The De-Mystification of Brand Soludo

Brand mutation is always a tricky process which can either turn out beneficial, neutral or inimical. The chances of success become slimmer when the playing field is Nigeria’s political waters where successive technocrats have drowned. As Charles Chukwuma Soludo joins the list of celebrated technocrats who could not replicate their success in politics, M2 looks at the fall of one of Africa’s greatest bankers turned politician proffering lessons in personal branding.
Making Soludo
Yetunde Ogundipe

Charles Chukwuma Soludo belongs to the crème de la crème of Nigeria’s intelligentsia. A core professional in macroeconomics, he holds a First Class degree, M.Sc Economics and Ph.D, graduating as the best student at all three levels. He became a professor at age 38!
Soludo studied and taught in many universities including UNN, Oxford , Cambridge and Warwick . He was also a member of the British Department for International Development’s International Advisory Group and worked as a consultant for a number of international organizations including the World Bank and United Nations. He has co-authored, co-edited and authored several books.
In addition to other achievements as a public officer, Soludo is best remembered for the 2004 banking consolidation he wid-wifed as Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria which brought confidence and global recognition for Nigerian banks.

Changing the Brand Image
Joseph Ekeng

At the expiration of his 5 year tenure in CBN in 2009, the ruling PDP chose Soludo as its candidate to re-claim Anambra State which had fallen to rival party, APGA. He was launched into the field amid great fanfare in a party sponsored dinner where N2bn was raised to support his bid. Many PDP bigwigs were in attendance including the Vice, now Acting President Goodluck Jonathan.
But selling the brand even within the home team was a tough call. Soludo was largely regarded as a foreign imposition with no substantive stakes in either the party or the state. No fewer than 50 persons also picked the PDP nomination forms making the field more competitive. Party maneuverings to make Soludo a consensus candidate weakened the PDP structure in Anambra State as well known crowd pullers such as Chris Uba pulled out and joined the growing list of opposition.
These wrangling were largely perceived as an internal crisis orchestrated by seasoned politicians within the PDP, many of whom had lost their credibility with the public. Yet Soludo’s public perception seemed to have suffered no major damage although the prime electorate and wider audience were shocked that the ex-banker, hitherto respected for his brilliance and hailed as the face of a new Nigeria, was an integral part of the chaos. Many independent pre-election polls tipped him ahead of other contestants.
But all the hype, myth and excitement over Soludo’s candidacy failed to deliver on the day of election. Shockingly, he was a distant third. This was seen as a further dent on his resume which has been undermined by shocking revelations coming out of the banking reforms.

Why the campaign did not deliver
Seeni Durojaiye

With his pedigree as a sophisticated brand, it was expected that Soludo would have elevated the level of discourse, making his campaign issues-based. But he toed a heavily beaten path, severally used and abused by politicians before him. This was in conflict with his widely loved image as an innovator and reformist.
The erudite Professor unceremoniously changed his packaging. He immediately dropped trendy and elegant suits for traditional attires. In as much as it was important for him to connect with the people, a sharp transition may not have been the best route. Or was he suggesting that he cared less about Anambrarians as a banker – in suits – assenting to the claim of detractors?
Complementing the new look with gun totting anti-riot policemen, as publicized in newspaper pages, further emphasized the brand’s disconnect with his supposed kinsmen; a crucial market segment in politics.
Soludo’s campaign was synonymous with big talk and he was often criticized for conceit, another departure from his prior posture as a serious minded brand. For a largely conservative catholic electorate, comparing himself to Jesus Christ for any reason (even if to liberate the people from bad leadership) was ill advised. A disgusted public reminded him that even Christ acknowledged the role of his predecessor, John the Baptist.
Recall him saying: “What has happened in Anambra is tragic. It is like a place where darkness has paraded for a while and somebody came, like Ngige (a past governor), and put a small candlelight at one end and people were clapping. Obi (incumbent governor) came and put on a lantern and people were jumping up. But we are telling them that a fluorescent tube with halogen bulb is not only possible, but inevitable. That is what we are bringing to the table; we are not bringing a candle or a lantern”.
African Herald Express on the 1st of December 2009, wrote that “the Economics professor went on to say that he is not surprised that Obi is unable to impact on a first class state like Anambra as he (Obi) is a third class student. He contended that only a first class brain like himself would be able to move a state like Anambra forward.”
These facts underline Soludo’s failure to raise the campaign to issues, instead, he trivialized them, talking about persons, further disconnecting from the people, whose votes he was soliciting.
He sounded more like a lone ranger scarcely incorporating the people in his quest for success. In a debate captured in The Guardian of Saturday 6, 2010, he was quoted thus: “I was a Professor at 38. My records in public service are there for all to see. I drafted Nigeria’s NEEDS and the state framework for SEED. I am happy my governor here (referring to Obi) adopted it and called it ANIDS.” Perhaps, Soludo did not understand that politics was about people, not paper. Pundits maintain that by continually harping on Obi and Ngige, he drew focus away from whatever benefits only the new brand was offering the electorate.
All these suggest that Obi’s emergence as eventual winner of the election was not due only to incumbency advantage. It is largely traceable to the brand of politics that the main contender, Soludo stooped to play.
First, Obi aligned himself with Dim Odumegwu Ojukwu, a prominent opinion leader and symbol of Igbo self-determination. This strategic alliance earned him overwhelming acceptability among primary stakeholders at the expense of rivals.
Though Obi, Soludo and Ngige are Catholics, the incumbent always made this majority group a key constituent in his activities, remembering to carry minority groups along too. When he was criticized for this tactic, he countered that no other indigene had made the same level of contributions as he to the state’s Anglican assembly, the second largest religious body. By so doing, Obi ingratiated himself to both the physical and eternal aspirations of the people.
Obi will also be remembered for running the cleanest campaign of the season. His message of continuity was clear and rose distinctly from the petty mudslinging and name calling with which the opposition had choked the landscape. He was a breath of fresh air and the people of Anambra followed him.

Lessons in Personal Branding
Ralph Tatagatha

Nigeria’s celebrated financial whiz kid had until February 6 been a seemingly perfect brand that many admired and envied. However, his inability to so shine in politics highlights lessons in personal branding.

Authenticity: A personal brand should not have a make believe image that it cannot live up to. Observers reason that Soludo did not package his political brand in a way consistent with his corporate lifestyle as a technocrat. Neither did he convincingly reflect the image of a politician as he did not leverage strongly on the target audience.

People are watching: From the way and manner Soludo carried himself, it was clear he did not take into cognizance the fact that Nigerians, especially Anambrarians were watching. For example, his campaign utterances radically departed from associations bestowed on his personal brand as a visionary corporate citizen. It was not until February 6 and Obi’s victory that Soludo realized that his personal brand was already devalued.

Character Overrides Reputation: What is more important: reputation or character? Soludo thought he was the poster child for impeccable reputation hence his swagger. But reputation, by definition, can be distorted which was clearly the case for him. He was unable to develop a strong political character and therefore lost his flavour.
Experts maintain that the strength of people’s personal brands is determined by their character, which is a product of their habits. It could be said that Soludo undermined his personal brand because he overlooked the value of his character.

Association: Watchers reason that rather than surround himself with individuals capable of giving him sound advice, Soludo worked with people who appeared overwhelmed by his past achievements. The same people made him feel good literally destroying his career and personal brand.

The 30-Second Rule: It takes a lifetime to develop a strong reputation and 30-seconds to destroy it. Soludo did not think before he acted.
Has Soludo’s personal brand been tarnished? Absolutely. Whether it can be restored remains to be seen.

Corporate Titans in Politics
Nedum Aforonwa
Many corporate giants have ventured into the nation’s politics but their ambitions were short lived. These include:
Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola: “M.K.O” is unarguably one of the biggest industrialists to have come out of Africa. His global business tentacles encompassed key industries including oil & gas, telecoms, media, banking, real estate, sports, aviation and shipping. It was said that whatever he touched, turned into gold.
Rivaling his huge business appetite was his legendary philanthropy which saw him emerge as an easy sell to a populace fast losing faith in the Nigerian political brand. He was admired by all irrespective of ethnicity, class or religion. But, his foray into the nation’s politics turned out to be his waterloo, leading to incarceration and eventual loss of lives both for him and his wife as a result of the 2003 general election acclaimed to be the freest and fairest the country has ever had.

Charles Chukwuma Soludo: Prof. Soludo belongs to the crème de la crème of Nigeria intelligentsia. An economics professor, he became the governor of the Central Bank and re-positioned the Nigerian banking industry to command greater confidence and international recognition. Soludo was also a Member of the British Department for International Development’s International Advisory Group; a visiting scholar at several prestigious institutions including the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge; a visiting professor at Swarthmore College; and Consultant to the World Bank and United Nations.
At the height of his campaign for governorship of his native Anambra State, he bragged that he was confident of victory as he had never failed any examination in his life. Perhaps, the Anambra 2009 election was one examination too many as the professor failed, to the gain of the incumbent. Professor Soludo’s sacrosanct persona was badly hit in the mud fight that characterizes the brand of politics played in Nigeria.

Patrick Okedinachi Utomi: A fellow of the Institute of Management Consultants of Nigeria and a Senior Faculty of Lagos Business School, Prof. Utomi needs no introduction. From the television screens, newspaper pages and boardrooms, he breathes mentoring, industry, good governance and empowerment. He was appointed Adviser to the President (at the age of 27!), was COO of Volkswagen Nigeria and has authored many books.
Utomi contested for the 2007 presidential elections on the platform of youths who saw him as the face of a new Nigeria. Even though his African Democratic Congress party could not translate his extensive public goodwill to a single electoral victory, his image remains largely intact.

Harry Akande: Akande describes himself as an international businessman, educationalist, administrator, financial guru, multi millionaire and philanthropist. And this is true.
His venture into politics in 1999 on the platform of the ANPP was dashed at the primaries as he failed to clinch the ticket of the party due largely to the brand of politicking. He has since returned to his businesses said to be scattered across the globe, shunning politics.

Festus Boniface Oha Odimegwu: Odimegwu is a man accustomed to being first. The first son of his parents, he graduated with a first class degree from one of the country’s earliest universities. Also, he was the CEO of the first company to build a fully automated brewery in sub-Saharan Africa. Dr. Odimegwu brought uniqueness, glamour and style to Nigerian Breweries (NB) making it undisputedly the most profitable business in Nigeria.
His staunch support for the unpopular third term misadventure of then President Olusegun Obasanjo prior to the 2007 general elections became his undoing. Public displeasure soon galvanized into a public relations crisis for NB and its parent body, Heineken. Odimegwu lost – in corporate Nigeria and Nigerian politics.