I am currently running a research into Private health delivery in Lagos with special emphasis on stakeholder management, and the results I have gotten so far have been interesting. Some private hospitals institute their PR departments into the general scheme of things and I daresay the results have been beneficial, ON THE LONG RUN, for them.

If you ever had to handle accounts for Oil Companies in the NigerDelta of Nigeria who consistently have issues with their host communities, I am certain the place of research and strategic planning in Public Relations will not be debatable.

I don’t think PR could have had any influence on the safety culture at Dana, anymore than I think it does anywhere else in the world in such an industry. No CEO needs to be told that crashes are bad for business and image…every pilot knows the stakes when he takes off etc. Accidents happen..and given the conditions in Nigeria and Africa, they happen there more often than in some other places. However, overall the aviation safety record in Nigeria is pretty good (I never worried about catching a plane from Lagos to Abuja and back again; they take off all day long everyday of the week safely).

I don’t think PR is a science or should try to pose as one. All the talk of research, analysis, science and strategy is mostly overblown and more about improving PR’s own image than really helping clients solve real PR problems. 

Nigeria’s PR industry should focus on getting the basics done professionally… and forget about trying to pretend to be what PR can never be anywhere on earth. It should certainly not pretend to know how to achieve results it has no clue how even to begin to contemplate (like how to fly aircraft safely from A to B).

Ours is a trade.