By Temiloluwa Ruth Oyelola
I congratulate my alma mater, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, on its 45th convocation today, which was both remarkable and unique.
From a marketing standpoint, I see Ahmadu Bello University as a leading brand that is not primarily focused on gaining market share from competitors but on expanding the size of the pie itself. ABU is not competing with any university in Nigeria, at least not in the conventional sense, and definitely not even within Northern Nigeria. Instead, ABU is developing the educational market, to put it that way.
Other universities organize regular public events such as matriculations, concerts, carnivals, games, and convocations, yet you hardly see their alumni deliberately amplify their brand.
These universities barely trend; they have little share of voice and almost no coordinated amplification. But whenever it is ABU’s turn, the story changes. ABU alumni make it too loud to ignore.
They ensure that everyone in Nigeria knows that something is happening in one of the country’s most prestigious universities. In doing so, they keep the ABU brand top of mind.
Interestingly, it is in these moments of ABU’s euphoria that other graduates on social media suddenly remember that they, too, attended universities. They begin to recall their schools’ achievements and attempt to publicize them.
They seek to ride on ABU’s disruptive momentum to push one or two milestones that their institutions achieved in the past. In essence, they are tapping into ABU’s past and present glory. While they try to bite into ABU’s slice of the pie, ABU is busy increasing the size of the pie.
This is a marketing logic I learned from the American consumer goods giant Procter & Gamble (P&G). One of the reasons P&G consistently stays ahead of competitors is that its leading brands are designed not just to outperform competitors but to develop the entire category, i.e., the market itself. In categories where P&G is already the market leader, the goal is not merely to take more share from weaker competitors but to grow the pie.
Hence their famous philosophy: you do not kill the competitor; you keep the competitor alive. After all, a growing category ultimately benefits the leader most.
ABU is doing the same, obviously. From generating media buzz that prompts alumni of other institutions to rediscover and celebrate their own schools to supporting younger universities, many with less than 40 years of history, through the deployment of vice chancellors and senior academics, ABU plays an active role in strengthening the broader academic ecosystem.
Even retired ABU professors are frequently engaged on contract by these second- and third-generation universities to support teaching, research, and institutional capacity building. ABU is helping the educational category to grow.
The school is clearly not competing. It is not just another institution; it is the system that supports other institutions to live.
Temiloluwa Ruth Oyelola is a graduate of Human Kinetics from the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.
