priority needs of the nation. When political leaders propose to embark on a project that confounds an entire nation by its sheer futility, they show they have lost touch with reality.
Surely Nigeria has an image problem but the problem can be tackled if we can fix economic and socio-political problems at home. It is not a problem that we can wish away. It is also not a problem that can only a select group of distinguished Nigerians can handle. People who engage in criminal activities at home and abroad will tell you they are involved in those activities because the country couldn't provide jobs for them or that high interest rates make it impossible for them to get bank loans in order to start a business. These are lousy excuses, no doubt, because Nigeria is not the only country that has high unemployment rate or high bank interest rates. There is unemployment in many African, South American and Asian countries but the level of crime in those countries is nowhere near the figure we have in Nigeria. Should criminal activities therefore be our natural reaction to socio-economic problems
For many years, Nigeria has been regarded and indeed viewed as a pseudonym for corruption, drug peddling and financial fraud. A report of a recent study by a House of Representatives' committee revealed staggering levels of corruption in government ministries, including intent to defraud the government or steal government property. Corruption has persisted in Nigeria because it is encouraged and practised by the high and the low in public and private sectors. We know all this. We know also that no one can do business in Nigeria or win contracts without offering kickbacks. In this atmosphere of widespread corruption, the abnormal has become the normal.
If we want to change the image of our country, we should start with the leaders at home. It is a mistake to assume that a select group of Nigerians would restore credibility and respect to the name of Nigeria and the people of Nigeria. By nominating high profile people to lead the image campaign, Obasanjo and his ministers risk alienating the people who engage in criminal activities at home and overseas.
It is not enough to preach to everyone, in particular the less privileged, that they have the potential to achieve their objectives in life without ensuring that there are opportunities available to everyone. When criminals evaluate the society in which they live, they see nothing but injustice writ large everywhere. They see not opportunities but obstacles that prevent them from achieving their objectives. They feel society has been unfair to them. They see the government as their chief enemy.
To change the way we are perceived by the international community, our society must provide opportunities for people to survive. When less privileged people look at distinguished Nigerians, they wonder how they could attain the same status. They say to themselves: "why can't I write like Soyinka and be a Nobel laureate" Or, why can't I play soccer and be like Jay-Jay Okocha, Segun Odegbami or Christian Chukwu When the less privileged evaluate their position in society, they see there is no future for them to live their dreams. But these are only the poor and the less privileged. What about the highly remunerated senior officers in government and private organisations who promote corruption and seek avenues to defraud their employers We should examine the psychological mind-frame of these kinds of people.
When Information and National Orientation Minister Chukwuemeka Chikelu said the Nigerian image project would showcase Nigeria as a country endowed with abundant talent, the international community agreed. But the international community also sees a problem with Nigeria's abundant talents. The international community believes that some Nigerians (indeed a minority) are using their talents in a negative manner and it is these few Nigerians that have splashed dirt on us all with their tar brush.
During the official launch of the project on Thursday last week, Chikelu told his audience: "We want to tell the world about a strong nation, a strong Nigeria, a country of excellent people, people who are accomplished in every sphere of human endeavour, a leader in Africa, a dynamic economy, a modern nation with a skilled workforce. We want to tell the world what they don't know about our country. We are not interested in laundering our image." I don't see why we should announce to the world our achievements and our potential We shouldn't. A good reputation goes with tangible and identifiable achievements. If you make a good product, you don't necessarily have to advertise it before you can sell it. That's a clichŽ but it is also relevant to our present situation.
When Nigeria achieved international respectability some decades ago, no one in Nigeria went about shouting to the rest of the world to hear about its achievements. Why should we do so now and in a desperate manner Is it because our image stinks now more than ever Obasanjo and his information minister should realise that the international community is not a community of fools. The moment you go about selling yourself in the manner that Nigerian leaders are now proposing, you will trigger off massive suspicions of propaganda. Nigerian leaders and the people of Nigeria should let their achievements and their good reputation at home and overseas do the talking for them.
It's been a long time since Nigeria and its leaders enjoyed international acclaim and respect. Things have gone awry and everyone in the Presidency is searching for a way to restore Nigeria's image overseas. But they are going about it in a wrong way. As I argued in this space a few months ago, a reputation is like a piece of china. Once broken, it is difficult to restore in its original shape or form.
Can we recover our image by letting high profile Nigerians fly our flags at home and abroad. Can we really recover our reputation by embarking on a public relations blitz overseas, while at home we have an industry that manufactures mischief and a young generation that sees no future except by participating in get-rich-quick illegal deals Part of the problem the government will encounter in this campaign is that we have too many people wishing to reap where they did not sow. Many of us prefer to invest our efforts in short-term projects designed to yield quick dividends. In the end, we will find that impatience has its drawbacks.
How on earth do Obasanjo and his advisers expect Nigeria's domestic and international image to improve when they grant indiscriminate asylum to discredited leaders from other countries Last year it was Liberian criminal Charles Taylor. This year, Obasanjo said he would like to grant "temporary asylum" to Haiti's former president Jean-Bertrand Aristide. Nigeria is gradually being turned into a haven for thieves and people with questionable records. And we talk about image project - what image project
