Goodluck by name; will it be by nature?

Those who understand Nigerian politics can see beyond the circus for the politiking that is going on. After all, it is pretty much certain that the results of the PDP primaries due towards the end of October, will give the country their president.

This week Nigeria came a step closer to knowing who will rule them for four years.
In a week that has seen the 'old guard' represented by Babangida declare it was now time for Goodluck. The man seemingly born with it on his side.

After 4 hours of standard PDP jamboree filled with musical dedication, medium to long speeches from the 'big boys' of nigerian politics in support of GEJ slogans a plenty from "we no want badluck O, we want Goodluck O" to "goodluck for you, Goodluck for me, Goodluck for Nigeria" and a flourish of short crowd rousing speeches by PDP governors (not all of whom were fully supportive of GEJ: for the uninitiated you can tell by the hats, though in reality there was outright support from the Delta region; Goodlucks area, cautious support from the North and some that wanted to sound a note that even after the primaries they would need tending to) from all areas of Nigeria it came to GEJ himself.

His speech sounded more like a campaign speech than just a declaration and re-reading it now it is obvious that some good writers have tailoured it to represent his strategy moving forward. Commentators have suggested it is different to that which has gone before and not since the speeches at immediately post independence has a man delivered such a robust case for transformation.

And it has to be said that people are yearning for change here in Nigeria.

The hope they have in this country is something that is relied on heavily: hope for something better, hope for a noticeable change in their lifestyle and hope for something different. While politicians worldwide play on hope and often use rhetoric to enforce it, nowhere else I have seen, has hope been so ingrained in people that any change is welcome. A faith that "e go betta" is strong yet time and time again there is bitter disappointment..
Any single improvement of quality of life will engender a warmth in the people. And from todays carnival some would say circus it was a message that hope will turn to reality.
I hope that Nigerians can discard their hope for something more solid...with PDP primaries running till end of October, and INEC registration in November time will tell..

Rent....

When I first moved over here I believed it would be simply a matter of finding a good flat or house and like England putting a deposit for a month then pay the monthly rent. Oh how naïve I was!

The rental system here in Lagos is quite frankly ridiculous. To live in a place of similar comparison to UK standards in a relatively secure and comfortable location should be in areas like the lekki peninsular or Oniru estate, which are 'up and coming' areas. Rental prices vary but increase year on year- highbrow locations such as Ikoyi or Victoria Island can be twice the price of the peninsular. Fair enough, if your earning a reasonable salary or so I thought:

The problem and it is a large one is that rental must be paid for two years upfront in cash. A monthly charge is pretty much non existent. When prices start from Around 3 million naira per year you can see the issue. For those un familiar with naira that's around 12 thousand pounds sterling. Yet it doesn't stop there: one must then suffer the charges of your property agent who takes a maximum of 10% of the rental fee, there is then a 10% legal fee to be paid.

So just to recap:

3 million naira per yer

X 2 years = 6 million

10% agency fee & 10% legal fee = 1.2 million naira

So that's around 7.2 million naira or 29 thousand pounds sterling to be paid upfront. After that all you have to find is money to buy a generator to power the house when not if the electric fails and of course your furniture. Only then are you able to live in an approximate comfort to your life in England.

And so I realised it was a little unrealistic to manage to rent if I wanted to live in as much comfort as the UK. Thanks to my wife's family I was most welcome at their place and for a number of reasons have realised that I will be here for a while longer!

Reputation II - the Sony battle continues

It seems that the Minister for Communications firm letter to Sony after their Playstation advert highlighted Nigeria as a hotbed of Internet fraud has had the desired effect. Sony have made a public apology and removed the offending advert. You can view and read about it in my blog on reputation earlier this month.

"It has come to our attention that a recent TV advertisement for PlayStation may have offended some members of the Nigerian community.... We never intended to create a situation that would upset anyone, and we have taken action to immediately remove the advertisement from the air. We apologise to anyone this may have offended."

The turnaround by Sony must be a welcome boost for the Minister, but the battle to 're-brand' Nigeria is far from over. The movie District 9 was on general release at the cinemas here over the last couple of weeks only to be pulled, once again due to references to Nigeria as being a country of Gangsters, Cannibals and Prostitutes!

Sony Entertainment is the new target of the Honourable Minister this time and she has asked that all copies of the movie in Nigeria be confiscated...

Though it remains to be seen whether the Minister will have much luck battling Hollywood as well as the Gaming Industry...the Ministry seems to be heading for the style of the 3 wise monkeys rather than addressing the real issues at hand.

Party season begins...

Ramadan is over and the warm up to Christmas is here, and with it comes the party season.
After a month where Nigeria and Lagos is relatively quiet due to fasting, the party season has started with a vengeance.
Nigerians love to hold a party and for the highbrow section of society there is always the task of better thy neighbour.
The brash competitiveness of Nigerians comes out in force.
The finest halls are hired and often millions of Naira (around 250 naira - £1) is spent on venue, decorations, food, ushers, drink, entertainers of the moment and party favours. This season is filled with birthdays, weddings and any other excuse. It is big business in itself.

