Nigeria’s Election Date Change- Challenges & Business Lessons
Good Afternoon Nigeria and the world at large. I have seen quite a number of reactions regarding the change in dates of Nigeria’s Presidential and Gubernatorial elections. It hurts to see this happen and I hope all relevant stakeholders can take a learning or two from this incident. The importance of communication cannot be overemphasized. Speaking up at the RIGHT TIME when faced with challenges is a vital step towards getting help and consequently resolving those challenges. I dare to say that the displeasure expressed by Nigerians all over right now is not primarily due to the change in date but a few things:
- The When and How of communication: I took the picture below few hours ago and it shows that the change in election date was communicated at about 2:00am this morning. This basically means that INEC (the electoral body) cancelled the election on the day of election. Sadly, people who had traveled from near and far (within Nigeria and from outside Nigeria) to carry out their civic responsibility have been left in the winds. The proper thing to do is to communicate such major changes way ahead so as to enable people, families, businesses etc. to plan efficiently considering what could be at stake. You shouldn’t be communicating your challenges on the day of delivery rather communicating days ahead so that all the parties involved can reach a consensus. Send an email, make a phone call, send a presentation to your client stating the challenges and reasons for the decision with the recommended solutions but this must be done WAY AHEAD of TIME.
2. Understand that you are offering a Service: As someone who works in a service delivery company with focus on customer satisfaction, it is important to communicate with clients when there are challenges so that everyone is on the same page per time. Your clients are neither in your minds nor your office hence, they might not know the exact situation of things. Yes, we know INEC offices and card readers got burnt in some states however, from our homes and offices we cannot tell exactly if the commission was or was not able to resolve these issues. Timely communication helps ensure that the client does not feel like they are not taken seriously. If the government and the regulatory bodies begin to see us the citizenry as their clients, the ones who they should SERVE then, we will see a difference in how this country is being run. Cancelling the delivery of a service (conducting a free and fair election) that had been communicated and agreed upon months ahead on the day of the delivery is the height of disrespect to your clients (Nigerians). Trends on Twitter as at 9:42am this morning reveals how Nigerians feel. Clients are naturally going to take their businesses from you and not refer you to anyone else if you do not treat them or show them that they are your TOP PRIORITY. All top 19 trends below are focused on Election & Nigeria. These clients are definitely displeased.
Do not be deceived by some of the trend names that seem not to have words related to Nigeria or the election because they are code names — I’ll just decode them for you.
Canada: Nigerians are talking about going to Canada considering the realities of the Nigerian election & the several indecisiveness they’ve seen the government exhibit.
Amaka: Amaka is an extract from a song by Tuface and Peruzzi titled ‘’Amaka” where a lady called Amaka disappointed Tuface. INEC is now being referred to as Amaka since they have also disappointed Nigerians.
Esau: People are using Biblical analogy between Jacob and Esau, when Isaac asked Esau to bring him Verizon. Whilst Esau went to get it, Jacob’s mother dressed him like Esau, made his look hairy and his father blessed him instead of Esau. Read Genesis 25:19–34 to decode the details of it.
3. Perception is Reality: How people perceive you, your work ethic, style of communication etc. can go a long way to determine how your business grows and possible partnerships. I am aware that Debola Williams was invited to discuss the Nigeria election with Zain Asher on CNN which means that the world is following up closely on happenings here, but while the world watched and waited for our elections to happen we have shown ourselves as indecisive with some structural issues, this of course would make people perceive Nigeria as a rather unserious country. Surprisingly, Nigeria is filled with very business oriented, creative and entrepreneurial minds who make the most of our realities and build great and enviable business in Africa with Global relevance. @EloUmeh @MoAbudu @LanreDaSilva @UchePedro and many more are some of the people I admire in this category.
Like I said Perception is reality, however people form their opinion about you based on what they hear, see and read about you. See below what the world currently sees about us.
If people run a quick online or offline check on your business, what would they see? If they check you up using search engines like Google search and Bing, Brand listening tools like Meltwater and Brand 24, or Recruitment platforms like Glassdoor and Jobberman to know what current and potential employees are saying about you, what will they find?
It is sad that this is happening, but one thing I am convinced of is that ‘Nigeria will be great again’. I am a Nigerian and a proud one at that — I would not change it for anything. I do hope this speaks to us as Nigeria, Nigerians and Business minded professionals.
I hope you enjoyed this piece.
