By FIDELIS EGUGBO
WITHIN the week, a lot of issues came up that one cannot help but look at the need for government official to always employ Public Relation to achieve desired results. The visit to the National Assembly by President Olusegun Obasanjo, last week could be described as a very good public relations tool that reduced the misunderstanding between the President and Legislature. That step by the President did a lot, not only, as it concerns the relationship between the President and the lawmakers but as it concerns Nigeria’s democracy and her relationship with the international community.
The visit by the President to the National Assembly, was one of the advantages of democracy as it prove that the other person has the right to know what you are doing because of the checks and balances enshrined in the constitution.
Application of public relations is very necessary for one’s genuine intentions not to be misconstrued. Lack of basic knowledge of public relations has caused a lot of havoc in Nigeria. Often, it is misconstrued to mean lobbying, bribe as it is in the case of brown envelope syndrome or as the former Minister of Education, Prof. Fabian Osuji, made us to understand in the N55 million bribery saga.
At times, it is also misconstrued to mean propaganda but public relations is none of these. It was defined by the British Institute of Public Relations as the “planned effort to establish and improve the degree of mutual understanding between an organization or individual and any group of persons or organizations (including government) with the primary objective of assisting that organization or individual to deserve, acquire and retain a good reputation.
Also, the “Mexican Statement,” arising from the International Public Relations Association Conference in Mexico, (1978), defined Public Relations as, “the art and social science of analyzing trends, predicting their consequences, counseling the organisation’s leaders and implementing a programme of action which serves both the organisation’s and publics’ interest,” while Professor Ikechukwu Nwosu of the University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus holds Public Relations as a profession “that influences public opinion or attitude in such a positive direction as to ensure goodwill, understanding and acceptance; it establishes a two-way communication to ensure mutual understanding, or resolve conflicts of interests between individuals, organizations and its publics.”
From the above definitions, it is clear that Public Relations tend to address efforts of an organization, including individuals or government in building productive relationship with its publics. This is quite different from propaganda and other forms of actions aimed at misleading the publics. Public Relations is based on truth.
In the first lap of the current democratic governance in Nigeria, more efforts were paid on Media Relations than Public Relations and most often, the Media Relations Officers of government achieved negative results as they try to justify government actions, even when these (such actions) were wrong. Often, Media Relations Officers employ propaganda and try to deceive the public; but the truth does not take time to manifest because people are involved in such activities. It is on record that a lot of Media Relations Officers to government have lost their jobs as a result of taking actions that were aimed at deceiving the public in their bid to justify their positions.
The Media Relations Officers often, do not know what it takes to handle their jobs and as such, they were always in a haste to satisfy their masters. When such issues as those who fell victims of lack of good knowledge of Media Relations come up, such names as Chief Fani Kayode, Special Assistant to President Olusegun Obsasanjo, readily come to mind. Chief Fani Kayode is a trained lawyer but the act of Media Relations goes beyond defending whatever government does; it goes beyond attacking whoever that criticizes the government of the day – whether constructively, positively or not.
In Delta State, much was not achieved in the area of winning public support through public relations in the first tenure of the Governor James Ibori’s administration. This may not be unconnected with lack of knowledge of, or under-usage of public relations. Before 1999, a lot of things were been done wrongly and the system was on the verge of collapse. After the swearing-in of Chief James Ibori as the Governor of Delta State, he embarked on many projects aimed at improving the lot of the citizens of the oil-rich state, but such a gesture was not genuinely appreciated by the people because they believed that development in the state was not commensurate with the money the state was receiving from the Federation Account. This acrimony from the people was as a result of lack of effective public relations to breach the gap between the state government and the public, the electorate who deserve to know what government was doing to change their lifestyle.
Apart from the lack of good application of public relations in the first tenure of Governor Ibori’s administration, information managers in the state did not also do much in ensuring that the people were informed of government’s programmes. The second coming of the Ibori administration in 2003 seems to have changed so many things. Not only Deltans but Nigerians and the international community are now appreciating what Governor Ibori is doing to positively impact on the lifestyle of the people.
Key functionaries of the Delta State government are now involved in media relations which is that branch of public relations that establishes and maintain mutual understanding, goodwill and cooperation among organizations, individuals, government, mass media, media owners and media practitioners. Governor Ibori, his Deputy, Chief (Sir) Benjamin Elue, the Secretary to the State Government, Dr Emmanuel Uduaghan, including such political appointees as the Commissioner for Information, Mr Magnus Onyibe, the Political Adviser to Governor Ibori, Chief Ighoyota Amori, among others have been employing media relations in getting the people’s goodwill but efforts should be made to employ effective public relations for the media relations not to be counter-productive. It will be wrong for the public to see anything that concerns Delta State in the media and ignore it with the simple reason that, “they are here again.”
