The focus of this article is to quickly examine some Nigerian Cities with strong potentials as City brands.

On a current jingle by one of Africa’s leading airlines, there is a subtle invitation to see the Kenyan city of Mombasa; the attraction as mentioned in the ad is the ‘white sands beaches’ of this East African city. In the same way, everytime we see or hear any advertisement relating to Dubai, the primary appeal is always tied to the ‘shopping’ paradise that the city offers.

Thus, as the need for more deliberate branding of our cities becomes more imperative, the attendant challenge is ‘How to find strong peculiarity platforms to position our Places such that will not only be unique, but also have strong appeals and be deliverable at all same time?’

Sleeping Giants

Nigeria’s unbelievable amalgamation of several hundred diverse nationalities and vast expanse of land has presented her with an amazing mix of people, culture and resources, from which numerous unique sellable destination propositions could be derived, but, our hitherto poor level of enlightenment, lack of requisite vision and political will, as well as undue reliance on earnings from oil, have prevented us from even making strong enough attempts at identifying our place potentials and effectively promote them through Tourism Marketing, talk less of reaping the treasures that await us from the many places that we boast of.

With the on-going but gradual shift in the composition of the ruling class, a few of our states and cities are beginning to wake up to the reality of destination Branding and are taking the essential steps.

Cross River State

Always a good example among its peers, CRS is rightly creating some sparks by harnessing the potentials of its naturally beautiful place; it’s beautiful people and their colorful culture; as well as its world class infrastructures that promote a calm easy-going day life, allowing you to go about your businesses and activities with minimal fuss; as well as a vibrant everyday night life (just like Lagos) with some level of security, and through a number of Brand Management activities, is projecting itself as a world class fun place …truly like in Paradise.

Abuja:

Abuja has presence, prerequisite, and potential. The Federal Capital Territory also has a beautiful place. The city’s landscape is quite appealing and other planned aspect of this central point together with its world class amenities and infrastructures all make it an interesting place to either visit or live in.

The pulse of Abuja is quite upbeat. But the issue is that it only revolves around the political activities in the federal capital and its attendant intrigues. How much interest this holds for foreigners and potential tourists other than government contractors and lobbyists in the corridors of power, remains to be seen.

However, with the fast-developing and interesting perception of Abuja as the ‘International Conference Center of the World’ and the place remaining the ‘Federal Capital’, the Pulse, Presence, and Prerequisite will always keep Abuja awake and take it to its full potential.

Lagos State

Although, Lagos is struggling to cope with its myriad of problems as with many highly metropolitan places world over, there can be no better place than Lagos. A developed coastal city renowned the world over; ‘Ilu Eko’ has not even optimized the opportunities that come with being positioned as the ‘Center of Excellence’.

Apart from its famed perception as the home of trade and commerce, several other platforms exist upon which the state could build a strong peculiar platform. How about the state being the Mecca for those seeking pastures green? …schooling people in the art of working hard and working smart? What with the state’s entertainment activities which vibrancy remains unmatched anywhere else in Africa? Even such light-hearted feature as the state’s lively night life and its accompaniments like ‘point and kill’ pepper soup can be projected to the international community.

But the strongest peculiarity that the state can promote is the Eyo festival that is not found anywhere else in the world. Eyo is a masquerade like no other and is entirely unique to Lagos State. This unshared peculiarity can be built upon through a massive brand management and event marketing drive that involves building in certain attractive values into the Eyo festival celebration, and positioning it beyond being a merely ‘Lagos Island’ thing.

Abeokuta …The Captivating Rock City

When an affluent European, partially resident in the U.K. and Lagos, with significant business interests in Lagos, Ibadan, and Port-Harcourt suddenly chooses to relocate and settle permanently in a Place just after seeing it once, then you know you have a Hot Spot on your hands! This inexplicably scenic rock city remains the most beautiful place I have seen in the Nigerian nation.

However, how up to date are the infrastructures in the place? Also, Abeokuta is massively short on presence and pulse, while its people and potential are not clearly defined and needs to be articulated. A proper brand management approach is required to position, project and promote this unique and fascinating place that could be Nigeria’s answer to the world-famous Cape Town in S.A.

Katsina and other Northern Cities

Katsina has quite a number of interesting platforms upon which to establish its brand. It is purpoted to be home to the longest stretch of the legendary baobab tree in Africa (now we can play up the baobab and its essence); and home to the Goborau Minaret, the over 200 year old tallest mud-brick building in the country which offers fascinating view to tourists; as well as an all-year round agricultural system.

Jos is said to have weather much like that of Europe. Given certain other facilities, this perception could provide a basis for positioning Jos as a ‘virtual European vacation destination’.

Kano has a quiet perception revolving around ‘trading in gold’. I honestly don’t know how this is so, but that is a peculiarity that could be developed to position the city for a significant share of the global trading in gold.

Akwa Ibom is said to boast of the longest coastal region in Nigeria or Africa; whichever it is, this fact can be combined with its renowned people and culture factors to assume an interesting positioning ahead of other riverine areas.

Osun State could take advantage of the world famous Osun Osogbo festival that draws participants from all over the world, make it bigger, properly brand it and position it as the annual pilgrimage for traditional religion faithful the world over through massive and subtle communication and event marketing.

Benin City is another place that could become a potentially strong brand. Its uniqueness is quite evident in its strongly ancient and rustic features: the architecture, costumes, culture and the world-famous bronze art works among others, could be veritable platforms for positioning this historical city with a rich heritage

Beyond states, Local Governments and smaller cities within cities in our metropolis could also take the Brand Management road and project their places for prominence and prosperity. For example, Surulere as ‘Sports City’ or the ‘Home of Nollywood’