Funke Akindele’s prosecution: A wake up call to brand ambassadors

Funke Akindele Bello and her husband AbdulRasheed Bello, popularly known as JJC Skillz, were arrested on Sunday by the Lagos police command for violating the social distancing directive issued by the Federal government and Lagos state government to contain the spread of coronavirus.

Funke violated the directive by hosting a house party in honour of her husband on Saturday.
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) denied the engagement of any brand ambassador as part of its social awareness for the fight against the coronavirus (COVID19) pandemic.
This is coming after numerous calls from Nigerians that the Centre should terminate its contract with Nollywood actress, Funke Akindele, popularly known as its brand ambassador.
The Nollywood star had appeared in adverts for the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Dettol, urging Nigerians to observe social distancing and good hygiene.
The Nollywood star and her husband were found guilty and  convicted and fined N100,000 each by an Ogba Magistrate Court for flaunting the Lagos State Infectious Disease (Emergency Prevention) Regulation 2020.
The magistrate also held that the couple must serve 14 days community service and thereafter to observe a period of isolation.
This prosecution should serve as an eye opener for other brand ambassadors. A brand ambassador is a person chosen by a company to be the “face” of the brand. 
Ideally, the candidate is a tastemaker in their communities, and should plan to use already established networks and relationships to market the brand via word-of-mouth marketing tactics (i.e. referring friends, posting about the brand online, etc.). 
 A brand ambassador will also represent her company at specific events, where she may perform product demonstrations or give away sample products. 
Brand ambassadors are meant to be role models, exhibiting the purpose for which they were selected. It is just more than being a celebrity and bagging numerous endorsements. More should be expected from them as they serve as strong society influencers.
Brand ambassadors should always depict the following qualities:-Representing the brand positively in a multitude of settings-Assisting in content creation (ie. writing blogs, newsletters, product reviews, etc.)-Participating in event marketing-Generating brand awareness through word-of-mouth marketing-Being an opinion leader in his/her community-Providing feedback and insight on new products/services-Promoting the brand via his personal social media accounts