One such bash was a party for a leading Oil and Gas company director this weekend. The guest list read like a who's who of Nigeria's oil producing elite and the champagne was flowing.
What was more than interesting was that a larger proportion of the guests were connected to some well known individuals here in Nigeria who are under investigation for various fraudulent business practices. But they seemed more than comfortable with the champagne in hand.

It gave me an uncomfortable feeling to know that this was occurring in a country where the UN statistics point to around four fifths the population existing on less than 2 dollars a day. The hotel where this happened charges 3 times my drivers monthly salary for a room per night.
My wife made an interesting comment drawing parallels between 18th century France and Nigeria today, where the elite numbers in the few thousand and controls 99% of the wealth how can fairness and justice for the many occur while the few enjoy their champagnes and canapes... Until there is a drastic change here there will be a vast gulf between the have and have nots...

Reputation....

What words & thoughts spring to mind when you hear the word Nigeria?
Lets be honest; Nigeria's international reputation is questionable.
The recent Playstation 3 advert is perhaps testament to the reputation Nigeria has abroad.


The advert, much to the chagrin of the Minister for Communication Dora Akunliyi and many others who have called to boycott Playstation; highlights the thought that Nigerians are renowned amongst other things for internet fraud.
419 (a reference to the Nigerian penal code for fraud) is a well documented and sometime celebrated fact in Nigeria. So much so that within the country it has almost become fashionable with various songs referring to it.


The Yahooze song refers to 'Yahoo boys' who utilise Yahoo email accounts to perpetrate international scams. The song above was a popular tune with immense airplay in the country last year. The song and the 'yahooze' dance was heard and seen in many events across Nigeria, and through all walks of life. I can distinctly remember seeing a number of high profile individuals (who shall of course remain nameless) dancing along to this song at many events last year.

My problem, is that while on the one hand many Nigerians are quite rightly angry at their reputation abroad, they on the other, celebrate an example of it.
Before I first came to Nigeria, my friends, colleagues and family were amazed that I had chosen this country. They filled me with horror stories; don't go out at night, its unsafe, kidnappings, corruption etc etc.
Not wanting to tempt fate, but now in my 3rd year I can safely say that so far I have not been kidnapped, robbed or scammed (apart from the usual inflation of prices for an 'oyibo'!)
I have found the people, though challenging and different to us in the UK, to be kind, generous, creative and honest.
The attempt to brand Nigeria, does however need a deep seated culture change in all aspects of life in Nigeria if it is to succeed. A strongly strategic plan, stretching through all areas of life, rather than tactical actions aimed at brand logos and pay off lines is desperately needed.


A couple of months ago The Minister for Communication inspired debate throughout the PR industry and within the people of Nigeria as to how Nigeria as a country should be branded. This occurred during the launch of the new Brand logo and collaterals developed by the Ministry.

An interesting paper on Country branding can be found here:
http://www.brandchannel.com/papers_review.asp?sp_id=604

Commentary from the PR industry through PRCAN on the rebranding exercise is available through the link below; a number of interesting articles discuss the challenges that present themselves in branding Nigeria:

http://www.blueflowerafrica.com/PR%20Review%20feb%20009.pdf

How Nigeria changes its reputation over the next few months and years will be an interesting topic to watch. Hopefully a change can occur where the people are represented for what they truly aspire too: A successful, talented country with a wealth that can be used for the benefit of all, not just Yahoo boys and the like...

PRNigeria

I thought long and hard before deciding to begin this blog. Is there anything to say that has not already been expressed? What content will truly set this apart from other blogs? And is anyone really interested in ramblings and information from an 'oyibo' who has only been here nearly 3 years?

Well I can't answer any of these questions so it's down to what feedback, hits and comments I receive.

What I do know, is that Nigeria is a country of sharp contrasts. One day you will feel like the country is a dangerous messy place with little or no organisation and no potential to be a member of the Global society. The next day you will feel that everything is possible here, and with a little bit of luck and good management the country, its people and yourself will improve.

You can be driving in Lagos, after a hard day's work, in the foulest of moods, cursing and spitting wrath at all comers until you see a sight on the road that just makes you burst out with laughter at the sheer lunacy or beauty of the world around you.

It's that type of place; up one minute, down the next and as sure as the sun will rise so too will your spirits once again.

When I first arrived I loved Nigeria, particularly Lagos. It reminded me of the city of Ankh Morpork in Terry Pratchets fiction: Dusty, chaotic and disorientating. I buzzed off it and would drive with the windows rolled down talking to anyone and everyone who shouted to me.

3 months later I hated every Nigerian, and despised Lagos for exactly the same things I had loved.

After that, I seemed to have mellowed, fitted into the life, begun to understand the Nigerian psyche in business and social circles and accepted my lot.

Today it seems like anywhere else in the world, it has problems, crime, chaos, but also a strange sense of order and common sense. You just have to know where to look.

The idea of this blog is not just to give a semblance of direction to life here, be it business, government, religion or culture, but also to commentate on the PR/communication industry in local and global terms.

Much like Nigeria it will no doubt be chaotic and varied in content, but you should see a semblance of order come through amidst the colour!