Consumers flaw FG’s ‘Change begins with me’ campaign

 Two major factors drive governance; effective communication and clear policy direction. Some stakeholders however believe that the present administration is weak on the two features, a scenario which is creating a backlash.

Some stakeholders, including Ede Dafinone, CEO of Sapele Integrated Industries, Muda Yusuf, LCCI DG have berated lack of policy direction while media experts such as John Ehiguese, CEO of MediaCraft and others have frowned at weak strategic communication.

Observers  have found it difficult to understand the sudden whittle down of communication or lack of it by the present administration that brought it to power. Prior to the elections last year, the ruling party was vocal through the media as it made its agenda clear.

But 16 months after achieving power, its communication on governance and any efforts at fulfilling those promises is either half-baked, not thought through or it is not engaging the citizens enough. On assumption of office, the communication tenacity of the ruling party disappeared.

The government which has been receiving criticisms, principally for lack of effective communication rather than for not meeting its promises to the electorate, recently launched a new campaign ‘Change begins with me’.  Critics believe the campaign is both inappropriate and ill-timed as it amounts to shifting the bulk.

Some commentators said the change should start with leadership and not the led for it to be meaningful. While flagging off the campaign recently President Buhari charged Nigerians not to see the “change” slogan of his administration only in terms of social and economic reforms but also in the role that individual citizens must play in actualising it. According to him, Nigerians can contribute to “change” through the way “we conduct ourselves, engage our neighbours, friends and generally how we relate with the larger society in a positive and definitive way and manner that promotes our common good and common destiny”

The electorate had brought the Party to Aso Rock principally on the conviction of its ‘Change’ mantra and promises made to Nigerians. Among others, it promised to create Change by providing three million jobs per year; provide electricity; improve on exchange rate and provide a meal per day for pupils. “Pushing the change therefore to the electorate is now abdication of responsibility by the Party”, an observer said.

Others who spoke to BusinessDay believed that ‘Change’ should start from the Party’s leadership and with that, obviously it would trickle down. “We also want to see government agents imbibe discipline. In fact the society mirrors what government agents, especially those both in uniform do in the open”, another observer said.

“Change begins with me, I agree but, the government should also take the lead – lead by example, and the people will gladly key into this campaign without the government having to appeal to their sense of reasoning”.

He further said that those in government must learn to look beyond partisan politics and start selling Nigeria as a brand first to its citizen before thinking of foreign investors. Of what good is a product if its manufacturer cannot patronize it, if the people in government brazenly display foreign goods and idea in public how do we expect the man in the private sector not to do same. After all, they can both afford the brand, he said.