…. Nigeria Internet Penetration now 46%
(86mn Users)
Spokespersons
of security and response agencies in Nigeria have been urged to ensure that
they register and renew their membership of Nigerian Institute of Public
Relations (NIPR) before they could practice as PR practitioners in the country.
The
immediate past Director Defence Information (DDI), Major General Chris
Olukolade (Rtd) who made the disclosure at a Regional Seminar on Media
Engagement in Crisis Communication organised by the Centre for Crisis
Communication (CCC) in Port-Harcourt, said it is illegal to practice PR without
certification of the regulatory body
General
Olukolade who is a Fellow of NIPR and Chairman of its Enforcement Committee
told participants at the Seminar that: “It is now illegal to practice Public Relations
in Nigeria without certification as the Institute is undertaking membership
certification and re-certification to weed out quackery in the profession.”
Speaking on
“Strategies for Engaging the Media in Crisis Situation,” General Olukolade
said, “crisis management would always involve dealing with threats before and
during an incident. The turbulence surrounding crisis situation has made
communication more vital for PR practitioners in times of crisis to sustain the
reputation of the nation and establishment.”
“The belief
that the mass media has power to make and break any organisation is still true,
therefore knowing how to engage the media and understand how they operate is
vital. Public Relations managers must be multi skilled and know how to manage
relationship with public media.
Also
speaking on “Online PR in Crisis Management, the Founder of PRNigeria
News Release platform, Mr. Yushau A. Shuaib disclosed that online media has
taken over from the traditional media as effective means of communication.
In a
statistical presentation, Shuaib who listed the enormous advantage of social
media for effective communications added that Nigeria has reached 46 percent
internet penetration with 86 million users.
He said “As
at June 2016, Nigeria has 86,219,965 Internet Users out of the estimated
population of 186,987,563 which easily translated to 46.1 % Internet
Penetration. The figure was relatively higher than 55,182,852 internet users of
population of 168,240,403 as at December 2012 which was then 32.8% internet
penetration.”
While making
comparison between traditional media and social media, Shuaib said by far
online media is ahead. He said “Unlike
the old bureaucracy, stringent and costly requirements of setting up
traditional media, the online media is direct, affordable, faster with large
audience that have now forced professional communicators to work 24/7 including
Saturday, Sunday and Holidays because any late or lack of response to sensitive
issues can easily trigger crises or disaster.”
The
Executive Secretary of the Centre for Crisis Communication (CCC), Air Commodore
Yusuf Anas (rtd), said the Regional Seminar which is being sponsored by Nigeria
Stability and Reconciliation Programme (NSRP) is organised to improve the
capacity of information officers on the latest tools in crisis communication.
“Given the
success of the Seminar in Abuja, Bauchi and Port-Harcourt where over 200
officers have so far being trained and benefitted, with adequate funding the
Centre hopes to organize the seminar in other regions - North-West, South-West
and South-East.”
By PRNigeria
No comments:
Post a Comment