Re-introducing a new President to the World

Challenge Although Buhari’s reputation as a disciplinarian was a key quality Nigerians sought through his election, many in the global media speculated that the Nigeria might need a more flexible, conciliatory president to address the country’s economic challenges and the war against terror group Boko Haram.

Following political consultancy work on Buhari’s election campaign, BTP Advisers created and managed a series of media interventions aimed at demonstrating the President’s public support and plans to address the issues that faced Nigeria. 

This included placing Op-Eds by President Buhari in The New York Times, The Washington Post and The Economist; managing the media during Buhari’s trip to the US to meet President Obama. This included interviews with CNN´s Christiane Amanpour, The Washington Post, and the Associated Press. Buhari was later to appear on the front page of The Economist’s ‘The World in 2016’.

We also organised high-profile interviews for the Minister of Environment during crucial climate change talks in Paris.

Results The campaign produced an unprecedented number of media hits for the President in the crucial early months of his administration. They reflected the shift in narrative that we set out in our strategy. Buhari soon became not only a representative of Nigeria, but of Africa on the global stage. We also contributed to placing Nigeria as Africa’s leader on climate change and inclusive development, thanks to the interviews and meetings we organised during COP21.

BTP Advisers was the winner of a 2016 PRWeek Global Award for their work for President Buhari and the Nigerian Government.

Today the president and government of Nigeria remain BTP’s longest-standing client.