CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background To The Study

The image of a nation might as well be its destiny. Nigeria’s disfigured image in the

global village has become an insignia of dishonesty, dishonour and disrespect. It is a

known fact that majority of Nigerians are industrious, Godfearing and law-abiding,

but a tiny minority is destroying the image of the country through their activities.

Inept leaders who rule with impunity and have complete disregard for the people,

spending their resources without a recourse to the feeling of other is like adding insult

to injury (Olupohunda, para 15).

The positive perception of a country’s image is therefore an important gauge for

judging her stand in the international political system. A good image translates into

respect, influence and prestige. On the other hand, a bad or negative perception points

to the contrary. Consequently, all countries endeavour to build, maintain and enhance

their images in relation to other countries.

There is no arguing that the image we have of another country says a lot about how

we view it as a tourist destination, a place to invest or a source of consumer goods

(Frost, 2004:8). The factors that determine a nation’s image (for good or for bad) can

be both internal and external. Internally, a succession of regimes of bad policies and

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practice can lead to this. Externally, it could be through participation in foreign

military and humanitarian missions. An image problem usually occurs when there are

both internal and external factors that sway the pendulum towards a negative image.

Whatever the source of an image problem, many a country would do all that is

possible to overcome such an image.

Nigeria for a very long time has witnessed an abysmal rating among the comity of

nations. According to Saliu (2002) “it could be argued that the negative image of

Nigeria was part of the biases of the global system towards the African continent”. He

pursues the argument “a section of the international system – often derives pleasure in

advertising negative occurrences in Africa while the positive aspects of the continent

are conveniently ignored, or half heartedly projected”. Nigeria’s image problem is

compounded by the fact that she does not have the latest communication gadgets like

the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), the Voice of America (VOA), the Cable

Network News (CNN) and other western media to blow her trumpet. This assertion is

ably supported by Onimude and Synge (1996:40), they argue that Africa is what it is

today because of the white man’s projections of his developmental prejudices on

Africa”. They attribute it to the western world’s near monopoly of the media for

global communication which is driven mainly by new technologies.

However, corrupt practices by both the leadership and followers has not helped

Nigeria’s image. Monday (2010, para.4) listed Nigeria’s rating by the Transparency

2
International starting from 1996 when she was rated as the most corrupt country in the

world. The same occurred in 1997 and 2000 respectively. According to Monday, in

1999, 2001 and 2003, Nigeria was rated as the second most corrupt nation in the

world. In 2004 and 2005, she was tagged the third most corrupt; in 2006, she became

the fifth and subsequently the ninth and sixteenth in the year 2007 and 2008.

Currently, she holds the position of 134th out of 178 countries in the year 2010. This

shows that nothing much has changed in the way Nigeria is viewed by her neighbours

despite the attempts at re-branding the image of the country.

Consequently, Nigeria is in self-doubt, bedeviled with nihilism, lethargy, and

terrorism. Now comes the climax, a Nigerian, Abdul Mutallab Farouk was arrested

over an attempted bombing of an American plane in Detroit on the 25th of December

2009; the unabated kidnapping going on all over the country, bomb explosion of

October 1st 2010, Boko Haram and Jos crisis also add to Nigeria’s negative image.

He also opines that these problems have greatly affected her global image and

influenced negatively on her attractiveness as a potential investment and tourist

destination. Oluigbo (2009, para 2) also asserts that, over the years, Nigeria’s image,

which became bad during the long years of military dominance in Nigerian politics,

continued to worsen, Nigeria earned many derogatory names, and her citizens were

treated as outcasts in many parts of the world. At a stage in history, Nigeria practically

3
became a pariah state and was suspended from participation in some international

organizations like the commonwealth”.

1.2 Statement of Problem

Nigeria is regarded as the giant of Africa and one of the world’s largest oil

producing countries. Her position is therefore strategic and vital in the scheme of

things in the world. A lot of countries in Africa look up to her for help during conflict

and in fact receive financial aid from her to drive their economy when in distress. The

western world also sees her as the stabilizing factor in West Africa and a good source

for doing business in the oil sector.

However, over the years, Nigeria’s image has eroded badly due to poor leadership and

management problems. She is no longer regarded as a force to be reckoned with in the

international arena and Africa due to the myriad of image problems that have bogged

her down and made her a pariah of sorts. Her citizens have also lost credibility in the

international fora because of various antisocial activities by both the citizens and

government officials that portray the country in a bad light.

Successive governments have fashioned out re-branding projects, which were meant

to launder the image of Nigeria, positively both internally and externally. The major

instrument used by the government to achieve this aim is the mass media. The present

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Re-branding Nigeria Project initiated by Professor Dora Akunyili, the Minister of

Information and Communications in February 2009 is the latest and it is expected that

the press would partner with the government and play a vital role in making sure the

aims and objectives of the project are achieved. It is therefore pertinent to examine

how the press has fared in reporting the project.

