Glo, Anthony Joshua Commercial and Nigerians’ ‘never-give-up’ spirit

The use of communication to project the image of a country, bring out the patriotic fire in citizens and re-engineer the socio-economic trajectory of a dynamic workforce is on display in the latest Television Commercial (TVC) powered by Glo in which World Heavyweight Boxing Champion, Anthony Oluwafemi Olaseni Joshua, is the central focus.
If Joshua, a bricklayer, could become a world champion, what stops an average Nigerian artisan from becoming a leader in his or her chosen line of work?
That is the message Glo, leading communication giant in Nigeria, is passing across to the working populace.
Many Nigerians were not even aware of the background of Joshua until the February 1, 2019 release of the television commercial by Glo.
A bricklayer, becoming a world champion?
Now, Nigerians believe that hope is not lost as they can rise to the peak of their career with determination and hard work, courtesy of the Glo message of giving voice to the voiceless and restoring hope for the downtrodden.
With the commercial, Glo has now become a rallying point, giving platform for citizens to come together to freely express their zeal on issues which matter to their lives with the ultimate aim of bringing about the desired social change.
Talking about spiritual, physical and economic re-awakening of a giant, you won’t be far from the truth as the Glo/Joshua commercial is displaying all the attributes of how to ignite fire of patriotism in Nigerians globally.
And given the tension the February and March general elections in the country created, the commercial, coming a few days to the elections, was a timely relief.
The sequel to the commercial captures the reactions of Nigerians to the inspirational message contained therein.
Viewers saw a University of Lagos (UNILAG) female student watching the Joshua commercial. A teenage boy is seen also watching it in his father’s sitting room and then, fishermen throwing their net for a haul in Lagos and a struggling fashion designer in Aba, Abia State tapping inspiration from the Joshua message.
Next is a group of female basketballers watching it on an Ipad and getting engrossed, followed by a classroom setting in Sokoto where students gathered to watch the message on a laptop.
A young boxer also took tutorials from the world champion and he later won his bout while a lady executive in Abuja was shown watching the message on her phone.
In essence, from the North to the South, East to the West, the Glo/Joshua message has a national appeal.
These cities underscore the nationwide coverage of the Glo 4G which is Number one in the country in view of its spread and coverage like the Joshua effect which is national and global.
The commercial has also proved a good point that nothing is impossible for the determined mind and that hope is not lost in the quest to ensure a nation that works.
One fact cannot be disputed: The World Heavyweight Boxing Champion gave a ringing announcement of his status as a Nigerian with the Globacom commercial.

The bricklayer-turned Boxing Heavyweight Champion in the commercial revealed the parallels between him and Glo. Some of these include (a) the never-say-die, unlimited, can-do spirit of Globacom which underscores and constitutes the philosophy of the telecommunications giant shared by the Champion who asked in the commercial “You need strength?” He then answered: “Yeah, that comes from the hard knocks that life throws at us. And we are Nigerians, we know all about that”.
Joshua went on to compare life challenges with boxing, saying ” You don’t stay down, you’ve got to fight. You have to dig deep to be a world champion”.
He said “There has always been a big piece of my heart as a Nigerian and I do believe that it is that piece that sets me apart. It always says to me, ‘never give up, dream big! We come from a nation of warriors and that is why I believe in Glo. We have that same tenacity, that Nigerian fighting spirit that makes us game changers! We are relentless. We don’t just face our challenges, we step into the ring to win again and again and again. If you believe in yourself, there is no limit to what you can achieve. Yeah, I used to be a bricklayer in England but now, I am heavyweight champion of the world!”
As Joshua is already giving hope to those who, hitherto, were psychologically down, Glo 4G also solves all data-related communication challenges by allowing subscribers breathe easy with data widely regarded in modern communication as ‘oxygen’.
The message of the Glo/Joshua commercial is clear: Never give up.