Peter Obi: Marketing and demarketing of Nigeria

country and attract patronage from the international community. Isn’t it best to say the truth about conditions in the country, trusting that the international community would extend its hand of help towards us? Peter Obi did not demarket Nigeria; in fact, he marketed the country by telling the truth, which hopefully will attract sympathy and aid to help millions of suffering people in Nigeria. Surely, many people demarket Nigeria, and Peter Obi is not one of them.

Any Nigerian who has indulged in trafficking hard drugs or benefited from the proceeds across international boundaries has demarketed the country, giving it a bad name. Hard drugs like cocaine, heroin, and other species of banned substances are inimical to human growth. Any Nigerian who has indulged in election violence and ethnic slurs leading to a visa ban has demarketed the country. Today, millions of Nigerians are being harassed abroad about their educational qualifications because some Nigerians lied and forged their educational history. Those are the real demarketers of Nigeria. People who indulge in cybercrimes, defrauding foreigners of their hard-earned funds, are the real demarketers of Nigeria. Any Nigerian who has spent fake, hard currency in a foreign country and was arrested for the same is a demarketer of the country. Any Nigerian who advertises the country in a bad light, engaging in criminal activities that diminish the image of the country in international circles is a demarketer of the country. Even within the country, anyone who drives against the traffic before the glare of a foreigner demarkets the country because some foreign tourists capture these scenes with a camera.

The electoral body and politicians demarket the country when, before international election observers, they manipulate election figures to favour the highest bidder. The judiciary also demarkets the country when judges and judicial officers dance naked in public by taking bribes and perverting justice before the whole world. The Nigerian judiciary is reported to be the most corrupt sector in 2023, taking the highest bribes. Recall that the judiciary affirmed the victory of the current government in 2023. These reports are available in international media channels.

It is a regrettable scenario of demarketing a country when politicians accused of different degrees of heist and embezzlement of public funds end up as lawmakers or occupy sundry leadership positions because they identify with the commanding heights of the country’s political clan. Nigeria is demarketed when Nigerians return to the country and get robbed or killed by either terrorists or even official security authorities like the police and military. Nigeria is demarketed when the police, before the whole world, mount roadblocks and collect money from motorists, killing those who refuse to part with their money.

If we must truly preach that Nigerians should stop demarketing the country, then we must do it with sincerity of purpose, eschewing indulgences that lacerate the image of the country in international circles. However, to ask Nigerians to lie about conditions in the country is to advance the devil’s objectives. God detests lying. Nigerians must be encouraged to be forthright in good behaviour while in the international arena and desist from acts that would bring the name of the country to disrepute.

Peter Obi did not demarket Nigeria in the US, rather, he invited the world to share in our plight and render a helping hand where necessary. Some people have demarketed Nigeria in foreign climes, bringing dishonour and shame to the country, and we know these people. Surfing through international media channels will reveal the identity of Nigerians who have demarketed the country by their actions and past associations. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, in all his intelligence, should be moderate with his use of marketing and demarketing as political instruments so that he does not force Nigerians to begin to dig deeper into the archives to uncover those who have demarketed the country.