Nigeria runs a highly untrusting culture according to a survey. 62% believe few Nigerians can be trusted. Faith institutions are most trusted, followed by entertainment. Government is least trusted, especially the police and legislature. Nokia is the most trusted brand. The report provides insights into trust in various sectors and recommends improving trust in Nigeria.

1. 2015 MOST TRUSTED BRAND IN NIGERIA SURVEY REPORT
NOVEMBER 25, 2015

2. KEY HIGHLIGHTS OF THE SURVEY:
 Nigeria runs a highly trust deficient culture
 62% of Nigerians believe very few/few Nigerians can be trusted
 Faith based institution is trusted more than business, media and government
 Entertainment industry is most trusted in business category
 Power is least trusted in business category
 About 9 in 10 Nigerians do not trust the Nigeria Police
 Legislature is the least trusted arm of government both at the federal and state levels
 Nokia is the most trusted brand in Nigeria in 2015
BACKGROUND
The Most Trusted Brand in Nigeria’s initiative is a contribution towards a better Nigeria. It is based
on the conviction that building a high-trust Nigeria is possible. It is possible to re-invent the culture
of trust in our various environments in Nigeria with the focus on reducing the gap between what
“we say we are going to do and what we actually do”. In brandhealth, we call it reducing “say-do
gap.”
Many people are merely talking about the ills in the country, but very few are interested in fixing
these ills. Building a more robust, trustworthy Nigeria, now and in the future for our people requires
involvement of everyone. It requires people who are enthusiastic and are willing to volunteer their
creativity and resources, to provide the desired outcome for the country. That is why brandhealth
puts down its resources yearly to mobilize Nigerians to be more trustworthy.
This year’s edition is a radical departure from where we started-giving awards to brands; and now
to a holistic mobilization of Nigerians to do the right things towards fixing the country with emphasis
on moving from rhetoric to praxis. It provides a platform for a fruitful dialogue amongst agencies of
government, civil society organization, the military, academia, media, businesses and the general
public. Our goal is to bring together these components of the society for the purpose of charting a
course for our country-Nigeria. We also intend to push this initiative to the extent that it influences
public policy thrust.
This volume: 2015 MTB report.
OVERALL OBJECTIVE
The overall objective of this study is to determine the level of trust in Nigeria.
SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES
The specific objective of this study is to gain insights into the following areas:
• What trust means to Nigerians
• How Nigerians see themselves in terms of trusting one another.
• What can be done to improve trust in Nigeria
• Level of trust in various business sectors in Nigeria
• Level of trust in government institutions in Nigeria
• Most trusted brand among various products in Nigeria

3. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
 Face-to-face interview method using fully structured questionnaires was used in the
study.
 Respondents were selected using multi-stage sampling method
 A total of 6,406 respondents were interviewed in 12 states and the Federal Capital
Territory of Nigeria.
The states were: Abia, Adamawa, Anambara, Edo, Gombe, Kano, Kwara, Lagos, Oyo, Plateau,
Rivers, Sokoto and FCT.
Respondents Profile:
 51% Males
 49% Females
 11% AB
 42% C1C2
 47% DE
 33% 16-25 years
 35% 26-40 years
 19% 41-55 years
 13% 56 and above
The fieldwork was done August, 2015
THE REPORT
WHAT TRUST MEANS TO NIGERIANS
 To belief in something (32%)
 To have full confidence in a person or something (22%)
 To have faith or hope in someone (16%)
 To rely on someone or quality (15%)
Trust is viewed from the perspective of interaction and transaction. Relationships in these areas
require having faith, belief and/or confidence in another. This is important in relationship because
trust drives away fear, it gives a way to assurance, there is no worry in trust, it takes away anxiety,
there is no feeling of bitterness when we trust, and it brings peace, satisfaction and swallows
doubts.

4. HOW NIGERIANS SEE THEMSELVES IN TERMS OF TRUSTING ONE ANOTHER
 No Nigerian can be trusted (10%)
 Very few Nigerian can be trusted (26%)
 Few Nigerian can be trusted (36%)
 Some Nigerians can be trusted (23%)
 Most Nigerians can be trusted (5%)

5. Nigeria runs a highly trust deficient culture. Nigerians know and believe this. Many Nigerians
(62%) believe that very few/few Nigerians can be trusted. In fact, 10% believe no single Nigerian
can be trusted. 23% were somewhat optimistic about our people saying that some Nigerians can
be trusted. However, 5% were incurable optimist, saying that most Nigerians can be trusted.
LEVEL OF TRUST AT VARIOUS INSTITUTIONS

6. Most Nigerians have experienced so much disappointment in people and governments over the
years. It is therefore not surprising that a large number of Nigerians have trust in Faith based
organizations more than Business, Media and Government. Government is the least trusted
institution in Nigeria.
TRUST LEVEL IN NIGERIAN BUSINESS SECTOR

7. I do not trust the
industry at all
I just do not trust
the industry
I have some trust
for the industry
I trust the
industry a great
deal
% % % %
Financial Institutions 11 30 40 19
Telecoms 10 33 39 18
Technology 8 29 39 24
Power 33 33 22 12
Eatery 9 34 41 16
Food & Beverages 7 26 42 25
Chemical & Pharmaceuticals 7 29 41 23
Electrical & Electronics 11 30 39 20
Medical/Hospital 10 28 39 23
Oil & Gas 18 36 31 15
Aviation 14 36 35 15
Construction 13 35 37 15
Educational Services 11 31 37 21
Consultancy Services 10 33 40 17
Entertainment 8 24 38 30
DON’T TRUST TRUST
The scorecard of various business sectors in Nigeria indicates that much is still desired in terms of
trust in Nigeria. However, the entertainment industry is rated above other sectors examined in
this study. Power sector has a very big question mark. Most Nigerians (66%) do not trust the
industry. Nigerians are also skeptical about Oil and Gas industry when it comes down to trust.