1.3 Objectives of Study

The following objectives lend credence to the study:

1. To find out the frequency of coverage of the Re-branding Nigeria Project in The

Nation and ThisDay newspapers.

2. To examine the amount of space given to reports on the Re-branding Nigeria

project by the newspapers.

3. To establish the degree of prominence accorded to the Re-branding Nigeria Project

in The Nation and Thisday Newspapers

4. To determine the direction of coverage given to the Re-branding Nigeria Project by

The Nation and ThisDay newspapers.

1.4 Research Questions

To carry out this study, the researcher is guided by the following research questions:

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1. How often did the press cover the Re-branding Nigeria Project?

2. What is the amount of space given to the Re-branding Nigeria Project by the press?

3. What degree of prominence is the Re-branding Nigeria Project getting in media

content?

4. What is the direction of coverage given to the Re-branding Nigeria Project by the

press?

1.5 Significance of the Study

This study is hoped to be significant in many respects. Firstly, as a social

science research, it is expected to advance the frontier of knowledge in the field of

mass communication and serve as a repository of knowledge. It is also expected to

contribute to the available literature in the field of social sciences.

This research will also furnish communication researchers and other members of the

academia with information. Furthermore, further research on the Re-branding Nigeria

Project can also be embarked upon using this study as a foundation.

Finally, this study is also important to the print media because it will encourage,

media operators, mass communication practitioners, and journalists to examine the

extent of coverage made in the Re-branding Nigeria project, this will help them re-

define their campaign approaches.

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1.6 Scope of the Study

This study is aimed at assessing the role of mass media in rebranding Nigeria. Due to

limited resources, mass media house in Owerri, Imo state will be used in surveying

this research work.

1.7 Definition of Terms

For the purpose of conceptualization in this study, the following words need to be

properly defined.

Coverage: Coverage in this study means the reportage of events based on their

newsworthiness.

Project: This is an enterprise carefully planned to achieve a particular aim.

Re-branding: A process whereby a product is given a new identity by a

manufacturer. This is done in order to counter any negative image bedeviling a

product. It is a re-launch of the branding process.

Newspaper: An unbound printed publication that presents information in words and

often supplemented with pictures and appears at regular intervals.

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 CHAPTER TWO

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

2.1 INTRODUCTION

This chapter intends to bring to limelight existing literatures which relates to the

subject of study. These literatures shall be sourced from Newspapers, textbooks,

magazines as well as journals.

For better comprehension, this chapter will be subdivided into the following

subheadings:

1. Conceptual review

2. Theoretical literature

3. Empirical studies

4. Summary of literature

2.2 CONCEPTUAL REVIEW

2.2.1 CONCEPT OF NATION BRANDING

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Nation branding is the systematic process of aligning the actions, behaviours,

investments, innovations and communications of a country around a clear strategy for

achieving enhanced competitive identity. It can be as modest as linking the

promotions of the tourist board and inward investment agency, or it can be a decade’s

long policy of coordinating all internal and external national strategies – culture, sport,

education, policy, tourism, exports and trade – into a coherent, planned process

(Anholt, 2007 :2).In accord with the above definition, Fan (2009 :6 ) sees Nation

branding as a process by which a nation’s image can be created, monitored, evaluated

and proactively managed in order to improve or enhance the country’s reputation

among a target international audience. In another reflection, Agama (2009) states

succinctly that nation branding is a field of theory and practice which aims to

measure, build and manage the reputation of countries. He notes that, it also applies

some approaches from commercial brand management practice to countries, in an

effort to build, change or protect their international reputations.

To understand the concept of nation branding better, here are some major definitions

by different scholars as cited in: Fan (2009:4).

1. To remould national identities

2. To enhance nation’s competitiveness

3. To embrace political, cultural, business and sport activities”

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4. To promote economic and political interests at home and abroad

5. To alter, improve or enhance a nation’s image /reputation.

In line with the above definitions, Maduegbuna (2009:34) opines that “a country

brand should create a higher level of awareness for the country, establish a coherent

motivating image and positioning for the country with respect to the key audiences”.

He believes it should covey differentiation and competition for the country, create an

annuity effect building year on year and provide a framework for the full marketing of

the country. However, Anholt (2007:2) asserts thus “only changes in policy and in

behaviour can change the way in which a country is perceived, and such change

happens very slowly’’. He maintains that in nation branding, actions speak very much

louder than words, and a reputation can only be earned: it cannot simply be

constructed.

This can be attributed to Nigeria where the political actors only talk glibly but

fail to lead by example and every program that is initiated by any subsequent minister

is seen as an opportunity to hug the limelight rather than give priority to the welfare

and needs of the people. Therefore with strong political will and self determination

among the government, the re-branding project can be used as a great tool for

transformation and re-orientation of the populace.

2.2.2 Nigeria’s Negative Image

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Professionals and scholars have agreed that the negative actions and statements of

Nigerian leaders and citizens simultaneously affect her national and international

identity and image. An image can be described as the impression, feeling or opinion,

which somebody has, about an organization. In this case, the impression or feeling or

opinion, which other countries have about Nigeria. This can also be called national

image which Isaac (2007) cited in Odoemelam (2010:23) notes thus “it is a set of

ideas, events and attitudes a country is associated with in the comity of nations.

