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AfricaOctober 3 2004

The hard sell

A global campaign is under way to persuade people to rethink their negative perceptions of Nigeria.
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Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC) chairman Kola Daisi believes his country gets unfair press in the international media. “If the truth is told about Nigeria and Nigerians,” he says, “it is a very a different story. We have some tremendous success stories and when people get to see what is happening on the ground, when they understand the changes that are happening, they leave with a very different opinion.”

Nigeria’s Information and National Orientation minister, Chukwuemeka Chikelu, has initiated a global campaign to address negative perceptions and enhance Nigeria’s reputation abroad. The three-year, N600m ($4.6m) project will focus on outstanding Nigerians at home and abroad.

“There will be various stages to the campaign to expose the whole world to our rich culture, tourism, sports, economy and business, and all other sectors that our people have excelled in and continue to excel in all over the world,” he said when he launched the campaign.

The idea is to persuade people to rethink their preconceptions and assumptions. Notable figures who might be featured in the campaign include mathematician and Nobel nominee Gabriel Oyibo Omojadi, writer and Nobel laureate for literature Wole Soyinka and soccer player Jay Jay Okocha, captain of Nigeria’s national team and of English premiership team Bolton Wanderers.

Commenting on the campaign, President Olusegun Obasanjo said it was frustrating that although progress had been made on national reconstruction, much of the work and the sacrifice of many Nigerians was being tainted and in some cases overshadowed by the sheer weight of negative publicity and unfair reports about Nigeria and Nigerians.

“The number of Nigerians that are making substantial and impressive contributions to the growth and development of countries around the world far outnumbers the handful that are involved in illegal activities often highlighted in the media,” the president said at the campaign launch. “The majority of Nigerians, irrespective of class, gender, ethnic and other social differences, are proud, hardworking, creative, patriotic and God fearing.”

Campaign aims

A key objective of the campaign for Mr Chikelu is to point out that only a minuscule minority of Nigerians are involved in the notorious advance fee or 419 fraud, the scam that asks victims to pay an upfront fee for a stake in promised riches. Having spread to all parts of the world, indeed just about anyone with an e-mail address, it has hardened a perception of corruption.

The campaign’s objectives resonate with many Nigerians who, as one newspaper columnist wrote, are all too familiar with difficulties in obtaining travel visas or being subject to more rigorous searches at airports. More importantly, however, Nigeria’s poor image affects investor perceptions, heightening perceived risks of doing business in Nigeria or with Nigerians, and it keeps tourists away.

Ready or not?

Is Nigeria really ready for rebranding? Does it not create a false impression in foreigners’ minds only to find out to their cost that the reality is quite different?

One person who does not need convincing is Festus Odimegwu, managing director and chief executive officer of Nigerian Breweries, which is majority owned by Heineken. Business is booming for the brewer of Nigeria’s favourite beer brands, with volumes having more than doubled in the past five years. “I call it the democracy dividend,” says Mr Odimegwu. “People are happy, they are confident and they are spending.”

He rejects official government data putting GDP at $260 per capita. “I can tell you that it is a lot higher. There is a huge informal economy and large sums of cash outside the banking system; this is business activity that is not being recorded. I have seen results that would not be possible if GDP per capita was only $260.”

Mr Odimegwu’s pride and joy is the company’s Ama Brewery, a state-of-the-heart facility that began production late last year. It was described at the time as the most modern, technologically advanced brewery in the world, and Mr Odimegwu delights in relating how its construction and subsequent operation has confounded the sceptics. “Every Heineken person who comes to the brewery cannot believe they are in Nigeria. But I tell them to look at the signposts: this is Nigeria.”

The $300m brewery had to overcome numerous obstacles, not least to be entirely self-sufficient for water and electricity. It has also had to overcome logistical challenges. But one of the biggest challenges was convincing Heineken that Nigeria and Nigerians could handle the most technologically advanced brewing equipment available.

Show of faith

Having invested more than $500m in the country, Heineken has shown faith in it and recognises the tremendous potential. Nigerians consume on average 4.6 litres of beer per capita per year – the Dutch drink 137 litres.

Mr Odimegwu is full of praise for Mr Obasanjo, his reform team and the reform programme. “They are creating a future for Nigeria. A lot of Nigerians are not yet aware of what the president is doing so it is to be expected – in fact, it is a positive feature of our democracy – that there will be some resistance. But he is showing leadership, being patient, explaining and making people understand why reform is necessary. And he has made it clear to the different vested interests that they have no place in the new Nigeria. With his personal aversion to corruption and commitment to economic development, I am sure Nigeria will succeed,” says Mr Odimegwu.

“How can I not believe this when I see the strong numbers from my own business?”

Mobile inroads

Another company that has benefited from reform in Nigeria is MTN, the South African mobile phone network operator. It reported profits of $720m in the first six months of this year, more than any of Nigeria’s other leading companies. It was first to launch mobile services in the country following deregulation of the sector in 2001. With two million users (40% market share), robust growth and high average revenue per user ($57/month), MTN’s performance in Nigeria is easily outstripping growth in the company’s saturated home market.

Nigeria is the fastest growing and most exciting cellular phone market in Africa. And the success story offers a tantalising taste of what deregulation and liberalisation in other sectors might offer.

MTN leads a South African charge into Nigeria, with more than 50 companies investing in the country. Hospitality group Protea Hotels plans to open a further eight hotels in Nigeria, adding to the six it already runs and reinforcing Nigeria’s position as the hotel group’s biggest operational area outside of South Africa. Johnnic Communications, owners of South Africa’s largest business daily, recently acquired a newspaper in Nigeria; and petrochemicals group Sasol has taken a stake in a gas-to-liquid project that is under construction.

Profits are rising

The NIPC chairman points out that it is not just newcomers that are converting Nigeria’s potential into profit. Long-established multi-nationals, like Unilever, Nestlé, Cadburys and Coca Cola, as well as the likes of local conglomerates the Dangote Group, are seeing profits rise.

Though the number of companies that are delivering healthy, risk-adjusted returns is still relatively few, they are testament to Nigeria’s potential and the fact that risks can be managed. No-one, including senior government figures and those with an interest in spinning a positive image of Nigeria, suggests that the country is without its problems. In fact, many local Nigerians and émigrés contend that the country is still in a desperate state. But those close to the reform process, who can vouch for the commitment and resolve of the reformists, are convinced there is progress. And they are confident that Nigeria is almost far enough down the road of reform that no-one and nothing can turn it back.

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