27th March 2009. Press Release.
LAGOS AC CARPETS FG’S REBRANDING PROJECT.
The Lagos State chapter of the Action Congress has joined in the growing criticism against the present re-branding project of the federal government, describing as a drainpipe that will lead to nowhere. The party insists that what needs urgent repair and rebranding in Nigeria is the country’s tottering leadership that has led a great country to perdition without being apologetic about it.
In a release in Lagos, signed by the party’s Lagos State Publicity Secretary, Joe Igbokwe, the AC says that nothing is wrong about Nigeria as a country and her people but everything is wrong with an inept, corrupt and rudderless leadership that has ran the country aground and are now talking about rebranding. The party therefore advises the federal government to stop this jamboree and face the real tasks of leadership, which it believes, is the best and most practical way to rebrand Nigeria.
“We insist that Nigerians are indeed good people and the country a good country. We need no sloganeering or jamboree to know this. The problem bugging the country remains the leadership, which seems to be on a one-course mission to lead the country to perdition. A leadership that has consistently refused to change and which rebuffs every move to repent is not an ideal institution to drive any rebranding project. Anybody presenting a baby to the world must present a healthy baby and not a sick and kwashiorkored one. Nigeria’s problem, as has been consistently identified and proved, is basically that of a corrupt, inept, inane and mediocre leadership that has expended its energy shortchanging a good people and a good nation.
“We cannot reconcile the present empty sloganeering that forms the crust of the rebranding project with the charred history of election annulment, political assassinations, wholesome electoral fraud, gross injustices, massive corruption, high rate of crime, armed robbery, assassinations, 419, religious fanaticism, ethnicism, tribalism, enduring and widespread poverty, galloping and uncontrollable inflation, impunity, diseases, want, decay, etc. That most of these disabilities are man-made and are indeed caused by the leadership that are now embarking in this project, shows that what the country needs urgently is the rebranding of its leadership to meet with the quality of the people of Nigeria and the country itself.
“Lagos AC is peeved that the country’s leadership has consistently resisted any efforts to change and adopt better ways of doing things. We sadly note that attempts to deal with corruption remain mere lip service while the leadership, at every level continue to perpetrate mind-bogging corruption that has deepened the poverty level in the country and worsened the problem of development. At present, over 85 per cent of corrupt acts still happen at the federal level, which is parroting this rebranding process and we wonder whether they are rebranding just for its sake or want to improve the bad image Nigeria has faithfully courted for itself.
“Lagos AC believes that rebranding Nigeria is not a tea party and as such, any meaningful rebranding effort will target those misdeeds and anomies for which the country’s leadership is notorious and which has dragged Nigeria down the valley of darkness and decay. Rebranding Nigeria is not about mouthing empty renditions all over town by a leadership that stole their ways callously to power. That Nigerian leaders emerge through the most horrendous criminal ways is enough indictment on the same leadership that is now trivializing rebranding to mean shouting empty slogans all over. It is disheartening that through the most duplicitous of guiles, the present leadership is sabotaging efforts at reforming the electoral process and retaining a soiled and ultra corrupt electoral umpire that has the damned record of conducting the worst ever electoral charade in human history to continue infesting the process with the same fraud that brought the present leadership to power.
“We insist that rebranding Nigeria requires affirmative and conscious efforts and not the present shadow chasing. A country whose leadership cannot solve the problem of power in ten years of record breaking ineptitude, a country which had grown corruption by leaps and bounds even with a nine year oil windfall, a country whose electoral fortunes continues getting worse because of corrupt human factors, a country where lawlessness, indiscipline, impunity, mediocrity and various vices have found home and is greatly courted and grown by the leadership, then rebranding is just another gimmick to keep some people busy. Let the Nigerian leadership, especially at the federal level, get practical and start the process of rebranding by changing their old sly ways and the people will follow. We believe that it is then, and only then, that the real rebranding of a great nation and great people, ran to the ground by bad leadership would start.”
Joe Igbokwe.
Publicity Secretary,
Lagos AC.
