In his executive summary of what constitute strong brands, a global business consultant, Nick Cober, says such brands focus on their niche, remain consistent, reflect the communities they serve, create excellent products and services and have strong and authentic personalities. It is debatable to ascribe these attributes to Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in recent time.
When the incumbent governor of the CBN, Mr Godwin Emefiele, announced the plan and justification by the apex Bank to redesign some of the Naira notes on October 26, 2022, he never envisaged that he had unwittingly set up a booby trap that will later plunge the innocent Nigerians into unprecedented fit of rage to withdraw their money from deposit banks.
As of today, the Nigerian economy is predominantly cash based. The Federal Government’s disregard to the Supreme court order is a mockery of the Nigerian legal system. With all his strong campaign for the All Progressive Congress (APC), Festus Keyamo, the party’s spokesman could not hide his condemnation of the abuse of court order by President Buhari, saying he was misadvised. Who are the those misadvising the President and what is the motive? What does it cost the CBN to comply with the court directive which would have calmed the frayed nerves? Hopefully, Emefiele shall one day tell his story and unveil the cabals that have messed him up as the brand personality of the CBN.
Unfortunately, due to bad planning and poor timing, the objectives of the new Naira notes are far from being achieved. Against market expectation of further reduction in inflation rate, the Nigerian inflation rate in January inched up to 21.82 per cent from 21.34 percent in the prior month. Similarly, the country’s foreign reserve has dipped further to $37.1billion on January 30, 2023 from $37.8billion in December, 2022.
Other objectives of the new Naira notes are more of wrong permutations by the apex bank. Nigerians have lost confidence in the financial system. There is trust deficit already. The apex bank’s brand value has lost steam. Many investors would rather prefer to be on the sidelines until after the general election. This is understandable in view of uncertainty in the country.
For the apex bank to remain relevant, it is now a game of brand recovery. The Central Bank shall be more effective and trusted if Nigerians perceive it as transparent. One of the lessons from the global financial crisis of 2008 is the obligation of every central bank to deploy effective communication with all its stakeholders to reduce uncertainty and enhance better policy choices.
The Nigeria Economic Summit Group (NESG) has offered some tips as brand recovery strategies for the apex bank to address its reputational damage. The Bank should embark on gradual phase out of the old notes, an indication of obeying the Supreme Court order. It should take advantage of gradual phase out of the old Naira notes to commence massive production of the new ones. The bank should embark on renewed public enlightenment of Nigerians on the substance and essence of redesigning some Naira notes. This assignment should be undertaken immediately by the CBN’s High Priest of Image Makers, Osita Nwanisobi and his team. The apex bank should lead the campaign for the federal government’s investment in critical infrastructure for seamless transition to cashless economy, especially in the rural areas.
• Oni, an integrated Communications Strategist, Chartered Stockbroker and Commodities Broker