Furthermore, it also means those attributes, effects, signs, symbols, actions etc by

which one may describe or ascribe a country or nation”. Over the years the image of

Nigeria has continued to grow worse. Nigerians have been branded thieves, 419ers

and other negative names.

Okon (2010:113) observes thus, “It is the general belief that corruption has taken a

second index with little or no foreign investment to complimentarily support the

economy in a country wallowing in the doldrums of poverty, unemployment,

infrastructural decay and inefficiency in governance”. However, the opinion that all

Nigerians are thieves, 419ers, fraudsters, could be proved wrong, by highlighting the

positive side of Nigerians through the media. And as Fan (2006:12) observes “A

nation’s image is defined by the people outside the country; their perceptions are

influenced by stereotyping, media coverage as well as personal experience. Like

commercial brands, a nation’s image can be repackaged, repositioned and

communicated in a professional fashion”. Thus, a nation’s image is what a nation’s

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people want the world to understand is most central, enduring and distinctive about

their nation while reputation is a particular type of feedback received by the nation

from the outside world, concerning the credibility of the nation’s identity claims.

Perhaps the most obvious and familiar aspect of a nation’s image is the value it can

add – or take away – from the products and services that are made in, or associated

with, that country.

In line with the above assertion and as a dire need to change the perception of

the world about Nigeria, the Minister of information and communication, Prof Dora

Akunyili, initiated the re-branding Nigeria project.

2.2.3 Rebranding Nigeria

Re-branding has to do with changing perception; it is about destigmatisation; or

what is called “image substitution.” The recent effort to re-brand Nigeria, by seeking

to change the way other people see Nigeria; or what they think about Nigerians is not

peculiar to Nigeria. Countries and all over the world spend millions of dollars each

year to positively brand themselves and make their country appear attractive and

welcoming, not only to investors and tourists, but also to people who may come in

contact with their nationals. In today’s world of global media, image and perception is

everything.

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Countries that are able to boast of positive brand identity today did not achieve this

because they do not have their own fraudsters, or criminals or drugtraffickers or

cheats. But because they have achieved monumental success in other sectors which

has overshadowed the activities of the few misfits, who carry their passports, and have

built and told the good stories around their success. They have built a reputation

around something; they have been recognised by the world for something. It is that

recognition that pulls down the walls of bias and prejudice and overwhelms the

dysfunctional message that a few of their unscrupulous nationals send to the world.

America is known for its technology and for its universities even though American

prisons are filled with local criminals and bandits. Germany came out of World War II

as a pariah nation, but today it is known for its heavy machines. France is known for

wines. Italy is known for its fashion, not the mafias in Sicily. Switzerland is known for

watches. Brazil is known for football. United Kingdom is known for financial

services. Cuba is known for its cigars. Kenya is known for Safari. Japan is known for

electronics. China is known for toys and shirts, and of course, its cuisines that appeal

to a universal palate. India is fast becoming the number one medical tourism centre in

the world, without forgetting the IT explosion in Bangalore. Philippines is known for

labour exportation. Dubai and Singapore have become the world’s two most famous

trading centres. Nothing can rebrand more powerfully than being known and

acknowledged for something good.

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 Therefore, what do we want to be known for? In answer to this question, Saraki

(2009) highlights Nigeria’s participation in the United Nations peace keeping efforts,

football, education, health and agriculture as areas through which Nigeria could create

a powerful image and build a reputation. He asserts further “We can begin now to

consciously nurture and develop any of these and few years down the line begin to tell

the good story to the world about our country through our dominance of these areas”.

Akunyili (2010:36) lists Nigeria’s peacekeeping effort in Sierra Leone, Liberia,

Congo, Dafur Region of Sudan, her assistance in the development of many African

countries through the Technical Aids Corps programme. Her film industry,

Nollywood, abundant natural resources, the beautiful places and events to showcase

such as Umuahia War Museum, Oguta Lake, Osun, Oshogbo festival, Argungu fishing

festival of Kebbi, and Eyo festival of Lagos, Durbar festival of Borno and Yankari

game reserve which is the only game reserve in the world with natural warm spring

water as positive traits of Nigeria which should be projected .To this, Bajah (2009)

adds that Nigeria’s natural endowment like the game reserves, waterfalls, and

traditional monuments could also be packaged in a short documentary to pass the

message across more powerfully. However Mcnezer (2009) argues that nothing can

sell a product better than the quality of the product itself. Furthermore, he adds, the

day the motorists can glide on smooth roads, the day Nigerians can fetch from pipe

borne water, the day power can run uninterrupted, the day departing multi-national

companies can bring back their industrial machines, then the fact of development

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would speak for themselves. In the same vein, Agbese (2009:1) notes that if we get

our acts together with credible elections, energy and security, the image of the country

would improve automatically and the country would not need re-branding anymore.