If media relations is not effectively managed, the public could view it as propaganda which has been defined as, “the means of gaining support for an opinion, creed or belief.” Propaganda is very different from public relations because for Public Relations to be successful, it must be credible, whereas propaganda is liable to invite suspicion or disagreement. Public relations programmes will ensure that the public understands government programmes and services properly because, it preaches peace, unity, dialogue and reconciliation based on truth, facts, objectivity and fairness.
Nothing could be more effective than what Governor Ibori did early this year by engaging in public relations activities. He personally became the Public Relations Manager of the state. In January this year, for three days he met with members of his executive council at Songhai-Amukpe in an event which many people saw as an avenue for the commissioners and the Governor to tell themselves the truth on how to move the state forward. That same month, the Governor of Edo State, Chief Lucky Igbenedion visited Delta State to commission some projects.
Public Relations is based on truth, facts and nothing could be more factual than seeing the projects that the Ibori administration has executed. The dust of the visit of Chief Lucky Igbenedion to Delta State has not settled when another Governor, Alhaji Adamu Muazu of Bauchi State came to the state again to commission more projects. These visits by the Governors dispelled the opinion that Governor Ibori had not done much in the area of providing infrastructure in Delta State.
Before the visit of the Governors to Delta State, President Olusegun Obasanjo had severally cancelled his visit to the state and the rumour mill was agog that the President was canceling the visits because there were no physical structures for him to commission in the state. When the President eventually came to the state this year, he saw and believed that, really, Governor James Ibori has not abused the trust reposed in him by Deltans as he has judiciously utilized the fund accruing to the state.
It is however, necessary to state here that those visits are good public relations for Governor James Ibori and the people of Delta State and, no doubt, the state government is not failing in its duties to sustain the gains made as a result of those visits.
The choice of placing advertorials in the newspapers to showcase what the Governor has done for Deltans is very good because those things being showcased are real. The interactive session with journalists in the state by Governor James Ibori and the monthly phone-in programme are very good Public Relations strategies because they give the citizens the medium to talk one-on-one with the Governor.
Public Relations is very vital for any organization that aims to achieve good results. A good image for government, an organization, individuals, including top executives of organizations, not leaving out politicians that are desirous of success, is very vital. In the current Information and Communication Technology (ICT)-driven world, there is no doubt that a lot can be achieved with a well-planned public relations programme.
With ICT, in the nearest future, it will be difficult for politicians or organizations to employ propaganda and achieve results. This is because, propaganda relies on half-truth, misinformation and disinformation, blackmail, rumour, among others. But with ICT, the facts and truth may not be difficult to confirm. Gone were the days where you will have to physically swim across the rivers to get your facts: the use of ICT which includes the use of telephones, internet, e-mail, radio, television, among others, have made it such that one can be in any part of the world and confirm the situation of things wherever he or she desires.
Government can employ public relations to ensure that there is good relationship between it and the public. The recent demonstration that almost marred the reconstruction of the Ogbogonogo Market, Asaba, by the Delta State Government can be linked to public misunderstanding of the intention of government. When the issue came up before the Deputy Governor of Delta State, Chief (Sir) Benjamin Elue, what came to mind was that such resistance to good-intentioned programme of government could not be because this is a community that has been crying to the state government to aid it in the reconstruction of the market. At the end of the deliberation, it was discovered that there was a communication gap between the government and the contractor handling the project and the Asaba community.
There are many instances where well-intentioned programmes of government were resisted by the people that ought to benefit from such programmes because of lack of application of public relations. Public relations expert draw up programme to suit the situation in a bid to have the cooperation of people and win their confidence for the desired results to be achieved.
According to a Public Relations expert, Ben Odigbo in a paper titled, “Role of Public Relations and the Mass Media in Building and Sustaining Democracy,” a Public Relations Manager will ensure “effective two-way communication mechanism between the client and their public; win public goodwill, acceptance, cooperation and support to the client’s views, policies, programmes and projects; help to achieve without much oppositions or dissent all the bottom-line objectives, policies and programmes of the government, party or politician.”
It was in the military era that nobody dared to oppose or resist government policies. The advent of democracy has made it obvious that policies can no longer be imposed on the people. This is because, the people, (the masses) elected the government in power; so, the government in power should be seen to be doing the biddings of the people. The application of effective public relations becomes important here to ensure that there is no gap between the government and the electorate and that the people are abreast with the intentions of government. The public relations expert employed by the government has a duty to advise his employers on communication problems, solutions and techniques; monitor outside opinion and convey this intelligence to government, inform the public about the policies and activities of government, so that maximum understanding is earned.
There is the need for government and organizations or individuals to first know their publics to enable them know how to deal with them to achieve maximum result in their activities; but in all, public relations should be employed to ensure a lasting relationship.
Fidelis Egugbo, a Public Relations expert cum Journalist wrote this piece published on page 7 of The Pointer Newspaper of Friday, June 3, 2005 and can also be found on Chapter Fifty Six, page 186 of “Memoirs Of A Journalist In Government Media,” authored by Fidelis Egugbo.
