The Rivers State Chapter of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR), will on Tuesday May 11, 2021 hold a round table to proffer solutions to some of the numerous security challenges plaguing Nigeria.
Rising from its monthly meeting in Port Harcourt on Thursday, the chapter agreed that meeting the required standard practice of public relations practice in the state and Nigeria at large required critical discussions that would assist government in policy formation and implementation.
Earlier, the state Chairman of the institute, Pastor Paulinus Nsirim during the “PR Moment” had admonished members to be more proactive in their practice in order to create public relations models that would bring succour to citizens instead of heightened fear.
In his remarks, Amaopusenibo Bobo Brown, a former President of the institute, stressed the need to build good relationships amongst Nigerians and checkmate the insecurity pervading the land.
He said: “Public Relations is fast losing territories in the country, in the face of the current unrest in parts of the country; therefore the need for stakeholders across different sectors of the society to discuss the way forward as it affects Rivers state and the nation.
“For us as PR Practitioners, we don’t know if the cause of the state of insecurity in the country is banditry or religious in nature. We don’t know if it is ethnic or economic in nature, as Fulani herdsmen that are trying to take land.
“Fulani herdsmen are nomadic in nature and do not need land to do their business.
According to Brown, who is also a Fellow of the institute, “It is a complex security situation which is why I think we need to have a round table as a chapter to look at those things as they affect the chapter and the states in the Niger Delta region.
He cited an example of other professions such as Finance, Accounting, Banking and others, already thinking about the future of their industry on a global scale in the post COVID-19 era.
He further stated that, if PR practitioners do not cope with the new normal, they would be the ones to suffer for it.
“Our strength as PR practitioners used to be in connecting people. Creating events that connects people together; helping to build relationships that we see each other and understand each other. When insecurity makes it difficult for you to bring people together, when a pandemic stops you from shaking and hugging; “PR professionals are the ones to lose in terms of the emotional value people attach to what we do”.
The roundtable discussion is expected to hold at the state secretariat of the institute at No. 9 Olumeni Street, old GRA, Port Harcourt, with the theme: “Security challenges in Nigeria and the future of the Niger Delta: The Public relations implications”.