On a final note, Johnston (2010, para 11) asserts that the office of the President

“owns” the nation’s brand. He contends that “Nigeria can only be a strong nation

brand with a highly committed Presidency and cabinet, and then with aligning

government policy and structures. This is the only way it can affect every interface

with important stakeholders – from the way the country is reported in international

news, to the motivation of its people, to the priorities of local business, to the single-

minded commitment to excellence by its officials”.

2.2.4 Nigerian Brand Eroders

The following factors are responsible for Nigeria’s negative image:

i. Poverty: Nigeria still ranks among the poorest nations of the world in spite of her

enormous resources. More than 70% of the population live below the poverty line and

the gap between the rich and the poor is widening daily (Agba, 2009:3).When three-

quarters of the citizens are still grappling with the physiological needs of food, shelter

and clothing in the face of ostentatious life style of government functionaries, it will

be difficult to motivate them to be patriotic.

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ii. Corruption:

Eneh (2006:13) notes, “corruption has not only weakened the moral fabrics of

Nigeria but has also wreaked havoc on its body politics”. Another apt way to paint the

picture of corruption in Nigeria is the popular 1983 Weekly Star scathing statement

cited in Achebe (1983:48) that, “keeping an average Nigerian from being corrupt is

like keeping a goat from eating yam”. According to Eigen (2001), cited in Nworah,

(2006:7) “corruption robs countries of their potentials… Corruption is a daunting

obstacle to sustainable development, and results in a major loss of public funds

needed for education, health care and poverty alleviation, both in developed and

developing countries".

iii. Sorry State of Education:

In the last eleven years of return to democratic rule, the federal government has

not met up to 50% of the UNESCO recommendation of minimum of 26% budgetary

allocation to education. Thus, millions of school age children are out of school,

teachers are inadequate, ill-trained and ill-motivated, libraries and laboratories are

empty, class rooms are crowded and school buildings are dilapidated (Edun, 2009).iv.

Poor Healthcare:

Nigeria is one of the few countries in the world that has not eradicated polio.

Cholera is busy ravaging many parts of the country during the rainy season, life

expectancy at 51/56 years is one of the lowest in the world and infant mortality rate of
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93.35 deaths per 1,000 live births is one of the highest in the world (Wikipedia,

2010).These statistics are very scary and portray the nation in bad light before the

international community.

v. Insecurity:

Insecurity is perhaps the greatest threat confronting the rebranding project in Nigeria.

The senseless and inhuman bombing of innocent people at the Eagle’s square where

Nigeria celebrated her 50th Independence anniversary on 1st October, 2010, with over

20 heads of state in attendance, killing lots of citizens and leaving several others

injured. More so, the recent introduction of suicide bombing by the fanatic group,

Boko Haram on daily basis has further worsened the country’s image.Bombing of oil

installations and vandalisation of oil pipelines in the South-South and kidnapping of

expatriates, wealthy citizens and children for ransom all over the country has sent

mortal fear down the spine of foreign investors. No tourist or investor will come to a

country where the safety of his/her life and his/her investments cannot be guaranteed.

vi. Illegitimate Governance:

Successive governments in Nigeria have always had the burden of illegitimacy

hanging on them. Because our electoral processes have always been flawed,

leadership has often been alienated from the people. It is therefore difficult for a

leader with a stolen mandate to rally the populace towards a good cause.

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vii. Inconsistency in Policy:

Policy somersault is one of the banes of development in the country. In the last six

years, we have had three Information Ministers with three different image

programmes with the latter one condemning the former. We seem to be building

policies around individuals rather than around institutions.

viii. Inadequate Power Supply and other Basic Infrastructure:

Power supply in Nigeria is very erratic and this has greatly increased the cost of doing

business. Manufacturers and other businessmen have to generate their own power,

provide their own water, and ensure security for their plants and installations at

enormous costs. The railway system is completely paralysed and the roads are in a

sorry state. These conditions have forced many manufacturers in Nigeria to relocate to

neighbouring West African countries where the cost of doing business is much

cheaper.

ix. Mismanagement/Maladministration of Nigeria Huge Oil Resources:

All economic activities in Nigeria revolve around the oil resources and no move is

being made by the leaders to improve or revitalize other sectors of the economy. The

governors and politicians at the helm of affairs at the third tier of government only

wait for the Federal government to share money to them at the end of every month

which is subsequently wasted on frivolities. This is highlighted in Nworah (2006:8) in

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the argument that the proceeds from the sale of Nigeria’s natural resources only

sponsor the corrupt and lavish lifestyles of successive regimes in the country, which

have consistently failed to invest such proceeds back into the country, and have also

failed to improve existing social systems and infrastructures, factors necessary to

attract foreign investors. This has also negatively rubbed off on Nigeria’s image

2.2.5 The Role of The Nigerian Media In The Re-branding Nigeria Project

Has the Nigerian media done enough to re-brand Nigeria and dress her with the

garb of a beautiful bride that must be courted by foreigners, tourists and investors?

