After weeks of sorting, analyzing and “interpreting” the ideas behind the over 600 entries submitted by contestants in the Amazing Akwa Ibom Logo contest, the jurors and organizers of the contest came public with news of the winners.
The position of the first runner up went to an Akwa Ibom indigene, Edidiong George, and he smiled home with a N150,000 cash prize while Gbenga Oregun an indigene of Ogun State clinched the position of Second runner up which came with a reward of N100,000.
Before I proceed to offering my opinion on the flurry of negative reactions to the outcome of the contest, let me be quick to applaud the effort of the Hon. Victor Antai-led Akwa Ibom state Ministry of Culture and Tourism for putting together the contest.
This is because it seems logical to deduce that the contest might well be a curtain-raiser to the unveiling and implementation of the tourism development blueprint that the Governor Udom Emmanuel’s administration has drawn up for the sector.
The figures of the past few years have been compelling as they have been inviting.
Data from the World Travel and Tourism Council reveal that Nigeria’s tourism sector in 2016, made an appreciable contribution of about N4.25billion naira to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product and directly supplied 661,000 that year alone.
By 2026, this figure is expected to rise to 943,000 jobs, an increase of 3.6% per year.
Other factors also tend to support the need for Akwa Ibom state to fully harness its tourism potentials.
For instance, one cannot discount the positive influence the relative peace in the Akwa Ibom and Cross River states region has had in growing the figures of the annual Calabar street carnival.
This factor would also work in Akw Ibom state’s favour. In 2015, the Calabar street carnival attracted participants from nine countries, including Brazil, Spain, France, and Italy.
Also, The economic strain we have experienced for months is forcing a lot of people to look for cheaper alternatives to their Dubai travels.
All these are pointers to the fact that should the Akwa Ibom state government gets its acts right, it might become an influential player in the nation’s tourism landscape.
In this bid, Hon. Victor Antai will have his strong desire to conquer newer territories and his desire to learn what works, going for him.
Let me now address some of the negative reactions that have trailed the outcome of the logo contest on some social media platforms.
As soon as news broke that the winner and second runner up in the logo contest were not Akwa Ibom indigenes, some commentators of Akwa Ibom descent on social media went into frenzy in condemning the decision of the panel to settle for two non-Akwa Ibom indigenes as winners.
To these people, non-indigenes had no business whatsoever in emerging winners in that contest. I was shocked at the attempt to seek for correctness in this non-issue.
In as much as I am a vocal advocate for “local content” participation and involvement in initiatives and programmes of government, I will never stoop to sacrificing a greater good in the altar of indigenous considerations.
It therefore means that if we were alive in 1897 when a British Journalist and writer, Flora Shaw gave the name to Nigeria we would have questioned her effrontery to give us the name.
I think we need to decide what we want. Do we really want to open our doors to the benefit that meritocracy that is not inhibited by any sentiment brings or we just want to massage our egos as sons and daughters of the soil.
For a tourism identity material like a logo which will contributing to drive our message of inviting OUTSIDERS TO AN EXPLORE AKWA IBOM, I THINK SUCH PETTY sentiments were not, and will never necessary. This is 2017 and the world has changed.
The second negative reaction that trailed the announcement of the winning entries in the logo contest bothered on the communicativeness of the winning logo.
Quite a number of commentators held and still stand by the opinion that the wining logo which is a picture of orange-coloured feathers and a mask is not a unique and an apt representation of the theme for the contest – “Amazing Akwa Ibom…the preferred destination”
In all sense of honesty, I hold that view too.
A logo is an important part of a brand. I should know this because I studied and currently work as a brand strategist and perception manager.
Overtime, people will logically tie their brand recognition capabilities to the logo of a particular brand. More often than not, once someone sees a logo, the perception the person has about a brand unconsciously springs up in their heads.
I honestly think that except they were constrained by below-par entries that were antithetical to the theme, the jurors should have looked out for a simple, imagination-triggering and unique logo that would have furthered communicatively, the cause which the state is hoping to pursue in her tourism sector.
The first thing that comes to mind with our new logo seems to be a carnival float and Calabar street carnival which happens yearly a few kilometers away is not what we want to imitate. To my mind, the logo which was adjudged the first runner up gives more room for positive imagination than the winning logo.
I am sorry, but even the logo that pictures the Ibom connection in Uyo which people are pushing as a better option is too simplistic and fail to capture the theme of the contest.
WE ARE NOT TRYING TO APPEAL TO THE AESTHETIC TASTE OF AKWA IBOM PEOPLE alone but trying to appeal to a national and international audience. The question is: CAN A FOREIGNER SITTING IN BRAZIL FOR instance, see a logo picture of the ibom connection and be moved to want to visit Akwa Ibom state?
What compelling tourism narratives can we weave around the Ibom connection that will trigger the imagination of a tourist to want to come see it?
Take the Burj Khalifa which continues to find its way into tourism identity materials in Dubai for instance, its reputation as the tallest building in the wall is a compelling reason for most tourists to want to visit city.
And I am strongly persuaded that the logo connection with the Ibom connection must have ruin its chances since it is partial depiction of another work of art - THE IBOM CONNECTION, thereby failing to meet the uniqueness requirement of the contest.
Again, in the pantheon of tourism identity materials, a logo is a small, (although powerful) part of the material. There is the events, the campaign materials like videos and others.
But in all these, except we are convinced that we have the powers to reverse the verdict of the jurors, then, I am afraid, we might be flogging a dead horse by our agitations on the issue.
For if we dwell long enough on the issue of non-communicativeness of the logos, we may lose sight of some weightier matters that deserves our collective attention in our quest to develop the state tourism sector.
The first weightier matter I think we should consider is: What unique major yearly event with a huge competitive advantage should we come up with that will draw visitors to the state? Aside from the appreciably successful Akwa Ibom Carols festival which appeals to the national and international Christian population, which major will bring together people of diverse religious and cultural beliefs? For instance, Argungu fishing festival draws visitors across religious, ethnic, cultural and geographical lines.
I think we should be proactive enough to have conversations along this line and consequently set agenda for the government.
The second weightier matter we should consider is the conversations and perception we wish to build about Akwa Ibom state to the world, going forward. If an outsider toying with the idea of visiting Akwa Ibom for business or leisure runs a quick search with words “Akwa Ibom state”, will he see images and news reports which will whet his appetite to visit or those which will dissuade him from visiting Akwa Ibom? Shouldn't we begin a conversation that will encourage our journalists and social media commentators to write and push forward commentaries and reports that positions in a positive light. This is because negative reports do not further tourism goals.
We should rather be talking about the need for the Ministry of Culture to commission a capable hand to document major attractive tourist sites for promotion in the cyber space.
We should also talking about how to encourage the Akwa Ibom state government to factor in a well-drawn and tested marketing campaign into the blueprint it has for developing the tourism sector in Akwa Ibom. This is because the sought-after tourist destinations are the most marketed. Dubai is a fitting testament to this.
I may be wrong about this, but I feel that this is the first time in a long while that many Akwa Ibom people are taking their eyes off politics to talk about the tourism sector. By all means brethren, let’s make it count by weaving our conversation around weightier matters.
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