The Public Relations profession has the power to be a catalyst for national peace and harmony as well as for organisation growth, according to a renowned expert, Dr. Jossy Nkwocha.
In a keynote address on Monday at the 2023 World Public Relations Day, organised by the Rivers State chapter of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR), in collaboration with the Faculty of Communication and Media Studies of Rivers State University, Nkwocha noted that the Public Relations concepts of issues and crisis management, as well as stakeholder management are keys for resolving industrial and national issues, and helping to engender national cohesion and peaceful co-existence among Nigerians.
Nkwocha, a Fellow of NIPR, highlighted several issues that the use of Public Relations can resolve to impact positively on society.
He also stated that Public Relations has the power to steer public perception and public opinion in the positive direction, which, in turn, can be a business enabler by using goodwill, positive image and reputation to grow businesses and increase a company’s profit.
He stressed that Public Relations “has the power for social re-engineering and peace in institutions, governments and nations through effective stakeholder engagement and management”.
Nkwocha, who is the head of Corporate Communications at Indorama-Nigeria, added that Public Relations has the power to predict the future through trends analysis and credible forecasting, while opening doors to opportunities.
He recommended that practitioners should see their profession as a serious business that must be practiced creditably and ethically, stating that “indeed, Public Relations is powerful if well harnessed”.
Earlier, the Chairman of Rivers NIPR, Pastor Paulinus Nsirim said that the institute is to set to start the enforcement of the law to prosecute anybody practicing public relations in the state without requisite certification from the NIPR.
“Very soon, our Ethics and Disciplinary Committee would swing into action because the Public Relations Decree of 1990 makes it a criminal offence to practice public relations without certification and that law provides for imprisonment of not more than two years or a fine or both for offenders”, he said.
The Vice Chancellor of Rivers State University, Prof. Nlerum Okogbule assured that the institution is committed producing quality Public Relations graduates that would impact society positively.
He was represented by the Deputy Vice Chancellor Academics, Prof. Valentine Omubo-Pepple.