Have we not allowed the foreign media to dictate the tune and tenor of what our

image and perception should be within the international community? Ozekhome

(2009:3).These questions by the above named writer underscore the importance of the

media in the success of the re-branding Nigeria project.

The mass media constitute a veritable tool of enlightenment and social mobilization.

They serve as catalysts for social engineering and re-engineering and harbinger for

variegated societal development. The media spearhead the distribution of relevant

information that is vital to human advancement in every sphere of life.

With their vantage position as information gateways, the media have the rare privilege

of shaping the perception of their audience on issues that have relevance for the

generality of the populace, thus serving as gatekeepers, the society’s conscience,

change-agents, watchdog and the court of public opinion.

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Ozekhome (2009:3) asserts that the Nigerian media plays a critical role in creating an

image for Nigeria. According to him ‘‘it is usually the first source of information that

the foreign media obtains and uses’’. And given the background of their powerful

media, such news or opinions become powerfully loud especially if they are

“negative”. The media in Nigeria provides information of a critical nature, and it

shapes the discourse agenda in ways that project Nigeria’s image, this way or that

way.

Placing more emphasis on the powerful role of the mass media, Akeredolu (1993:32-

35) notes that, it is difficult to think of any national objective which can be pursued

effectively, let alone achieved, without adequate information and communication

support. The mass media constitute one of such information and communication

systems and perhaps, one of the most crucial. The mass media function in various

ways. However, the mass media’s basic function has to do with what Harold Lasswell

defines as communication. That is, to tell people, who says what in the society, to

whom, when and how? In carrying out this basic function, the mass media perform

various tasks that have been classified into four functions by Wright (1960) cited in

Akindele and Lamidi (2001). These are: (1) surveillance, (2) correlation of facts of the

environment, (3) transmission of heritage, and (4) entertainment. The surveillance

function involves mass media operators having to nose into the nooks and crannies of

the society to fish out information that is of interest to the people. In correlation, the

media act to mediate even the taste of the people because they interpret the
20
information so gathered by sifting and discarding what may not be in the interest of

the people before purveying such information to them. By such interpretation, they

help to create values (for culture), which are then transmitted from generation to

generation. The three functions of the mass media, explained above, if closely

examined, would reveal the role of the media as a powerful instrument in the

rebranding Nigeria project because it has the power to induce attitudinal change and

also re-orient the minds of the populace toward positive behavior and this can also be

effectively achieved through, positive commentaries, editorials, news, and reportage

of events in the country. This means that while carrying out their sacred duty of

keeping the public informed, they should endeavour to play down those negative and

ugly aspects of our daily existence and project the good ones as long as the re-

branding project as concerned.

The press has been recognized as strong instruments for advocacy in a society. In

Nigeria, for instance, the press was at the forefront of ensuring the success of such

programmes as operation feed the nation (OFN), expanded programme on

immunization (EPI), oral dehydration therapy (ORT), war against indiscipline (WAI),

among others. Furthermore, the Nigerian press has been acknowledged as been

dodged and persistence in achieving a determined goal, this is evident in the role they

played towards the independence of Nigeria from the colonial master. While other

countries in Africa fought for their independence on the battlefield, that of Nigeria

was fought for, and won on the pages of newspapers expending millions of words,
21
instead of ammunitions, in the process. The press, it has also been argued by some

authors, was in the forefront of the struggle for enthronement of democracy or better

still, the return to civil rule in 1999.

It is therefore expected that this same zeal should be adopted in projecting the re-

branding project and changing the mindset of many Nigerians who do not see

anything good about Nigeria and who do not believe that Nigeria can ever get it right.

2.2.6 The Challenges of Re-branding Nigeria

The Re-branding Nigeria project is aimed at improving the image of Nigeria locally

and internationally. It may not be difficult to decipher Nigeria’s current abysmal

image in the eyes of the world as constant reports in the foreign media, though

sometimes largely exaggerated, harp on the issues of financial scams, political

instability, constant religious and ethnic clashes, corruption and poor infrastructural

development in the country. The situation is worrisome and it has necessitated the

emergence of the re-branding Nigeria project but there are still a number of socio-

political, cultural and economic straight-jackets, which challenge the success of the

assignment. Nigeria is a nation with a multi-ethnic composition and high diversity in

cultures, there are about 250 different ethnic tribes as argued by many scholars and

this is of course a difficult problem for national integration. This of course gave rise to

different ethnic militia like MASSOB, NDVPF, OPC, BOKO HARAM etc which are

all fighting for various political, economic and religious and selfish reasons.

