//-Nigeria: Good People, Great Nation: Akunyili tasked to rebrand INEC and Yar’adua-//

Nigeria: Good People, Great Nation: Akunyili tasked to rebrand INEC and Yar’adua

It is no doubt, Prof. Dora Akunyili, former Director-General of National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) was celebrated and commended for her sterling performance in the agency. Her work as the DG of the agency was made easy as she was not taking directives from the Presidency and other influential politicians before decisions that had to do with successful operations of the agency were taken. It is very clear, the Dora Akunyili that we used to know as someone who painstakingly restored the people’s confidence in drugs and beverages circulated across the country, is now different from the present image maker who now plays the role of ebullient head of President Yar’adua’s misinformation machinery. No doubt, the costly but naive decision taken to become the image launderer of a passive and inactive government will be costlier if she fails in her quest to make dirt-free what seems to many Nigerians at home and abroad like a contaminated image of the country termed Great Nation.

The country’s re-branding project receives a lot of condemnations and tongue lashing, not because Nigerians do not believe in being re-branded but because it looks like make believe project to all and sundry. How can one bend a dried fish? Re-branding ought to have started from the originator herself by promising to always say the truth and nothing but the truth.

The major cankerworm that has eaten so deep into the integrity of the nation is ‘corruption’, and once eradicated mostly in the corridor of power, the country’s image will naturally be re-branded. I wonder whether what we need is a re-branding campaign if our focus is mainly to eradicate corruption, indiscipline, crime and other evil devices. I feel the concern should be geared towards re-orientating Nigerians to change their negative habits, attitudes and the way they manage the country, then we need to look at achievements or failures of previous efforts. According to Shetima Aji Ali, “When a marketing manager is given a task to re-brand an existing product that has shown significant weakness in the market, the first and the right thing to do is to make sure he understands what was distasteful about the product that made it to fail in the market. The second and subsequent tasks are to develop the product, assisted by good market research, to update the product with those benefits, the goodness the market is willing to accept once the product hits the market again. That is absolutely necessary to ensure the product receives the confidence desired from the buyers”. These are what would have been taken into consideration before the Honourable Minister put on sale the product that has been considered distasteful.

Though Mrs Farida Waziri, the Executive Chairman of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC said in Lagos that corruption in Nigeria is elusive. Meanwhile, our laws make dealing with cases of corruption to be excessively burdensome to our anti corruption agencies. In Nigeria, we live and dine with corruption. “How many public officers today that we know live well beyond their means? How many smugglers and petroleum dealers do we live with, all over the places that are living in total affluence? How many businessmen do we know that acquire properties all over the places and yet are not properly assessed for tax payments in Nigeria? How many collapsed buildings and roads do we see around decorated with the tomb stones of the companies responsible for their constructions yet they remain the choice contractors for all new contracts? How many schools and hospitals in the local governments remain dilapidated, without books and drugs, yet the local government chairmen and councillors spray naira at parties and driving latest cars? How many different items donated free by international donor agencies for distribution to the poor or sick, including mosquito nets do we see being sold in the open markets? How many soldiers do we see carrying horse whips harassing innocent Nigerians despite the Chief of General Staffs’ warning that it is not part of their duties to be carrying whips and using them at will on innocent Nigerians? Do we excel in protection of human rights in Nigeria? How many traditional rulers award chieftaincy titles to their poor citizens even when they are committed, honest and dedicated to making their villages and towns proud? The list is unending. Corruption and indiscipline pervade our everyday life and we really don’t need to look for corruption in any hidden places”.

Even though my phones were attacked for some days with the uninspiring slogan, Nigeria: Good People, Great Nation, I knew she was embarking on a white elephant project carried out by those who have had similar project in the past. Nigerian leaders are known for throwing money at problems and expect magic or miracle to happen – a clearly lazy man, insincere man’s option that would be rewarded with resounding failure. Our politicians like to buy good image. That is why a lot of them pay millions of naira to receive plaques called Awards of Excellence. People do not need paying to receive awards if clearly they are deserved. The nation cannot be rebranded in a vacuum, with clearly nothing to show for it. I read in a newspaper recently, that Peoples Democratic Party, PDP was going to pay a consultancy firm a deposit amount of 500 million naira to redeem its battered image. This tells volume of the kind of ruling party we have in our country. Without mincing words, 500 million naira would have been enough to rebrand the country in any particular local government area by providing basic needs of the inhabitants. I wonder how many millions of naira must have been expended by Prof. Dora Akunyili to send text messages to millions of Nigerians calling their attention to her project. I got the message on all my three networks at least twice each.

