Kaduna has taken centre stage as Nigeria’s public relations community shifts from professional advancement to active nation building.

At the opening of the third Nigerian Public Relations Week (NIPR) 2026, Croc City 2026, Dr. Ike Neliaku, president and chairman of council of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations, made it clear that Kaduna is more than just a host city. It is the symbolic launch ground for what he described as the Institute’s expanded national mission.

Hosting Northern Nigeria first edition, at the newly commissioned Brigadier General Abba Kyari Banquet Hall, carries strategic meaning. It signals the Institute’s growing national spread and underscores what Neliaku described as strong alignment between governance communication and professional responsibility under the administration of Kaduna State Governor, Senator Uba Sani.

Central to Neliaku’s message was a call for Nigeria to rethink how it presents itself to the world.

“We have our issues, we have our challenges, just like other nations, but what has happened to us is that we are so good in promoting our challenges and our differences, while others manage theirs carefully, pretending that all is well. We give them the information that they use against us,” he said.

According to him, while other countries manage their imperfections strategically, Nigeria often amplifies its weaknesses globally. NIPR, he declared, is stepping forward to help reshape that narrative.

“This is why NIPR is now getting involved in the aspect of nation building,” Neliaku told delegates, media representatives and international guests at the event.

The Institute’s journey, he explained, has been deliberate and regionally inclusive. The maiden Nigerian Public Relations Week was held in Ogun State, where discussions centred on responsible communication in managing finance and the economy within the context of nation building.

The second edition took place in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, with a focus on solid minerals. Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr Dele Alake, delivered the keynote address, highlighting communication’s role in economic diversification.

Now, Kaduna advances the conversation to food security under the theme from policy paper to public plate. The event features Ambassador Dr Brylyne Chitsunge, Food Security Ambassador of the Pan African Parliament and Chief Executive Officer of Elpasso Farms in South Africa, as keynote speaker,  alongside the President of the African Public Relations Association, Ali Karani.

For Neliaku, this progression reflects a structured attempt to link public relations to national priorities across sectors that directly impact citizens.

He also commended Mohammed Idris, minister of information and national orientation, describing him as a key partner in the Institute’s nation building drive.

“I want to thank you and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, for giving us Idris Mohammed as Minister of Information. He has been very supportive. He understands what responsible communication is all about. He speaks when it is necessary because he is a responsible communicator,” Neliaku said.

He noted that such federal alignment strengthens NIPR’s ability to influence how Nigeria is perceived globally, shifting from what he described as a pattern of challenge amplification to one of strategic opportunity projection.

Beyond domestic engagement, NIPR’s ambitions now carry significant international weight.

Nigeria is set to host the World Public Relations Forum from November 15 to 21, 2026 in Abuja. It will mark only the second time the event is being held in Africa and the first in West Africa. The gathering will coincide with the 37th African Public Relations Association conference and is expected to attract participants from more than 160 countries.

“They chose Nigeria. It did not come easy, but we were led by Mohammed Idris and Ali Karani, far away in Indonesia,” Neliaku revealed.

In addition, Nigeria has secured the rights to establish what is described as the world’s first University of Public Relations and Leadership, a development Neliaku sees as a landmark achievement for the profession and for the country.

Within Kaduna itself, the symbolic value of the venue was not lost on participants. The Brigadier General Abba Kyari Banquet Hall served as a statement of renewal and confidence. A security anecdote shared by Commissioner Maiyaki about police free project tours was cited as evidence of improved safety and stability in the state.

For Neliaku, the broader objective is clear. Public relations must move beyond corporate messaging and reputation management into the arena of national identity, cohesion and development.

By positioning NIPR as an active stakeholder in shaping Nigeria’s story, the Institute is redefining its mandate. Professional practice, in this vision, becomes inseparable from national destiny.

“Nigeria will rise,” Neliaku declared, closing his address with optimism.