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The cultural, language and religious differences have always made any wholesome

agreement on issues of national magnitude such as the present (rebranding) project

impossible. This is because citizens still have strong primordial attachments to their

immediate core ethnic regions (Nworah, 2006:11). For instance, the lack of one

national language is barrier to the success of the project because there are still a lot of

people in the rural areas who do not speak or write English. To get the message across

to them, the central theme of the re-branding project has to be packaged in their

various native languages. Furthermore, while we are busy singing the song of re-

branding the nation, sectarian and internal conflicts in some parts of the north such as

Plateau State, Aguleri and Umuleri in Anambra State keep recurring seasonally

denting further the reputation of the country. This poses a serious challenge to the

campaign because nothing meaningful can be achieved in a place where people live in

fear, distrust and strife. According to Nworah (2006:11) “long years of political and

religious bickering between the three major ethnic groups (Yoruba, Hausa and Igbo)

have made reaching a national consensus on major issues of national magnitude such

as the present re-branding campaign almost impossible”. The arguments and counter

arguments in Nigeria during the pre-election period on the political zoning system for

the April, 2011 general elections is a vivid example. Politicians were busy fighting

over the zoning system instead of concentrating in bringing out credible candidates for

the presidential race.

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2.3 Theoretical Framework

In any research work, there must be theories that explain the subject matter

surrounding the object of inquiry. Theories are important in research work because it

helps us to organize, describe and predict facts. The use of these theories is therefore

imperative because according to Ohaja (2003:63), “knowledge does not exist in a

vacuum. In every discipline, there is a body of observable phenomenon in that field”.

This study therefore finds relevance in the value change theory.

2.3.1 Value Change Theory

Value change theory is a product of persuasion theory propounded by Carl Hovland.

However, De Fleur and Ball Rokeach 1975 categorized all the persuasion theories

into; the psychodynamic model and the socio-cultural model. This categorization saw

the birth of the value change theory.

According to Folarin (2005:75), this theory is; a variant of the Psychodynamic model,

which employs the technique of comparative feedback to induce attitudinal and

behavioural change. Rather than simply inform people about harmful or beneficial

effects of certain kinds of behaviour, methods based on value change theory challenge

the people to test their own values against those of others which are presumed to be

socially acceptable.

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Values are very essential ingredients in the lives of individuals and a nation. The

values an individual or a community or even a nation live by determine the

individual’s or community’s way patterns of existence and general orientation to life.

The same is true of a nation. A national philosophy is the basis of nations program in

all aspects of her existence as a nation. Thus the quality or nature of the nation’s

philosophy can be a pointer to the quality of life of the citizens.

Value change theory can therefore be seen as a concept concerned with the value or

worth of people or things. Worth may be considered in terms of usefulness or

economic value. Value theory can also involve legal, moral, aesthetic, or quantitative

value. It can involve just one type of value, or a combination of different types. In the

case of the re-branding Nigeria project, the moral aspect of the value change theory is

going to be employed by the press to make Nigerians acknowledge their activities

which is portraying the image of the country in a bad light.

It is generally accepted that values are at the root of all types of behaviours, including

those that are morally, politically, or economically motivated. Values may be held

individually, socially, or both. However, in some cases, individual values may seem

worthless without social understanding and acceptance. Value theory deals with

examining the individual and social repercussions of values.

Value change theory therefore forms the fulcrum for this study because it is anchored

on the ability of the press to elicit attitudinal change in Nigerians by constantly

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harping on the positive aspects of the re-branding project in their coverage and the

behavioural change which can only be achieved if the message is designed in a

persuasive manner. Furthermore, if the press covers the re-branding project, using the

value change approach, the general public will discover that they are probably less

patriotic or less socially responsible in their behavior in the society which has

impacted negatively on the image of Nigeria. It is further hoped that using this theory

the press will trigger off a value change in them that will further lead to the desired

positive changes in attitudes and behavior.

In consonance with this theory, the Nigerian press therefore is the instrument

through which the government can ensure the success of the Rebranding project and

effect attitudinal change in the lives of Nigerians in line with the aims and objectives

of the project.

2.4 Empirical Literature

In a survey research on the comparative analysis of the Heart of Africa Image project

and the re-branding Nigeria project, Odoemelam (2010) reveals that the HOA image

project had less relevance to improving Nigeria’s image because it was targeted at

foreigners instead of Nigerians while the Re-branding Nigeria project had more

relevance because it dealt more with citizen orientation and was also an internal

rebranding campaign. But he however adds that they were both reactive and not
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proactive measures. He also discovered that the HOA image project sought to redeem

Nigeria’s bad image as a result of extra judicial killings, high level corruption and

military dictatorship of Gen Sani Abacha while the rebranding Nigeria project came

about as a result of lack of integrity, lawlessness and corruption in the Nigerian polity.

Furthermore, he notes that the HOA project failed because it did not make use of the

proper public relations strategies, used illsuited logo and slogan, lacked proper brand

positioning and brand credibility in the campaign while the RNC applied proper

image management strategies, used matching slogan and gave Nigerians a sense of

belonging. He however agrees that the two image projects had similar goals which

were to address Nigeria’s image problems but sought to tackle them with different

approaches.

