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Creating A New African Narrative

By Teresa Aligbe
26 May 2018   |   8:00 am
Early Thursday morning, the "Economic Integration in Africa and Opportunities for Communications" session in Lagos, which was part of the African Communications Week 2018 offering, held. Organised by IE Business School and BBC Company, the session dealt with the question of navigating economic opportunities on the continent and in Nigeria in particular, as well as…

Early Thursday morning, the “Economic Integration in Africa and Opportunities for Communications” session in Lagos, which was part of the African Communications Week 2018 offering, held. Organised by IE Business School and BBC Company, the session dealt with the question of navigating economic opportunities on the continent and in Nigeria in particular, as well as the need to re-evaluate our communications strategy as individuals, communication experts, a nation and Africans on the whole.

The Panelists were: Senior Special Adviser to the President on Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr Jumoke Oduwole; Chief Transformation Officer at MTN, Bayo Adekanmbi; Executive Head Marketing and Communication at Stanbic IBTC, Nkiru Olumide-Ojo and Associate Professor at IE University Spain, Nicolas Randall.

A thought-provoking session, questions of identity as is the case with every branding story was at the centre of discussions on developing a communications strategy for the Continent as a whole. How do we see ourselves as Africans? How do others see us? And what are the many ways in which that narrative can be changed for the better? These were the questions around which conversation was built. Incredible insight was lent by the very experienced panel of communications experts; from the Private to Public Sectors to the macro and micro scales within society.

As brilliant and enlightening as all of this was, there was one key factor, crucial to the question of identity for any brand or Nation State that was left unaddressed-Determinism!

One of the key reasons as Nigerians and Africans we struggle with a clear sense of direction is that no collective agenda, national or regional has been created. At the core of a lack of a collective identity is the fact that we have not first as a Nation, determined what we would like it to mean to be a Nigerian. We have very strong opinions on what we believe it means to be a Nigerian today and for many Nigerians, it is a rather unflattering reality they would rather not identify with. This unwillingness to associate with, much less own what we perceive to be our current identity and narrative, has resulted in an absence of a National Identity.

Dr Jumoke Oduwole said something incredibly profound and it was that “Nigerians do not trust the brand” and she could not have been more correct. As Nigerians, we’ve learnt to distrust even those things that are positive because our current narrative is shrouded in so much negativity, much of which we’ve come to accept as our reality. We hear it repeated and we see it reinforced in the news locally and internationally and even in our daily lives. This process of repetition seems to give it credence to it and encourages us to accept it as our unshakeable reality.

What no one has told Nigerians is that Identity is not a static phenomenon, it is an ever-evolving concept. Sometimes that evolution happens consciously, and other times it occurs subconsciously. We have a choice as a people group, to reject a narrative and identity that we did not consciously shape, in exchange for an identity and narrative that we consciously build and can be proud of. But it must be an intentional and deliberate process with vision at the heart of it.

African Countries like Kenya, Botswana appear to be either at the crossroads and in the process of redefining their identities in a way that betrays the conventional “African Narrative”. They are consciously making decisions on what it means to be citizens of those Countries and even while they are still in the process of creating these new brands, the world is already buying is not their vision.

To stand a chance at getting others to believe in your brand, you must first believe in your story and in that brand; even then, it’s not enough to simply believe in that brand, you must be proud of that brand. A key indicator that your brand needs an overhaul is when as the originator, you have a hard time being proud of it.

While many Nigerians and African’s swear by their pride in their nations and in the Continent, more often than not, they’re usually making these declarations in a defensive context. It is fine for us as individuals and as a nation to come to the conclusion that we do not, in fact, like what it means, to be a Nigerian. It is fine for other African’s to determine that they are not okay with the pictures and perceptions that have shaped their identity. It is also great to admit that as defensive as we are about it, in part we believe it and even when we don’t we understand how others have reached those conclusions.

Only when we reach these conclusions can we really begin having the very pertinent conversation on what we would like it to mean to be a Nigerian and an African; first as individuals and then as Nation states and as a Continent. Only then will we begin to build a narrative and identity we can be proud of owning, only then would we start to hold each other and our leaders accountable for acts of what would then be deemed to be ‘UnNigerian.’ or ‘UnAFrican’.

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