“This Governor has not only mitigated the chasm in Rural- Urban dichotomy with flurry of projects, but has left Enugu state comparatively safer”.–Dr Ifeanyi Ojobo, Chairman NIPR Enugu chapter.
July 16 was earmarked as the WORLD PUBLIC RELATIONS DAY. Different continents, nay countries of the world participated in this momentous global fiesta. In Nigeria, the Enugu chapter of this revered organization couldn’t have escaped both the attendant trappings, glitz, glamour and more importantly the yawning opportunity to further educate the populace regarding the place of Public Relations in the remoulding of a greater Nationhood.
The chapter deliberately chose a theme that reflects on the contemporary challenges of Nigeria and the foreseeable panacea. “PUBLIC RELATIONS PRACTICE IN AN ERA OF INSECURITY” couldn’t have been more agitating and interrogating to the mind as a THEME for the commemoration.
In his welcome address and subsequent contributions, the chapter Chairman of Nigeria Institute of Public Relations (NIPR) poured encomiums on the Governor of Enugu state for the peaceful atmosphere, enabling environment and the serene ambience Enugu has maintained under his watch, despite the rampaging and debilitating effects of insecurity in the country. He logically maintained that Enugu remains comparatively safer as far as the Southeast geo-political zone is concerned. He further reiterated the NIPR commitment to building positive narratives capable of dissuading some unmindful Nigerians from acts of criminality such as banditry, terrorism, kidnapping, robbery, killings and other kinds of vices.
A paper on the above theme presented by Dr Oluebube Amarauche Chukwu of the University of Nigeria Nsukka, captivated the Public Relations officers who delightfully assimilated the lecture apparently anchored on the modus operandi of a practitioner in a time of security crisis, the causes of insecurity and the way forward.
In his remarks, the Keynote Speaker who is the Special Adviser to the Governor on Information, Hon. Barr. Steve Oruruo resoundingly enumerated the efforts of the State Government in curbing the hazards of insecurity to its barest minimum; given the prevailing circumstances. While praising the clairvoyance of the Governor to have set up, equipped and totally rejigged both the Forest guards and Neighbourhood watch Associations before any state in this country, he admonished both the government and the governed to remain watchful as we collectively engage the evolving vagaries of insecurity.
He further cited religious bigotry, ethnic chauvinism, mal-administration, endemic corruption, elongated decline in the quality of education, gap crisis occasioned by excruciating effects of both poverty and unemployment, moral decadence and collapse of family ethos, misplaced priorities and warped values, proliferation of arms through the Sahel, secessionist agitations, and finally, the scramble for land, resources and other accruable leverages, that have confronted this country at different turns as the major reasons behind the festering insecurity. He advised the members of NIPR and the teeming audience to avoid provocative, unguarded and incendiary literary contributions that may be inimical to the health of the Country in a time like this. Hon. Oruruo enjoined the audience to speak more about what unites us than what divides us. He conclusively charged the populace to remain vigilant and prayerful. The climax of the event was when His Excellency, the Executive Governor of Enugu State, Rt Hon Dr Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi was given an AWARD OF EXCELLENCE FOR THE PRECIPITATION AND ACCENTUATION OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT AND UNASSAILABLE PEACE, received on his behalf by Hon. Steve Oruruo.
Some of the high-profile dignitaries who graced the event include: Head of Department, Public Relations, UNN, Chief Dr. Okwu Omeaku, who doubled as the Chairman of the occasion; Rector, IMT, Enugu, Prof. Uchechukwu Nweze represented by Mr. Festus Ogbe; Director, Public Affairs, Enugu State Ministry of Information, Mrs. Amaka Ilodike; Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to the Governor, Hon. Ifeanyi Nnamani; Head, Corporate Communications, EEDC, Mr. Emeka Eze; SA to the Governor on Culture and Tourism, Hon. Monday Diamond; and a host of other members of the intelligentsia.
