NIPR proposes National Reputation Management Summit
The Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR) has disclosed it is partnering with some agencies of the Federal Government alongside some relevant industry stakeholders towards organising a national reputation management summit.
The proposed summit, the institute said, would take place sometimes in the first quarter of the New Year in Abuja, the federal capital territory, and expectedly will bring together various Nigerian interest holders to address and proffer solutions to pertinent relationships and reputational challenges that have long bedeviled the country.
President of the Institute, Mukhtar Sirajo who made this disclosure during an exclusive chat with MARKETING EDGE recently in Lagos, said the institute was collaborating with some international public relations regular bodies in the United States, Kenya and South Africa with a view to leveraging global practices towards repositioning the institute.
The Institute boss who took a critical assessment of the operational performances of public relations sub-sector of Nigeria’s Integrated Marketing Communications Industry, especially during the 2019 outgoing year, noted that PR had witnessed appreciable growth despite the prevailing harsh economic environment in the country.
According to him, there had been largely positive indications of enhanced growth performance in the year cutting across all areas of PR operations, including the institute, the membership and the industry at large.
“Things are looking up; we are certainly not where we ought to be, but we are not where we were before. We have already taken some very crucial steps and we are glad with the progress we are making. Very soon, there is going to be an institute that every member will be very proud of,” Sirajo assured.
He, however, noted that despite the positive growth signs, a major drawback was lack of the much required institutional support and poor recognition by the government towards engaging the strategic communications solutions offered by the institute.
He stated that one corporate objective of the institute was to keep and maintain accurate data on public relations activities and ensure that practitioners across public and private sector establishments in the country were fully registered and licensed by the institute, adding that a major drawback in the institute’s was the less than adequate support and recognition from government.
“I think we have not done badly at both the institute and the PR industry in Nigeria. But I also think the system itself has fared badly in terms of recognition for the institute, in terms of recognition for members of the institute and in terms of engaging the strategic communication that we offer as an institute and as a professional body.
“For now all we want the government to do is to respect the law that established the NIPR and ensure that everybody that is practicing public relations in Nigeria is a member of the institute and is licensed by the institute. We want to start from there and once the government accords us that recognition the rest will fall in place,” he said.
He added: “We ask for greater engagement of our members by the system. Even though we can’t make ourselves indispensable, we appeal to the government and the relevant stakeholders to accord us the recognition that we deserve.”
The Institute’s boss highlighted on the various challenges militating against the development and growth aspirations of the institute, including among other things poor infrastructure and the general economic downturn in the country, adding that with proper synergy with government, the institute would go a long way in resolving not only the challenges that the PR industry is facing but also the relationships and educational challenges bedeviling the country at the moment.
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