Akonte Onimitemiari Ekine
His Excellency Sir,
“Reputation is the Corner Stone of Power”… Robert Greene (Law 5) in 48 Laws of power
This is my humble summation to you as you continue to strive towards impacting the nation and the citizens positively with the array of policies and programmes you have embarked upon since May 2023.
In my corner, I can say that you are making a very good progress in restoring the economy and hopefully we will all become a better society with the work you are doing.
As a citizen, permit me to pass this message to you with the hope that it will get to your office amongst the many papers that comes to your table or hopefully the managers of the daily news report will draw your attention to it.
Looking at the pages of the media, social and others, I have the burden in my heart that the series of drama happening shouldn’t be if we are deliberate as a government to introduce specific Reputation Management task into the management of the affairs of the government.
I came to this conclusion because of the conversation between the honourable Minister of The Federal Capital Territory and the military personnel at a particular site.
The drama was the height of a display of power holders without the consciousness of reputation or the management of it.
Your Excellency Sir, yes, I am aware that we have Alhaji Mohammed Idris as the Honourable Minister of Information, National Orientation and Mr. Bayo Onanuga as Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Sunday Akin Dare as Special Adviser on Media and Public Communications and and Daniel Bwala as Special Adviser on Policy Communication. These is a very reach team, however, like the team once said in a statement that there is no one single spokesperson for the president or the presidency.
Sir, you have a credible team of experts that have paid their dues in various fields as stated in their profile, however, one critical thing is missing and that is REPUTATION MANAGEMENT.
These gentlemen are experts in dishing out information and the world can see that they are doing their best in ensuring that we are informed, but to what degree.
There is a need for a reputation management special adviser in your cabinet to assist the team in ensuring proper analysis of the reputation of the country, the reputation of the president and the presidency as well as the reputational impact of the policies of the government and the reputation of the ministers and ministries of the government.
We need to have a reputation dashboard in the presidency, that is, if there is none but my expectation is that we should have a Reputation Meter and a Reputation dash board. The same way we have an economy dash board and we see daily information on how the economy is moving or shaping due to the government policies. You can’t afford to allow activities of your various managers at different levels be going unchecked on the reputation dashboard.
Reputation is the soft power of Leadership!
Your Excellency sir, the Minister and the present team are wired to engage in reactive communication of disseminating information, however this is what the Special Adviser on Reputation management will be doing:
1. Strategic Image Management: create a coherent presidential narratives that communicates values, leadership direction and empathy. Monitor public Global and Local perception metrics.
2. Crisis Communication & Damage Control: Anticipate and swiftly respond to reputational risks (scandals, misinformation and policy backlash). Design clear and credible response frameworks before crises occur.
3. Reputation Intelligence: Lead a perception analysis team that tracks social media trends, international press narratives, and diplomatic image issues. Translate these insights into advisory briefs.
4. National Brand Alignment: Work with various Ministers to ensure that the nation’s reputation capital aligns with policy direction. He or she should be the custodian of alignment of policies and the Nigeria brand. Promote the country as a trustworthy, investment-friendly, and stable democracy through consistent storytelling.
5. Stakeholder Engagement: Develop frameworks for managing Your Excellency’s relationship with citizens, media, civil society, and the international community. Ensure that communication feels human, transparent, and accountable — not merely political.
6. Ethical and Value-Based Leadership Projection: Guide Your Excellency in embodying integrity, empathy, and accountability as cornerstones of reputation.
7. The Special Adviser can act as a moral compass in public presentation and private conduct and this seems lacking for now.
Your Excellency sir, please consider the above as my contribution to your great efforts in rebuilding the country and find a place to juxtapose the content dispassionately against the current tide such that you can attempt engagement of such a character within the system to experiment on the subject and see the outcome.
This is an insider’s perspective for the good of the nation as we continue to renew our hope as a nation.
Thank You
Yours Sincerely
Akonte Onimitemiari Ekine