Not in Our Character
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Not in Our Character was a national-image and public-information initiative that was developed in Nigeria during the military regime of General Sani Abacha in 1995. It began as a national seminar organised by the Kaduna State Government, the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), and New Nigerian Newspapers Limited. The seminar was followed by a book of proceedings and documentary produced by NTA that proved that corruption, fraud and other misdeeds were not the hallmarks of the Nigerian national character..[1]
Although it was an initiative of the Kaduna State Government, the Abacha government eventually took over it and made it a national response to the domestic and international criticism.[2][3]
Background
By the first half of the 1990s, Nigeria's international reputation had deteriorated amid political instability, the annulment of the 12 June 1993 presidential election, allegations of human-rights violations and reports associating Nigerians with drug trafficking and advance-fee fraud. After toppling the Interim National Government of Chief Ernest Shonekan in November 1993, Abacha faced growing opposition at home and criticism from foreign governments and international organisations.[1]
According to Colonel Lawal Jafaru Isa, the then military administrator of Kaduna State, said the immediate reason for initiating Not in Our Character was an American television programme which, in his view, portrayed Nigerians principally as drug traffickers and fraudsters. Colonel Isa assembled a group to examine the TV programme and develop a response which produced a seminar, a publication and a video.[4]
Idi Farouk, who was then Kaduna State commissioner for information, later gave a complementary account in 2024. He said that he persuaded Colonel Isa that the state should undertake a substantial response to the criticism directed at Nigeria and Nigerians. Farouk described the resulting seminar and publication as the origin of Not in Our Character.[5]
National seminar
The campaign formally began at the National Seminar on the Appraisal of the Social and Moral Image of the Nigerian Society, held at the Kaduna State Government House in Kaduna from 7 to 9 June 1995. It was jointly organised by the Kaduna State Government, the NTA and New Nigerian Newspapers.[6]
Colonel Isa was the chief host and later edited the seminar proceedings. Sani Abacha wrote the foreword to the published book, while the minister of information and culture, Walter Ofonagoro, delivered the keynote address. Elderstatesman, Yusuf Maitama Sule delivered the chairman's opening address.[2] Participants included government officials, academics, journalists, religious figures and representatives of public institutions. Matthew Hassan Kukah was one among those who presented a paper.[7]
The discussions considered Nigeria's social and moral image, foreign media coverage of the country and the extent to which the conduct of individual Nigerians should be regarded as representative of the country as a whole.[6]
Publication
The papers presented at the seminar were published later in 1995 as Not in Our Character: Proceedings of the National Seminar on the Appraisal of the Social and Moral Image of the Nigerian Society by the Kaduna State Government and edited by Lawal Jafaru Isa.
The publication examined foreign perceptions of Nigeria, the role of the media in constructing national images and the moral and social values associated with Nigerian identity. It also presented arguments challenging the portrayal of criminality and corruption as defining characteristics of Nigerians.[2]
According to Mahdi Shehu, corroborated by Mahmud Jega, the proceedings were launched in Abuja under the chairmanship of General Jerry Useni, and that proceeds from the launch were the seed that established the Sani Abacha Foundation.[5] A journalist who attended the seminar similarly reported that printed and recorded materials from the event were sold to raise money for the foundation.[8]
Television documentary
The Nigeria Television Authority produced an English-language video documentary titled Not in Our Character: The Nation. It was produced by Ben U. Olisah, Ikenna Ndaguba and other crew members on the team. The documentary reviewed Nigeria's political history from colonial rule, discussed its economic and political difficulties and presented communal values that united the nation's population.[9]
The film acknowledged the existence of corruption and other social problems but rejected the contention that such conduct represented the essential character of Nigerians. It attributed aspects of Nigeria's economic and political difficulties to colonial history, internationally promoted economic policies and foreign interference.[1]
The documentary also disputed some foreign accounts of Nigeria's political development. Walter Ofonagoro, who was Nigeria's Information Minister at the time, argued that Nigeria was being subjected to an economic and political campaign by foreign powers.[1]
Use by the Abacha government
The seminar preceded the international crisis that followed the execution of environmental activist Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight other members of the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People in November 1995. The executions brought increased diplomatic pressure, sanctions and international condemnation against the Abacha government.[1]
In December 1995, The Washington Post reported that the government was using the Not in Our Character documentary as part of a wider effort to counter foreign criticism. Other elements of the effort included government-supported rallies and the creation of a 50-member committee charged with improving Nigeria's international image.[1] The Kaduna initiative consequently became associated with the federal government's defence of its political record.
Later accounts have frequently placed Not in Our Character among successive Nigerian government campaigns intended to promote national values or improve the country's public image. These included the War Against Indiscipline under Muhammadu Buhari, the Mass Mobilisation for Self Reliance, Social Justice and Economic Recovery under Ibrahim Babangida, the Heart of Africa project under Olusegun Obasanjo and the Rebranding Nigeria campaign under Umaru Musa Yar'Adua.[10]
Reception and criticism
Contemporary foreign reporting described the documentary as part of an attempt by the military government to revise the narrative surrounding Nigeria's political and economic crises. Critics argued that its explanations placed excessive responsibility on colonialism, international financial institutions and foreign governments while minimising the actions of successive Nigerian governments.[1]
The campaign was also criticised for concentrating on Nigeria's image rather than the political and social conditions that had produced negative coverage. Writing in This Day, Kayode Komolafe argued that the publication defended the Abacha government and portrayed its critics as hostile forces instead of addressing the underlying political crisis.[2]
Abimbola Adelakun similarly described the campaign as denying the social problems it purported to challenge and argued that it disappeared without producing a sustained programme of national ethical reform.[11]
Other commentators have treated the campaign as an early attempt at national rebranding but observed that, unlike MAMSER, it was not institutionalised through a permanent directorate or nationwide administrative structure.[12]