I seriously think the first person to be rebranded is the originator, Dora Akunyili by telling the President to be sincere and realistic about his Seven Point Agenda. The honourable minister can only use whatever the federal government has been able to achieve as a yard stick to anchor a rebranding campaign. It is disheartening that President Yar’adua has not successfully achieved any of his seven point agenda after two years of his administration. I guess the load is getting too heavy for the President adding a rebranding project as another point agenda, when he is still planning to achieve his well publicised seven point agenda. It has been more than two years since Yar’adua was sworn in as President after a chaotic and fraudulent election in April, 2007. Let us put aside the legitimacy issue and look at issues directly affecting the lives of Nigerians. One thing is clear, positively or negatively, whatever the President does, the masses are at the receiving ends. At the moment, Nigeria is world’s darkest nation, oil export has dropped from 3 million to 1 million barrels per day, our universities have always been shut down because of insensitivity of government to serious issues like education, the government has not been able to find lasting solution to the Niger Delta issue despite the unconditional release of the militants, lasting solution is still farfetched as the militants are still carrying out their nefarious activities which has even extended to other regions of the country. Nigeria is 15th on the world index of failed counties. Nigeria is sliding. Nothing seems to be working. The President seems totally confused and clueless. He is clearly not up to the task of being in the helm of affairs of this country. President Yar’adua’s seven point agenda which include Education, Land Reforms, Transportation, Security, Wealth Creation, Power and Energy and Food Security are in abstract and fast becoming unrealistic. No one has been achieved. No thanks to those calling for his second term.

To clearly show the rest of the world is unimpressed by the infantile campaign of misinformation, Nigeria was excluded from the G20 Summit of world leaders which it had always attended as mere observer. It means that the global community is sick and tired of the ways our leaders go about doing things in the country. This is something we need to reflect upon”. If genuine actions of rebranding the country are not taken, I am sure, whenever there is another G30 or G40 Summit, Nigeria will still be excluded.

Perhaps, many Nigerians would have excused the ignorance of the honourable minister if she has not started her re-branding project before the internationally condemned Ekiti election rerun was conducted and some recommendations of the Uwais led Committee on electoral reform thrown out by the Presidency.

In the face of rebranding project, many Nigerians daily face molestation and harassment of the police, military and the high and mighty despite the propaganda about the rule of law and due process in the seven point agenda jingles. Innocent people still risk being beaten or languished in the filthy police cells not fit to keep pigs. The case of Uzoma Okeke who was molested by aides of Rear Admirer Agunbiade is still fresh in our memory. Cases of this type happen on daily basis without adequate justice. The average Nigerian can still be slapped by government operatives, and will still have to beg the operative for forgiveness from further punishments.

To make anybody believe in whatever you are saying about Nigeria, it is appropriate you first of all create an impression and confidence in the person even to make him listen to you. I wonder who the target audience of the preacher of the rebranding project are, when the country has been made to look haggard and in disorder, by the sponsors of the project. The question being asked by Nigerians is who is deceiving who? Nigerians have become wiser, and that is one of the dividends of democracy most of us have gotten. Even a two year old baby knows that the country is corrupt and untidy. Ask a pupil what he wants to become in the future and whatever profession he chooses is to enable him embezzle money to buy houses in the country and abroad, he will say. What a blatant nation.

An important area the federal government should focus its attention being re-branded is our so called Independent National Electoral Commission. Organizing credible, free and fair elections, just like the one the country had in 1993 is not a difficult task if the country wants to move forward. Meanwhile, Professor Maurice Iwu the chairman of the commission is making Nigerians believe that, getting such election is as difficult as getting tears from the statute. What is very difficult is when the results are being manipulated just like the ones we had in the 2003 and 2007 general elections in the country. Telling a lie is not as difficult as telling more ten lies to cover up for the first. His job becomes more cumbersome because of the extra job he has to do to perfect his rigging plans. Many countries in the world are conducting elections and we can see the transparency and civility they are bringing into it. As big as the United States of America is, the results of the elections were seen globally same day. South Africa conducted her general elections and the results were seen in days. Ghana in now respected globally for her success in conducting free and fair elections. Visit of President Barrack Obama to the country says it all. For any country to earn respect of the International community, her leaders must be elected and not selected like the present system in Nigeria.

