The Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Mr Adewale Adeniyi, says reputation plays a key role in every aspect of human and national development.
Adeniyi said this on Thursday in Abuja, shortly after the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR) unveiled him as chairman of the Nigeria Reputation Management Group (NRMG) committee.
According to him, any individual, organisation, state or nation that wants to be taking seriously by its peers must make deliberate effort to promote the culture of “reputation consciousness”.
“Unfortunately, many African nations do not recognise the power of reputation in turning their economies around.
“ Though intangible in nature, reputation as a concept is so critical that if its components are properly understood, will position any country for greater value, global relevance and remarkable competitiveness.
“ I am delighted that this great idea of NRMG is a product of an institute which mandate revolves around reputation building and management,” he said.
Adeniyi said that the global perception of the country was poor and the impact of this was heavily felt in the nation’s economy.
“ I believe that a renewed commitment and deliberate effort to strengthening the country’s reputation will yield the right results.
“ May I assure the institute and our stakeholders across the nation that I will do my best to ensure that the objectives of this important initiative are achieved,” he said
He urged the Federal Government as well as the state governments to accord reputation matters priority attention.
“Every reputational error from individuals, organisations or government distorts development, and affects our global outlook and rating, thus retarding progress,” the C-G said.
Earlier, the President of NIPR, Dr Ike Neliaku said that the committee would correct the misrepresentation of the country.
Neliaku said that the committee members would be saddled with the responsibility of developing the context, create content and provide the strategy for the sustainable establishment of NRMG.
He said that they would also recommend vital social, economic and cultural activities that could be leveraged to boost the nation’s reputation
“Consider and recommend appropriate operational modalities including timelines for the take-off of NRMG in Nigeria
“The committee will also identify and recommend relevant partners and stakeholders to the NRMG project and advise on strategies for engaging them.d
” It will identify critical national assets, establishments, organisations and agencies of government which activities impact Nigeria’s national reputation, consider and recommend programmes to be undertaken by the NRMG when established,” he said.
He urged them to also organise and reconvene the annual Nigeria Reputation Summit in October each year from 2024, as a world-class, flagship event of NIPR to add value to government and citizens.
He advised members on ways and means of ensuring guided execution and well-coordinated implementation of outcomes of the annual Nigeria Reputation Summit.
