Reputation is not a superficial concept but is directly tied to trust, credibility and long-term sustainability, the convener of Pivot Nigeria, Victoria Uwadoka, has said.
Uwadoka, who is Lead Consultant at HighStakes PR Professionals, spoke at the second edition of the Pivot Nigeria Conference held on Tuesday at La Scala, MUSON Centre, Lagos.
Themed “The Reputation Dividend: Who Pays for Nigeria’s Perception?”, the conference brought together stakeholders from the creative industry, media, communications and corporate sectors to examine the relationship between Nigeria’s reputation, public trust, economic opportunities and national development.
She advocated the need for collective action by citizens, government, businesses, institutions and the media to strengthen Nigeria’s reputation and promote a more balanced national narrative.
Uwadoka said individuals, organisations and nations depend on reputation as a foundation for building relationships, attracting opportunities and sustaining confidence.
She also said the conversation was particularly significant as Nigeria prepares to commemorate its 66th Independence Anniversary on October 1, noting that the country gained independence from Britain on October 1, 1960.
She explained that responsibility for Nigeria’s reputation should not rest solely with government, as citizens, businesses, institutions and media organisations also influence how the country is perceived.
“There is a lot about us that is great. We have made progress in so many ways,” she said, urging Nigerians to recognise their collective responsibility in shaping the country they desire.
She argued that Nigeria’s age should be considered alongside what the country had achieved, learnt and built over the years.
She noted that while Nigeria had developed policies and institutional frameworks across several sectors, sustained implementation remained necessary to translate those initiatives into tangible benefits for citizens.
She said efforts to improve Nigeria’s reputation must begin from within, with citizens developing greater confidence in their abilities while creating products, services and solutions capable of competing internationally.
She also urged government to create an enabling environment through sound policies, infrastructure and other conditions that would allow citizens and businesses to thrive.
“Trust is also an infrastructure. Perception is an infrastructure,” Uwadoka said, stressing the need to deliberately strengthen both as part of Nigeria’s development process.
She advised the media to tell more balanced Nigerian stories by reporting the country’s challenges alongside its achievements, rather than presenting a one-sided narrative.
Uwadoka said Pivot Nigeria was established to examine how Nigerians perceive themselves and how such perceptions influence the way the country is experienced by others.
“If you say you’re a lion, behave like a lion,” she said, urging Nigerians to demonstrate through their conduct the values associated with the country’s description as the “Giant of Africa.”
She challenged citizens to examine their individual conduct, including professionalism, punctuality, discipline, ethics and respect, noting that every Nigerian contributes to the country’s reputation through everyday interactions.
“When people meet me, I am the Nigeria that they meet,” she said, urging citizens to recognise the impact of their personal conduct on the country’s wider image.
Veteran actor and filmmaker, Richard Mofe-Damijo, popularly known as RMD, said Nigerians should distinguish between honestly acknowledging the country’s challenges and condemning Nigeria without contributing to solutions.
Mofe-Damijo said efforts to reframe Nigeria’s image should not involve ignoring its problems, but should encourage citizens to confront challenges and pursue practical solutions.
He urged Nigerians to see themselves as ambassadors of the country, arguing that nation-building required citizens to take responsibility for the kind of society they wanted to create.
The actor cited the international growth of Afrobeats and the achievements of Nigerian entrepreneurs as examples of how local talent, enterprise and persistence could influence global perceptions of Nigeria.
He also called for greater accountability in public leadership, saying citizens have a responsibility to demand accountability from those entrusted with public office.
On Nigeria’s 66 years of independence, Mofe-Damijo described the country as a work in progress, stressing that its age should reinforce the need for patience, consistency and deliberate nation-building.
Also speaking, Head, Corporate Affairs and Sustainability, Rite Foods Limited, Ekuma Eze, said changing Nigeria’s narrative required a paradigm shift that should begin from the family and extend to institutions and wider society.
Eze urged Nigerian companies to build to international standards rather than being constrained by perceptions surrounding locally made products, saying globally competitive businesses could attract investment, create employment and contribute to economic growth.
He added that citizens must identify areas where they could make meaningful contributions to national development, stressing that sustainable progress could not depend solely on solutions coming from outside the country.
The Pivot Nigeria 2026 conference consequently placed Nigeria’s reputation within the wider context of citizenship, leadership, business, media, culture and national development, with participants emphasising the need to combine honest storytelling with measurable action.