Onyebuchi (2010), in his own research, discovered that news contents covered the

issue of re-branding Nigeria campaign more than any other contents in the newspapers

for that period. Furthermore, feature stories were used mainly in projecting the re-

branding Nigeria campaign although adequate coverage was not given to the

campaign by the selected newspapers. He notes that it was too minimal for the desired

impact to be created in the populace. Furthermore, the stories had no illustration

except photographs. He notes that the pictures alone were not representative of the

project at hand and that illustrations would have helped in explaining the stories

better. He also observed that the print media did not see the re-branding campaign as

important and this manifested in the coverage whereby all the stories on re-branding
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were placed in the inside pages instead of the outside pages (which include the front

and back pages). Furthermore, the stories were meant to project government and non-

governmental organizations activities regarding the re-branding campaign instead of

laying emphasis on the importance of the campaign. He also notes that the re-branding

Nigeria campaign was not given due prominence and this showed in the abysmally

small number of stories.

Edun (2011) identifies other constraints to include, poverty, corruption, illiteracy,

insecurity, flawed elections process and lack of basic infrastructure, while Ozekehome

(2009) identifies Nigeria’s image problem as fallout of the western domination of

technological devices which are used to paint Nigeria in a negative light. He also

notes that the negative traits and corrupt life style of the political class also

contributed immensely to the image problem. However, Odoemelam (2010) suggests

that thorough research should be conducted in order to determine the problems and

find the correct solutions to adopt before embarking on such rebranding ventures in

future. This is in order to ensure the success of subsequent rebranding projects. He

also adds that any government that initiates such projects should carry out a periodic

evaluation of such re-branding efforts in order to correct the lapses in time and ensure

that its aims are achieved. Onyebuchi (2010) opines that for the re-branding Nigeria

campaign to succeed both the government and the media must work together in

synergy in order to achieve positive results.

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According to him, the media is a strong force in the mobilization of the masses for a

given course. While Ozekeohme (2009) suggests that the media should live up to their

responsibility by exposing corrupt practices by politicians and other people at the

corridors of power and at the same time exposing the various anti-social behavior of

the citizens. In his own contribution, Bajah (2009), suggests that Nigerian high class

professionals in different fields such as art, music, sports, science, diplomats and

people who have made positive names in other endeavors be used in such image

campaigns through testimonial advertisement in the media.

However in a contrary opinion, Nworah (2006) notes that re-branding does not

guarantee that Nigeria will attract investors, nor will the country experience the

desired image change. This, he argues is because of the existence of other extenuating

factors in the environment, like the global economic downturn. He also adds that, the

market forces of demand and supply of global capital play a major role in determining

where tourists chose to go, and where investors place their money. This is also

influenced by the actions of other competing countries, because in international

business investments, there are no sentiments; investors seek maximum yield, return

and security on their investments, which only a politically and economically stable

country may guarantee. Finally, any place, country or region planning an image

campaign must first look inwards and try to put its house in order first, before going

all out to launch an international campaign to attract tourists and investors. Edun

(2011) states it in another light “business and tourism do not thrive on emotions and
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sentiments; they thrive on hard facts. The investor wants maximum returns on her/his

investment and the tourist wants value for her/his money. In a globalised economy, it

is the country that projects the most positive image of herself and guarantees safety of

lives and stability of investments that can maximize her potentials as an investment

and tourism destination of choice”.

Agba (2009) argues that as much as the image of Nigeria needs to be upgraded at

home and abroad, re-branding is certainly not the solution as it amounts to treating the

symptoms rather them the root cause(s). The ideas behind the scheme are cosmetic,

abstract and not convincing. He adds that Nigerians are praying and hoping for a

government that is responsive to their needs and the design and implementation of

policies / programmes aimed at ensuring political stability, economic prosperity,

employment, and access to good health facilities, sustainable development and better

educational system. Whether there will be a quantum-leap in realizing this hope is

predictably slim.

2.5 SUMMARY OF THE REVIEWED LITERATURE

From the reviewed literature, it is an undeniable fact that the image of Nigeria

has been relegated among nations of the world due to some fraudulent cases

associated with a few Nigerians within and outside the country. The campaign to

redeem Nigeria’s image can not be handled by government alone, neither is it an issue

meant for a selected few. The “Rebranding Nigeria” initiative is a good

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project and it needs the participation of all Nigerians from different works of

life. Its success depends on character reformation/attitudinal change of Nigerians

in their immediate places of work and at informal settings. To achieve this

requires the contributions and participation of mass media especially in

educating, enlightening, and gingering the spirit of national consciousness

of Nigerian citizens to encourage cooperation with the government in whatever form

for the growth and development of the country.

On the whole, the works of modern Nigerian artists should therefore,

focus on themes and subject matter using concepts, motifs and symbols that are

tantamount for reviving the nation and inspiring the spirit of ‘civic virtue’ and

‘devotion to our fatherland’. It is only then that Nigerian citizens would be seen

as Good People and Nigeria will be regarded truly as a Great Nation.

