The Federal Government has charged public relations professionals to uphold truth as a yardstick towards building citizens’ trust in governance as well as address the challenges facing the African region.
The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, made the charge in his address at the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations(NIPR) colloquium to mark grand finale of its 60th anniversary in Abuja.
The colloquium themed: “Public Relations, Value Re-Orientation and Economic Transformation” was organised to commemorate the “Diamond Anniversary” of the NIPR.
Idris, said the critical importance of public relations (PR) cannot be overemphasized especially as regards government and its established organizations. This is because government and its institutions need public relations to improve and maintain a positive image.
“As public communicators, one of the first things that you should do is to ensure that whatever you are saying you are telling people the truth and nothing but the truth. It is important for people to recognise that.
We have five pillars agenda in the Ministry of Information and National Orientation and the first one is that trust must be restored to the art of public communication; that is why whenever I don’t have any information about something, I do not speak, it is better that i keep my mouth shut than to reproduce ignorantly.
“I have the blessing and the approval of my principal, the President to say it the way it is but in a more polite manner. Trust must return to public communication because that’s the only way that Nigerians will come to agree with you, respect you and even listen to you,” he added.
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The Information Minister added that the present administration has effectively used PR to rebuild citizens’ trust in the government in line with the Renewed Hope Agenda.
“As the Minister of Information and National Orientation, who also is the spokesperson of the federal government, I have not wavered in my bid and assiduous effort to restore hope in public communication. And this is necessary, if we must gain the trust of the Nigerian populace in helping to actualize Mr. President’s Renewed Hope Agenda,” he said
In his welcome remarks the President and Chairman of NIPR Governing Council, Dr. Ike Neliaku, explained that for Nigeria to achieve its desired transformation, it must change the narrative that the colonial masters bestowed on her as their programme for national development.
“Hope is an essential element, we must work very hard to ensure that we keep giving citizens hope because that is the responsibility of leadership. Reputation building and perception Management, we must make conscious management efforts to build and redeem the reputation of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. When your reputation is low, no one is interested in investing in your country.
“So primarily you have to build your reputation this is why we are emphasising reputation perception, because it has helped us to measure our reputation. If your reputation is low people will not appreciate what you are doing. And what we have done is to show leaders where they are failing so that we can help them to build upon those areas.
That is part of what it means to take leadership into accountability. As NIPT, if Nigeria was designed and programmed to fail, it is now time for Nigerians to build a new Nigeria.
Similarly, the Liberian Former Vice President, Dr. Jewel Howard-Taylor described PR as a double-edged sword and applauded Nigeria for playing the big brother role in uniting Africa and being able to overcome the challenges faced in the practice.
“There are challenges encountered in the practice; Limited resources, changing media landscape, the cultural diversity, in a country such as Nigeria, now we add other countries in our region, infrastructure, perception challenges, scales gap.
Despite these challenges, the Nigeria Institute of Public Relations and other PR professionals have overcome them by their creativity, adaptability and local knowledge to develop innovative strategies that redesign and resonate with the target audiences.
PR has become a critical tool, the work that must done by NIPR is wide and varied, but each of us must keep in mind that Africa presents several opportunities for growth, innovation and impact”. She said.
The President of the Association of PR in Africa (APRA), Arik Karani, and that of Global Alliance, Professor, Robert Green were of the view that Nigeria’s PR profession has set the bar for the world in areas of professionalism and achievements.
Other high points of the event were Panel discussion and the honorary conferment of fellowship to distinguished Nigerians who have positively shaped the country’s image to the rest of the world through their platforms.
