UNILAG Mass Comm Alumni hold annual lecture targeted at branding Nigeria

The University of Lagos (UNILAG) Mass Communication Alumni Association (UMCAA) will hold the 2019 edition of its annual distinguished lecture series on Thursday, May 21.

This year’s event, the third in the series, has as its theme, “Brand Nigeria: Ignite”, and will be delivered by Akin Oyebode, a professor of international law, at the University’s main hall, according to a statement issued by UMCAA.

The lecture will attempt to look at Nigeria with a cursory focus on what and why it has not moved beyond its current stage of development, as well as “help governments set up and adjust policies to grow the nation.”

“A look at the political, business, social, and cultural spectrum of Nigeria reveals a country that is ill-defined, underperforming businesses, social unrest, and dysfunctional values. Both the older Nigerians and the Millennial are wary of anything Nigerian,” the UMCAA statement read in part.

“Worst is that, they are unable to define, describe, or delineate what it is to be a Nigerian. You could say that Nigeria, and the Nigerian, are amorphous concepts. Though the passports that Nigerians carry identifies them as Nigerians, the citizens define themselves according to their ethnic nationality, religion, and other parochial interests.

“If branding is a “pull strategy” that works by getting the consumers or the Target Market to buy into a product or service so that they do not quite need the “push” promptings of a salesman before they make a repeat purchase, one will understand why Nigeria is such a hard sell.”

The lecture would question the aspirations of the country and resolve whether the aspirations of unity, harmony, equality, dedication to inter-African solidarity, world peace, principles of freedom,  provision of good government and welfare of Nigerians, are adequate as obtained in the preamble of the 1999 constitution.

Steve Omojafor, a veteran brand expert, will be the chairman of the lecture, while the panelists will include Jimi Awosika, Vice Charman Troyka group, owners of Insight/Redefini agency, Oluyinka Esan, an  Associate Professor from the University of Winchester, United Kingdom, and Simon Kolawole, the founder and Managing Editor of Cablenews online newspaper.

The event will also feature the launching of a book on research titled ‘Research Methods in Communication and Media Studies’, jointly edited by three scholars Victor Ayedun-Aluma, Olubunmi Ajibade and Bolu Afolayan.