It is a fact, Nigeria Government does not appreciate hard work, openness and sincerity of purpose; it rather prefers hoodlums and bootlickers who see black and call it white. The tenure of Maurice Iwu as Chairman of INEC has expired a long time ago and he is still unnecessarily being retained in the office by the powers that be to further perpetrate evil in the coming elections. Everybody in the country knows and could feel the great impact made by Professor Charles Soludo, former Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria in the economy of the nation. He was able to turn around the fortune of the country including the popular consolidation of financial institutions. Surprisingly, the government was quick to announce the termination of his service. As a matter of fact and urgency, it is very important for Yar’adua to be rebranded too. To administer the affairs of this country, sincerity of purpose should be a guiding principle. Doctoring a well commended report of the Uwais panel to suit his political ambition is a sure sign that the number one citizen needs to be re-branded.

Still on the President, his role in the Ekiti governorship election rerun is another pointer to the fact that, the rebranding project will have to start from the presidency. Campaigning and endorsing the candidature of Segun Oni would not have been too bad but saying publicly that his candidate would be the first Governor in the state that would spend six years in office has really undermined the role of the judiciary. I guess the naive President would have allowed the judiciary to determine the number of years to be spent in office after having spent two years in office and election was to be re-conducted in some parts of the state.

The Ekiti election rerun is a mirror of what is being expected from Yar’adua’s electoral reform. Unfortunately, the government has not only failed in projecting what it preaches about electoral reform and rules of law but the election has also exposed the federal government in its true colour, its true face of deceit and hypocrisy. It has sent a strong signal to all Nigerians and as well acted as an acid test for government on the controversial electoral reform.

Mrs Ayoka Adebayo would have been celebrated eternally as a heroine if she has not sold her conscience for millions of naira. It is very unfortunate that the woman that chose the path of honour was intimidated, harassed, declared sick when she was hale and healthy, being declared wanted when she was not at large, all in the effort to make her do what was against her christian conscience and not helping the country to move forward. Iwu was successful in his bid. The poor woman was forced to throw away her dignity and honour. She has since joined the millionaires’ club. The future of her children has now been secured as they can now be proud of having millions in their bank accounts as compensation from the largess to their mother at the expense of a whole state of Fountain of Knowledge. I am aware the children finally advised their mother to do the bid of the ruling party when the pressure was too much to bear.

The outcome of the election which returned Governor Segun Oni of PDP as duly elected governor receives condemnation nationally and internationally. If sentiment is left out of this and the report of local and international observers could be relied on without prejudice to the interest of the petitioner or respondent, what happened in Ekiti state on the 25th of April and 5th of May, 2009 could not be seen as an election but a selection and electoral war between the ruling party and Action Congress.

Some political analysts have argued that the Ekiti rerun has conclusively exposed the contributions of political players to the many election woes in the country. Thugs that were hired to burn the INEC office in Ido Osi, instigate violence in Oye Ekiti, hijack ballot boxes, harass and maim voters were agents of political players. They worked for them and left the exercise to end in controversies. This in turn has brought a controversial Governor through a controversial election to govern a controversial state. It is a disaster that has already served as a signal to what the nation should be expecting in 2011 general elections unless urgent steps are taken to reform the electoral system. Another test awaits INEC in Anambra election coming up 2010 which will also serve as another acid test for the nation’s democracy. It is left for Iwu and Yar’adua to further expose the country to a globally condemnable show of shame.

Judiciary has proved to be the last hope of every common man in the country, the case of Ekiti election rerun cannot be exempted to further heighten its reputation and integrity. Unless, Yar’adua’s government looks inward and takes appropriate actions, the rebranding project will continue to be a mirage.

Another mind bogging incident that would definitely not make the effort of the rebranding project initiators see the light of the day is the show of shame involving some members of National Assembly Hon. Ndudi Elumelu and Senator Nicholas Ugbane, house and senate committee chairmen on Power respectively. The question to ask ourselves in this context is; is our country really, truly this hopeless? The same Honourable Ndudi Elumelu who was spitting fire and swearing to expose corruption in the power sector even if that would cost him his life was caught in the web having allegedly conspired with his counterpart in the senate, permanent secretary of the ministry of power and other shameless Nigerians in the ministry to award contracts worth about 6.2 billion naira to themselves. Elumelu and fellow legislators kicked aside due process, submitted or caused to be submitted nine companies and asked the Managing Director of Rural Electrification Agency to award the rural electrification contracts to them. The MD naturally added his own companies and wrote a letter to the permanent secretary of the ministry of power for approval. The permanent secretary inexplicably overlooked the glaring disregard for due process and granted approval for the contracts and the money was equally withdrawn from the account of REA and lodged in the banks where those ghost contractors have their accounts. These people never took into consideration the situation of the supposed beneficiaries of the alleged contracts who may not have seen electricity in their communities for one day. Investigation reveals that if Elumelu had not indicted Obasanjo, Liyel Imoke and Olusegun Agagu, former President and former ministers of the ministry in his power probe panel, he would have gotten away lightly with the 6.2 billion Rural Electrification Agency contract scam because it was a common practice between the members of the National Assembly to support themselves at the expense of Nigerians. What a shame in the face of rebranding project. I guess Hon. Elumelu is so desperate to gather money for his ambition to become a senator and also return Emmanuel Uduagha as Governor of Delta State come 2011. They have since been accepted by their colleagues at the National Assembly to discuss national issues. I guess Elumelu must have apologised to those he indicted during the power probe. Nigerians are now kept in the dark on issues relating to the case. The issue of the scam involving the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Dimeji Bankole in the alleged inflation of prices of official cars of the 360 members of the lower house is still fresh in the memory of Nigerians, though they have decided to forget about the story.

