Mass Media and Re-Branding Nigeria Project: A Historical Evaluation of a Failed Government Policy

Abstract

Mass media exercise extra-ordinary influence on the state and citizenry of every country and the ability of media to facilitate man’s behavioural change through its agenda- setting role makes them central in the re-branding process. The implication became that those politicians who champion the re-branding process tried to win the citizenry’s legitimacy through the media. This paper shows that the major challenges of the re-branding project include the inability of the Nigerian political leadership to re-brand themselves, corruption in every sphere of our national life, national insecurity, advance fee fraud, collapse of the education sector, poverty. It revealed that peace is a multi-dimensional term, which creates new environment for progressive nation building process. The rebranding project finally failed when the protagonist minister went to contest for senatorial election and his successor refused to step into her re-branding project shoes. This work called for the rise of a new government and media that would engage in ethical politics through sound leaders, priming, peace building, ethical education, etc as the roadmap to sustainable peace, security and national re-branding. The paper concluded by showing that it is only a national re-branding that is championed by the masses which can lead the citizenry to the desired goals of being a real Giant of Africa.