Nigerians Struggling to Improve Their Image

Upon landing at London’s Gatwick Airport one recent morning, the Nigerian travelers were separated from the rest and ushered into a room.

British customs officials proceeded to comb through their suitcases, while frisky hounds poked their muzzles into the group’s handbags and thoroughly sniffed their body parts.

“They were looking for drugs,” recalled Dan Agbese, editor in chief of Newswatch, a respected weekly newsmagazine published here in Nigeria’s main city, his voice still tinged with humiliation. “We were all Nigerians, and they thought we were all carrying drugs.”

Such incidents stem from what many here say is an unflattering stereotype that casts all Nigerians as drug smugglers, swindlers and social parasites.

“Nigerians are being dehumanized,” said Olisa Agbakoba, a human rights lawyer and leading pro-democracy activist, noting that in some countries his Nigerian passport has prevented him from cashing traveler’s checks.

To improve its reputation--and woo Western investors--Nigeria has launched a $10-million campaign, taking out flattering ads about itself in Newsweek and other international publications and hiring high-profile PR firms to advise on image control.

Ruder Finn Inc., whose clients have included L. L. Bean and the Vatican, has been retained to explain why the government has drawn negative publicity. (But the company has never “promoted or lobbied for” Nigeria’s military regime, said Abigail Golden-Vazquez, senior account executive at the New York-based PR firm.)

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Many Nigerian entrepreneurs have joined the drive to bolster their country’s reputation.

“I think Nigeria is potentially the greatest country on Earth,” said Fidelis Akpom Jr., owner of D’African Perspective, a company that focuses on fostering integration and understanding among Africans through music, the arts and cultural exchanges. “It has human resources, is naturally endowed, and there is an intellectual prowess, dynamism and competitive nature in every Nigerian.

“The sad thing,” he added, “is the climate here. The factors that encourage the drive for excellence are not here.”

Most disturbing to many Nigerian scholars and average citizens is that years of being snubbed and criticized by outsiders now seem to be resulting in damage to the national psyche. Most Nigerians have simply come to expect and accept shoddy treatment, they say.

But others say Nigerians deserve their bad reputation because of the notorious graft, mismanagement and gross human rights abuses of their leader, Gen. Sani Abacha.

“When the head is rotting, almost every part of the body is rotting,” said Segun Jegede of the Lagos-based Committee for the Defense of Human Rights. “This is a government of corruption, a government of deceit. The onus is on us to get rid of the military dictatorship once and for all.”

Indeed, much of the world views this West African giant as a pariah.

Although it is the United States’ largest trading partner in Africa--the U.S. imports about 50% of Nigeria’s total oil output--the country has been “decertified” by the State Department because of its failure to clamp down on drug trafficking.

U.S. officials estimate that 50% of the world’s heroin traffic, and as much as 40% of the cocaine trade, are handled by Nigerian gangs.

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Though rich in oil and other natural resources, this nation of 104 million people is plagued by chronic fuel shortages, power outages, subpar social services and other symptoms of gross mismanagement. As many as 80% of Nigerians live below the poverty line.

Nigeria has also been condemned internationally for its poor human rights record and disregard for democratic principles.

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Susan E. Rice recently branded it “one of the worst abusers of human rights on the continent.”

More than 100 Nigerians are being detained for political reasons, including Moshood Abiola, widely presumed to be the winner of 1993 presidential elections, which were annulled.

After the execution of noted writer Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight other activists in 1995, Nigeria was suspended from the Commonwealth of Britain and its former colonies. And British customs officials confirmed that passengers arriving from countries known for drug production and trafficking are questioned and sometimes searched.

Some Western nations have imposed limited sanctions to press for democratization and respect for civil liberties.

And last month, two members of Congress--Republican Benjamin A. Gilman of New York and Democrat Donald M. Payne of New Jersey--introduced legislation that would pressure Nigeria to hold free elections. The bill would write into law presidential sanctions imposed against Nigeria since 1973, including a ban on weapons sales. It also would expand visa restrictions on Nigerian leaders if elections are not held this year and prohibit Nigerian sports teams from participating in U.S. events.

Abacha has promised to restore democratic rule through presidential elections scheduled for August. But because all five of the country’s registered political parties have selected Abacha as their candidate, activists say he is expected to win with ease.

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Foes of the regime lament that as long as Abacha is in power, Nigerians will never regain the national dignity and international respect their country once commanded.

During the oil boom of the 1980s, Nigeria was exalted for its prosperity and relative democracy.

“In the past, other Africans were worshiping [us], but now it’s the other way around,” said Agbese, the editor. “Today, the smaller African countries don’t have much regard for us.”

Government officials boast of their positive regional influences. A Nigerian-led peacekeeping force recently helped restore Sierra Leone’s ousted president to power.

And the officials are defensive about their citizens’ reputation.

“The Nigerian people are very hard-working and enterprising,” said Edna Akpan, the government’s director of external publicity. “The West is not interested in positive things happening on the African continent, or the Third World in general.”

J. Z. Gana, a senior diplomat at the Nigerian High Commission in Kenya, pointed out that his country tolerates a high level of criticism and plain insults from the local press that would never be allowed in many other African nations.

“Nigeria is not as bad as people think,” Gana said. “Like any other country . . . it has its problems. What we need from our friends is understanding.”

Dupe Bankole, a 23-year-old university graduate who was recently managing an art exhibition in Lagos, said she hopes that the world stops punishing all Nigerian citizens for the actions of a few.

“I think it is true to say that we have a lot of corruption and malpractice, but it’s not enough to say that Nigerians are all bad,” said Bankole, who has been trying to get a loan or scholarship to study overseas but laments that “no one wants to give Nigerians loans” because “they don’t trust us.”

“If we could somehow relate to [foreigners] that not every Nigerian is a thief,” she said, “we would be in a better position.”