Another set of people to be internally rebranded are the so called members of National Assembly. I guess Prof Dora Akunyili might find it less tedious to convince them to pass the long awaited Freedom Of Information (FOI) bill and signing it into law than rebranding the country in a vacuum. I wonder why our leaders do not emulate transparency and accountability from other countries. Signing the bill will definitely make them accountable to the people, but they have decided to put it aside for their selfish interest. In an attempt to make the members sign the bill into law, media workers and indeed the entire Nigerians have tried to persuade them, but it has yielded no result. This time around, Dora Akunyili and Yar’adua will either forget about the rebranding project or make the senators and honourable members sign the bill. This will go a long way in telling the international community that indeed the country is being rebranded. Kudos to Hon Abike Dabiri and few others in the House of Representatives who have been in the vanguard of advocating for the bill being passed and signed into law. Their effort is as good as a drop of water in the ocean.

In the same vein, the nation today is for the survival of the fittest, even the young people are always in haste to be rich or have paper qualifications at all cost, cultism and examination malpractices have become a major attraction to them. Integrity and honour are not at stake to most people. It is same country where the President gives National Merit Awards to worthless people. Going through the list of the 2008 National Merit Awardees, one would find conspicuously names of former Governors who have been indicted being corrupt by the EFCC and their court cases still pending. Some of them are now senators, ministers and appointees of federal government. No wonder that the respectable man and Senior Advocate of the Masses, late Chief Gani Fawehinmi out rightly rejected the award and someone like the General Overseer of The Redeemed Christian Church of God, Pastor E.A. Adeboye did not honour the invitation by the federal government to receive the award. How do we rebrand the country in the midst of these? I was not too surprised reading in a newspaper that the ousted Governor of Ondo State, Segun Agagu who was indicted by the Committee on Power probe to have allegedly embezzled billions of naira when he was minister in the Ministry of Power and Steal, and who was also indicted to have misappropriated billions of naira as Governor of the Sunshine State is now an appointee of the federal government. What a powerful man. Can all these acts be rebranded?

Though the rebranding project has had a false start which naturally will make it come to an end not only without achieving its aim but also leaving the country’s image more battered and chartered. If Dora Akunyili is expecting something to come out of her efforts in redeeming the image of the nation, she should look inward and making sure that the Freedom of Information bill is passed without further delay serving as an instrument for the enhancement of transparency in governance, business and even elections in the country. Also, the country must put in place laws that provide stiff punishment for those who conspire to commit electoral fraud in order to send a warning signal to unscrupulous politicians who are out to subvert the will of the people in subsequent elections and the desperation of politicians to seek elective offices must be discouraged through legislation that disqualify jobless and ill-educated people from seeking elective offices; this will go a long way to attract genuine people whose intentions are to render services to the people.

More so, there must be stiff penalties in place to include public disgrace and confiscation of assets of guilty persons who engage in smuggling, currency trafficking and money laundering, tax evasion, petroleum products diversion etc. Furthermore, a national code of ethics in business and private lives should be promulgated, widely circulated and vigorously pursued for implementation and absorption to our public and private lives. Emphasizes should be on discipline, honesty, orderliness, transparency and compassion for others.

Furthermore, there must be a code of conduct enforced among politicians and candidates of political parties before, during and after elections to checkmate thuggery and other misconducts. The country must provide leaders that are totally above board, leaders that truly adhere to the concept of servant leadership and live by its principles. Such leaders must ensure that everybody submits to the rule of law of the nation. The country must have a transparent, accessible, just and fair justice system which mandates compensation and official apology to whomever that suffers abuse from any security agents and public institutions. Furthermore, there must be a law mandating election tribunals declaring winners of any contested election without necessarily calling for rerun of elections. Peter Ajayi, Ola Salami