It surely has not been a good year so far to be a Nigerian; from the rude shock of the Muttalab saga, to the ever-continuing spectacle of our missing president, it has simply been raining on our proud parade. 

Throw in fall-out elements like our terror listing, possibly fake signing of our national budget, queer presidential “interview” on BBC, exponential failure of the power sector and astonishing fuel scarcity, then you start to hear comments like "I need a different nationality and a new passport!" 

The essence of a brand is really the promise believed in the minds of the consumer, or shall I say target audience. Hmmmnn...........what holds true in the minds of those stony eyed consular officials when you hand in your little green token of hope? Your very own brand identifier; your Nigerian passport. What gives in the mind of that immigration officer who becomes 140% alert once she spots your green mark as you enter into her country? What's our brand promise in the minds of the world leaders we so yearn to interact with? Obama, any comments? 

Let's bring it home a bit, what's the impact of our brand 'Nigeria' on our African brothers? The Ghanaians we so enthusiastically chased out years ago, and now swarm into their country like gnats. The South africans? District 9 said enough. 

The loose classification of a Nigerian as one who's generally ingenious but is constantly looking for the shortest possible route in any situation, overly materialistic, innately corrupt and the seeming inability to simply do what is right is now giving way to a new bigger brand. Coincidentally, this new brand was birthed just after our ill-conceived 'good people, great nation' campaign. This new brand has consolidated all the woes of Nigeria’s past. It now holds the promise of a nation of terrorists, visionless but self satisfying leadership, and nonchalant citizenship! Simply put, it holds the promise of a dying nation. 

What to do? Well, I believe every turning point starts with a thought; that inner recess, where we all try to put things in perspective on issues that affect us. That thought that governs how we relate with one another, how we drive (how we amazingly do one- ways and run red lights), how we do business, express our opinion, conduct ourselves in position of authority. If we are truly tired of the mindless spiral we found our selves in, then let's start the thought process, which, if we are sincere, can birth a true revolution of our mindset as a nation. 

Let us rethink our ways. Beyond that, let's spread that rethink culture to those around us, most especially our leaders. No amount of protesting the image the world paints of us will change their perspective except we demonstrate our change in our every day lives.

As someone said "Everything great thing that has happened to humanity since the beginning, has occurred as a single thought in someone's mind and if any of us is capable of such great thoughts then all of us have the capacity, capability because we are all the same."

Rethink Nigeria