‘Rebranding Nigeria is not about slogans, media campaigns’

Lolu Akinwunmi

Lolu Akinwunmi is the Group CEO of advertising and marketing communication group, Prima Garnet, Lagos. He has served as Chairman, Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON), President, Association of Advertising Agencies of Nigeria (AAAN) among others. On the launch of his recent book, Skin For Skin: The Prima Garnet Story, he raised issues about merging the Ministries of Information and that of Communications, as well as the inability of government to set up governing council for APCON. He spoke to MARGARET MWANTOK on these issues and more

On the day Skin for Skin: The Prima Garnet Story was launched, you suggested that the Ministry of Information and the Ministry of Communications be merged for effective performance. Can you elaborate on this?

The two ministries are intertwined. One is supposed to manage direct public communication. The other indirectly does this using the technology platform.

If we can have them together, then we will have a stronger synergy and put to better advantage the technology that’s already available.

Some will argue that such a blend may become too unwieldy in this day and age when technology has become nearly everything and should be on its own?

It cannot be unwieldy. We had something similar under the late Dora Akunyili, and although the integration was not complete, as they worked as individual components. A structure will simply be put in place to manage it.

People manage World Cup and Olympics and it’s not unwieldy; some people manage the United Nations and it’s not wieldy.

How can managing this be unwieldy? Technology will be used to manage the operation and not necessarily a large number of people.

What do you think such ministry would be doing that is different from what is happening at the present?

At the moment, the Ministry of Information is performing a very traditional role that is no longer relevant to modern communication; even the name is a misnomer.

The government intent should not be to INFORM, but to communicate. This suggests passing information through and building in an effective feedback mechanism.

We, of course, need to review our public communication policy and see where the current parastatals fit in and what else can be done.

What role can we give our Nollywood and our hugely popular musicians within the policy, etc. It is big and vast. From this we will develop a strategy and then implement.

As APCON chairman, you championed a reform that many believed would take the industry to the next level. What is the situation now?

The situation now has to do with the implementation of what we captured in the reform.

This cannot happen unless we have a Chairman and Council for the Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria in place.

Udeme Ufot took over from me in 2015, but the Council was affected by the blanket decision by the government on all government parastatals.

We have made overtures to the Information Minister and the Vice President to have the Council resurrected.

I also appealed to the VP in this regard during my book launch. The reform has been gazetted under the 5th Code, and all we need is the Council to be in place to implement.

Is the 5th Code of Advertising you helped to midwife still relevant given the influx of foreign advertising agencies in the country? What has changed?

It is even more relevant now. It is not targeted at foreign agencies or practitioners.

It is targeted at all those who wish to practice professionally. All agencies, including those coming into Nigeria, are expected to be registered and supervised by APCON.

How differently can this envisioned ministry perform in rebranding Nigeria’s image?

It will work very well. The issue of rebranding Nigeria is another ball game. Under a single, redefined ministry, the advantage of technology and other resources will play a big role.

Sadly, many believe rebranding is simply about slogans and running media campaigns. This is very, very wrong.

During my tenure as the pioneer Secretary and later CEO of Nigerian Rebranding project, the plan was not about a media blitz.

It was a long-term plan to completely restructure the way we think, our attitude, etc. It was a well-detailed social mobilization and civic responsibility plan.

And it would involve everyone and be over many years. We also knew the government could not fund it alone and had lined up support from the private sector, NGOs, etc. The blue print is still with me, and it’s still very relevant.

Inevitably, government will have to do it to solve many of the social and civic issues we have.

Having been chairman, governing council of APCON, how would APCON fare in the coming general elections?

Very seriously. I made an appeal to the Vice President during my book launch speech and told him APCON is supposed to vet all ads.

If it cannot do this effectively because of the absence of a Council, people will just be publishing offensive ads with its adverse implications. The VP agreed with me and promised to do something about this.

What is the relevance of your book, Skin for Skin: The Prima Garnet Story, to the industry?

The book is part of my memoir and targets many audiences. Because advertising is the only thing I have done non-stop since 1982, because God has made it possible for me to be everything one can be in the ad industry - AAAN President, Rebranding pioneer Secretary and later pioneer CEO, APCON Chairman, member, AAAN Board of Trustees etc., I have had the experience and insight that I can share on the profession, the practice and the industry.

I can express informed opinions, as well on what we have done right, and where we need to improve.

Plus, I can also share perspectives from my teaching experience, as I am also an Adjunct Lecturer at Pan Atlantic University, where I teach advertising.