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 CHAPTER THREE

METHODOLOGY

3.1 Research Design

The research design that was used in this study is content analysis. Content analysis

refers to the examination of the manifest content of communication to discover the

patterns existing therein. Such manifest content could be advertisements, news stories,

features, opinion articles, editorials, letters to the editor, cartoons, photographs and

other illustrations in a newspaper or magazine.

3.2 Population of the Study

In every research work there must be a population. Hence, the population of

this study is the entire national newspapers in Nigeria. By national newspapers, we

mean newspapers that cover at least one third of the entire states in Nigeria, which

according to Wimmer & Dominick must be at least 10% of the universe of study.

(Wimmer & Dominick, 2011) A manageable population size of two newspapers was

randomly selected from the 20 national newspapers in Nigeria, which is

approximately 10% of the entire newspapers in Nigeria. The two national dailies are:

The Nation and Thisday newspapers.

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3.3 Sample Size

The research sample size are the issues of The Nation and Thisday newspapers

published between January 2010 to December 2010, making it a period of twelve

months. This amounted to 730 issues of newspapers. The sample size of this study

will be determined using the TaroYamane formula as stated in Ogbuoshi (2006).

N
As n= 1+ N ( e ) 2

Where ‘n’ stands for the desired sample size,

‘N’ stands for the population under study,

‘e’ stands for the limit of tolerable error assumed to be 5% or 0.05, and

‘1’ for the unity in value which is always constant.

Error limit could be high or low (0.05, 0.08, 0.10 etc). It all depends on the size of the

population. When the population is very large, higher rate of error or limit could be

used to have a desired and manageable sample size.

The population under study represents all available editions of the two newspapers in

a year (365 + 365 = 730) With the stated formular, the sample size will be derived as

follows

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 730
Sample size 1+ 730 ( 0.05 ) 2

730
1+ 730(0.0025)

730
= 731 (0.0025)

730
=399.45
1.8275

n = approximately 400 editions

Hence, the sample size for each newspaper is 200 editions.

3.4 Sampling Techniques

The sampling technique is a plan specifying how elements can be drawn from a

population. A simple random sampling technique was adopted in selecting the two

newspapers while purposive sampling technique was used in selecting the editions of

coverage by the two newspapers under study.

3.5 Instrument for Data Collection

Code sheet for content analysis is the instrument used for data collection.

The code sheet was developed from the coding guide. The coding sheet delineates the

content stories in ways which will guide the researcher in collecting data for the study.

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It has the advantage of converting data generated into easily understandable numerical

values with signs or symbols representing specific attribute of a given valuables and

indication. The researcher conducted a pilot study, the essence of which is to check for

inter-coder reliability. In the course of doing this, the researcher trained other coders

who did their own coding and was later compared to determine extent of reliability.

Unit of Analysis

The following unit of analysis was adopted to guide the qualification, analysis and

coding of the newspapers sampled.

The items in all the two dailies (The Nation and ThisDay) were content analyzed

based on the following:

News stories

Feature stories

Opinion Articles

Editorials

Cartoons Content Categories

The content categories under which each of these units will be analyzed are:

Frequency: This refers to the number of times the Re-branding Nigeria Project was

mentioned in the selected newspapers. It is going to be analyzed based on the number

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of times it appears in each of the selected newspapers (frequency). It could be 1-5

times,6-10 times and 11 times and above.

Prominence: This indicates the placement on pages of newspapers/prominence of

personalities and the depth of usage. Variables that indicate prominence includes:

front page (FP): a story that appears on the front page is seen as the most prominent;

coupled with the size of stories. Back page (BP); this is the next in prominence

compared to inside page. Inside page (IP); By virtue of this position, inside page is the

least in prominence. Pictures of prominent persons were also analyzed as used by the

newspapers.

Volume: This is concerned with the extent of coverage of the issues of Rebranding

Nigeria Project by the selected newspapers. It would be discovered by the amount of

space devoted to each story. It is going to be categorized as 0-15, 15-30, 30-above (in

column inch).

Slant: This refers to the direction of the coverage”. The slant is going to be

categorized under positive, negative and neutral news.

Illustration: This is going to be categorized under (AS) above the story, (US) under

the story, (BS) below the story. Illustration here refers to pictures.

3.6 Validity and Reliability

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The essence of validity of the instrument is to determine whether it can give the

desired result when used to gather data for the research.

On the other hand, reliability looks at internal consistency of the instrument for data

collection. Here, the researcher exposes the instrument to collection of same data by

other persons to check inter-coder reliability.

According to Wimmer & Dominick (2011:172), “intercoder reliability can be

calculated by several methods. Quoting Holsti (1969), they pointed out that he reports

this formula for determining the reliability of nominal data in terms of percentage of

agreement.

3.7 Method of Data Analysis

In this study, the data generated were presented in tables with simple percentage

analysis. The researcher adopts both quantitative and qualitative methods of analysis.

The former employs the use of tables where data are quantified in frequencies and

simple percentages. On the other hand, each result is qualitatively analyzed in relation

to the research questions formulated for the study.

37