8. TRUST LEVEL IN GOVERNMENT INSTITUTIONS
I do not trust the
industry at all
I just do not trust
the industry
I have some trust for
the industry
I trust the industry a
great deal
% % % %
Police 54 31 11 4
Military 12 27 34 27
FRSC 15 37 35 13
Immigration 19 35 34 12
Customs 22 36 28 14
NAFDAC 11 28 35 26
EFCC/ICPC 19 31 34 16
NDLEA 11 28 35 26
NNPC 26 34 27 13
INEC 18 26 31 25
DON’T TRUST TRUST
Police has the mandate to protect lives and properties in Nigeria BUT about 9 in 10 Nigerians do
not trust the any police man/woman. This cuts across all the demographics interviewed. This fact
is very obvious because of their day to day relationship with the people.
The Military, NAFDAC and NDLEA are the most trusted Government institutions. 6 out of 10
Nigerians trust them.. Trust is on the average for INEC, EFCC/ICPC and FRSC. The Immigration,
Custom and NNPC have low level of trust

9. TRUST FOR ARMS OF GOVERNMENT AT THE FEDERAL LEVEL
The Executive arm of Government is the most trusted at the federal level. This is followed by the
Judiciary. Nigerians do not seem to have more trust in the Federal legislature. One fourth of the
respondents do not have trust in any arm of the government.

10. TRUST FOR ARMS OF GOVERNMENT AT THE STATE LEVEL
About one-third of Nigerians do not trust state governments. The Legislative arm of the state
government is worst affected with 87% of the respondents not trusting it. Trust for the Executive
and Judiciary is less than 30% each.

11. TRUST LEVEL AT THE JUDICIARY
I do not trust the
industry at all
I just do not trust
the industry
I have some trust
for the industry
I trust the industry
a great deal
% % % %
State/FCT Judiciary 24 37 31 8
Federal Judiciary 18 32 37 13
DON’T TRUST TRUST
Nigerians seem a little more comfortable with Federal Judiciary than that of the state. The trust
for the state Judiciary is about 50-50 while that of the federal Judiciary is about 60-40 in favour of
the Federal Judiciary.

12. TRUST LEVEL AT THE EXECUTIVE ARM OF GOVERNMENT
I do not trust the
industry at all
I just do not trust
the industry
I have some trust
for the industry
I trust the
industry a great
deal
% % % %
Presidency 18 33 31 18
Ministers 24 36 32 8
Federal Civil Service 20 36 33 11
Governor’s Office 25 37 28 10
Commissioners 25 39 28 8
State Civil Service 22 38 30 10
Local Government Chairmen 31 35 25 9
DON’T TRUST TRUST

13. A lot needs to be done at the local government level. The leadership at that level is not doing well
to earn trust from most Nigerians. At the federal level, it was clear that the governors’ office were
even more trusted than that of the President.
TRUST AT THE LEGISLATIVE ARM OF GOVERNMENT
I do not trust the
industry at all
I just do not trust
the industry
I have some trust
for the industry
I trust the industry
a great deal
% % % %
National Assembly 23 36 31 10
State Houses of Assembly 26 36 27 11
DON’T TRUST TRUST
Members of the National and State need to do more to earn trust from Nigerians. This organ of
government has not been able to be independent or do much to impact the lives of the citizenry,
thus, this low trust.

14. TRUST IN THE MEDIA SECTOR
I do not trust the
industry at all
I just do not trust
the industry
I have some trust
for the industry
I trust the industry
a great deal
% % % %
Newspapers/Magazines 8 31 41 20
Television 5 22 41 32
Radio 5 26 38 31
Social Media 11 29 39 21
Billboards 9 27 38 26
DON’T TRUST TRUST
Nigerians trust television a great deal as a credible source of information. This is followed by radio
and newspapers. About 40% often expressed doubt about information from the social media.

15. TRUST FOR BRANDS/PRODUCTS IN NIGERIA
A brand
you feel
most
confident
in.
A brand that
would be
consistently
honest and
sincere in
addressing your
needs.
A brand that
would do the
right thing
even when
nobody is
watching.
A brand
that
offers
highest
quality.
A brand I
rely on to
solve your
problem
A brand that
consistently
get result in a
way that
inspires trust
A
brand
you
trust
most
Mean
% % % % % % % %
Nokia 7 6 7 8 6 8 9 7.3
LG 4 4 3 4 5 5 5 4.2
Samsung 4 4 4 4 4 5 4 4.1
Indomie 4 4 4 3 4 4 3 3.7
Peak
Chocolate
4 3 4 4 2 3 3 3.2
Dangote
Noodles
2 3 3 4 3 3 4 3.2
Coca Cola 3 3 3 3 4 3 3 3.1
MTN 3 4 2 3 3 3 3 3.1
Tecno 2 2 1 2 1 2 2 1.8
Dettol 2 2 1 1 2 1 2 1.6
Toyota 2 1 2 2 1 1 2 1.6
Trust metrics evaluated for several brands in Nigeria revealed that Nokia is the most trusted brand
for consumers in 2015. This is followed by LG and Samsung.

16. Who We Are: