UBA’s Afriland Towers fire exposed something we’ve always known but rarely said aloud: Nigerian crisis comms is broken.
It’s not just one bad press release. It’s a culture. A pattern. A system that treats crisis as reputation protection instead of human response.
Let’s break it down.
The Nigerian Crisis Comms Playbook (And Why It Fails)
Step 1: Deny association
Before facts are confirmed, the first instinct is to distance the brand: “It wasn’t our HQ.”
Problem: You look defensive, not human.
Step 2: Downplay severity
Words like “minor fire,” “under control,” get thrown around even when lives are lost.
Problem: The public knows the truth faster than you. Now you look dishonest.
Step 3: Release cold corporate text
Short, stiff statements with no emotion, no empathy, no humanity.
Problem: People don’t remember your grammar. They remember that you didn’t care.
READ ALSO: Problems with Nigeria’s Crisis comms
Step 4: Go silent
After the first vague release, updates vanish. No follow-ups, no transparency, no accountability.
Problem: The silence breeds rumours, and your brand is now the villain.
Why This Keeps Happening
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Comms teams fear bosses, not the public
The first audience isn’t customers, it’s executives who want “damage control.” The truth comes second. -
No alignment with leadership
When CEOs like Tony Elumelu have to contradict their own press office publicly, it shows there’s no crisis chain of command. -
Legalese over humanity
Too many Nigerian statements are written for lawyers, not people. Safe words, not true words. -
No preparedness
Crisis manuals either don’t exist or gather dust. Teams improvise in panic, then rush to social media.
What Needs to Change (The Hard Truths)
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Empathy first, facts second, brand last
Start by acknowledging the human cost. Facts can follow. The brand protects itself when it looks human. -
Align before you release
A crisis statement without CEO sign-off is a grenade. One contradiction, and credibility is gone. -
Have a red team
Pre-draft worst-case scenarios. Run simulations. Who speaks, who signs, what’s the timeline? Don’t wait for the fire to burn before you test your fire drill. -
Speak like a person, not a PDF
If your statement can’t be read out loud without sounding robotic, scrap it.
TL;DR
UBA’s Afriland Towers crisis wasn’t a one-off. It’s a mirror of Nigerian PR culture: deny, downplay, detach. Until brands flip that script to empathize, clarify, own, every crisis will end the same way—a CEO cleaning up the comms team’s mess.
SoroSoke Brand Tip: In Nigeria, infrastructure will fail, accidents will happen, crises are inevitable. But trust only fails when your words do.