Re-Branding Nigeria: Beauty and the Beast

Prof. Dora Nkem Akunyili

Re-Branding Nigeria: Beauty and the Beast

The beauty of Prof. Dora Nkem Akunyili is epitomized by her incorruptible personality. She is patriotic and pragmatic in her commitment to the nation building of a New Nigeria.

She became a national icon of patriotism and pragmatism and a popular role model for Nigerians when she was a successful Director General of National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and used her position for the control and prevention of fake pharmaceutical products, foodstuffs and beverages in Nigeria. Her daring campaign against the importation, production and distribution of counterfeit drugs and unsafe food and subsequent destruction of fake drugs made her the heroine of the Nigerian government. Then surprisingly she was appointed as the new Minister of Information and Communication when most Nigerians thought she would have been more suitable as the Minister of Health. Dora Akunyili the Amazon accepted the challenge of her new office and soon came up with the banner of Re-branding Nigeria.

I see re-branding of Nigeria as the conscientization of Nigerians to develop a national consciousness for the reformation and redemption of Nigeria after decades of socio-political decadence and the institutionalization of corruption in public office.

Nigerians have been maligned and stigmatized all over the world as the infamous perpetrators of the 419 Yahoo-Yahoo Internet scams and shameless corrupt public officials. Nigeria has the worst reputation among African countries in the global village. Dora Akunyili believes we can redeem the battered image of Nigeria and came up with the new slogan of great nation, good people, but she has been confronting dissenting voices of opposition from several local and international quarters of cynical Nigerian skeptics and pessimists who have given up hope on the redemption of Nigeria. They do not doubt her capability, but they are afraid that she would not be able to reform Nigerians who are incorrigible criminals and who do not have scruples.

Behaviour change is tough, but no matter how disappointed most Nigerian are, Dora Akunyili believes that Nigerians are really redeemable. She reminds me of the fable of Beauty and the Beast.
But can the beauty of the incorruptible heroine tame the beast of corruption on rampage in Nigeria? My answer is yes, Dora Akunyili can do it and we should give her all the cooperation and support she needs for the redemption and transformation of corrupt Nigerians for the nation building of a New Nigeria that we can be proud of as a great nation of good people.