Walking a Tight Rope: Public Perception of Selected Image Reform Projects in Nigeria - 1984 to 2014

Keyword : Evaluation .Public perception .Image problem .Image reform projects .Political corruption.

Author(s) : Josephat Ikechukwu Okoye

Abstract :

For more than three decades, the past Nigerian military-cum-civilian rulers havemade successive attempts to launder the image and reputation of Nigeria and Nigerians via series of image reform policies. There is therefore the need to appraise these image restoration programmes, to ascertain the extent of success or otherwise of such image reform policies initiated by various Nigerian governments right from the early eighties to the present day. In doing this, the researcher adopted descriptive research design and analysed research data from six randomly selected states from the six geopolitical zones of Nigeria. Using Taro Yamane’s formula at 0.5 error margin, a sample size of 400 respondents was statistically determined for the execution of the study. The findings of the study indicated that political corruption was perceived as the major source of Nigeria’s image quagmire. The result of the study revealed amongst others, that Nigerian governments’ insensitivity, prohibitive and deceptive approach to governance from the early eighties till date was perceived as the major impediments to the successful implementation of the country’s image reform projects. To effectively surmount Nigeria’s sagging image problem, the researcher recommended among others, that the Federal government should meaningfully engage a team of public relations experts, to assess the extent of success or failure of such projects like the ‘Heart of Africa’ and ‘Rebranding Nigeria’ project. The outcome of the enquiry should be adequately matched with deliberate planned and sustained multi-faceted actions aimed at revamping the image of Nigeria and Nigerians within and outside the country.

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