'Nigeria is a normal brand', NIPR boss

Nigerians have been urged to device practical means of converting the weaknesses and other challenges clogging the country to strengths and opportunities rather than seeing them as doom. The chairman of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR), Dr Rotimi Oladele gave the admonition at a public lecture to mark this year's Press Week of the National Association of Mass Communication Students (NAMACOS), Adekunle Ajasin University Akungba-Akoko chapter. The event, held at the Student Union building of the institution was graced by members of the association, staff and students of the department of Mass Communication and well wishers. Speaking on the topic: Public Relations Practice: Career, Practice and Challenges, Dr Oladele said the result of the comparative analysis of Nigeria with other brands(countries) he had been carrying out for the past 14 days showed that Nigeria was not different from other celebrated brands (countries) across the globe. "Absolutely, there is nothing wrong with the Nigeria brand. It is a normal brand, a normal clime and a normal nation", he claimed. The NIPR helmsman maintained that the evils happening on the shore of Nigeria were zero per cent of the ones happening in other countries. According to him: "As Am talking to you, Venezuela as a nation witnesses minimum of 100 protests per day. So what is the difference between BokoHaram and the Venezuela deadly protests?", he asked. He continued: "In the same way, South Korea faces the same thing; Syria has never known peace for a day. And as am talking to you, you will need to see the kind of politics going on between Scotland and England. Somebody is committing gang rape in India; somebody is also committing robbery in the United States of America". The guest speaker, therefore, chided the Nigerian media for presenting the country negatively to the outside world. He said for instance, if somebody killed in Ghana, the media would put it on the page where such stories could not be easily seen; but said if such a crime is committed in Nigeria, the media would put it on the 'front page'. "So what are u communicating? It is what you call your brand that people will call it", he said. Dr Oladele equally bemoaned lack of patrotism of Nigerians. In his words: "You go to Ghana and call for national anthem, all of them will rise up with patrotic zeal; so also Germany and all other countries. But reverse is the case in Nigeria. If your mindset is against your brand, definitely, what you do will be against it. Oladele however challenged Nigerians to have a change of attitude towards the country as obtained in other saner climes. He noted that Nigeria, like other countries of the world- developed, developing and underdeveloped has weaknesses and strengths, just as we have opportunities and threats, calling on the citizenry to redouble their efforts to the Nigeria project and set her on the path of greatness among the comity of nations.