Arit Effanga is a results-driven corporate communications executive and media strategist with over two decades of experience spanning broadcasting, public relations, and reputation management. After an extensive career in radio, television, and digital media, she transitioned into strategic communications and currently serves as the Head of Corporate Communications within the aviation sector. Recognized for her expertise in crisis communication, storytelling, and public positioning, Arit specializes in leveraging media influence to strengthen corporate brands and shape positive public perception.
September 2026 – Uber ended its 12-year operations in Nigeria.
For a company that had become almost a part of the Nigerian urban vocabulary, the announcement was more than a business decision. It was a moment of communication, and it reminded me of something we sometimes forget.
A brand can become bigger than the business behind it.
Uber had become an idea of convenience, technology, and modern mobility for many Nigerians. So when the business changed, the communication challenge was not simply how do we announce an exit? It was how do we explain the end of something people have already built into their lives?
That is where many growing businesses eventually arrive.
The logo looks better, the audience is bigger, the expectations are bigger, the media interest is bigger, but internally? The communication may still be operating like it’s in 2018.
Where one person handles the media, another handles social media. The CEO says one thing, the head of corporate communication says another. Customer service has its own version, and somebody within the social media team is still saying, “Let’s just put something on Instagram first.”
That is really when the brand begins to outgrow the business.
The communication lessons are simple;
Your reputation can move faster than your infrastructure. People may already see you as an industry leader before your systems, people, and communication processes catch up.
A bigger brand requires a bigger communication brain. Growth changes the questions people ask. Customers, employees, regulators, investors, and the media no longer need just information, they need clarity.
Don’t wait for a crisis to discover your voice. The best time to decide who speaks, what gets said, how quickly you respond, and what your stakeholders need to know is before everybody is calling.
Never let your brand promise luxury ahead of your actual business. If the story is premium, but the experience is struggling, eventually the audience will notice.
And Nigerian audiences? Ah, we notice everything.
A beautiful campaign cannot permanently cover an ugly customer experience.
So what is the real challenge?
When a business grows, communication must grow with it, not louder, but smarter. The question is no longer how do we get people to notice us? It becomes what will people say about us when we are not in the room?
That is the real brand test, and sometimes the organization does not need another campaign, but someone to sit at the table, look at the business, the reputation, the people, the risk, and the story, and help make sense of the whole thing.
This is important because when the brand is ready for takeoff, communication should not be running behind the aircraft.
Final Approach.
If your organization has already grown faster than its communication structure, that is a conversation worth having.
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