Writing a fairly popular interview column – if I may say so myself – for a very popular newspaper in the late 70s and early 80s brought me in close contact with many Public Relations practitioners of the time. The practice of Public Relations or PR was at its nascent stage in the country during this period. Many of the practitioners of the time evolved from the media and their knowledge of the job was largely limited to managing press releases and getting their Principals to be featured in the media. Or, I am sorry to say, making their Principals happy however they wanted which included arranging parties and ‘take-away’ for them. The society pages which I handled for Punch needed them. My weekly interview column needed them. It was therefore supposed to be a symbiotic relationship. But you wouldn’t think that given the way many of them groveled for press mention. For years, I remembered one PR Consultant – one of the very few at the time- who approached me professionally. He listed why he thought his client was worth an interview in a way that hinted the loss would be mine if I didn’t feature his client. Many of the others just felt being mentioned was good copy without bothering about the purpose or thrust of the coverage.

Public Relations is the art of managing the relationship between an organization and its various publics. That is the simplest definition I know. It is projecting and sustaining the image of the organization to these publics using various PR tools at the disposal of the practitioner. It is building up trust and loyalty. Or an I.O.U which can be cashed when things go rough. It involves communicating ‘as things are’ effectively. It is definitely not lying to your publics as you can neither build trust nor loyalty by calling black, white. Or red, green. I have always believed that an effective PR person is one who is close enough, or high enough, to influence policies or at best serve as a sounding board when policies are being formulated. He is the one who is courageous enough to advice against an action if the optics will look bad. In other words, he should be privy to policies before they become public. Otherwise, it would all amount to locking the stable when the horse has bolted. Unfortunately, our Press Secretaries and Personal Advisers on Media Relations to the President and Governors seem to be too far removed from the processes of decision making to advice on the likely fall-out and optics of certain decisions. The result is that they are more re-active than pro-active. Many of them don’t even understand the decisions enough to be able to communicate them simply but effectively. All of these were what Mr Nduka Obaigbena, the founder of This Day Newspapers and Arise TV, seemed to have summed up when he addressed the government team that visited him recently. He told them that their being at Arise TV showed their desire to communicate. The problem was the message or the credibility of it. The best messages are not rhetorical; they are not in words but in examples and actions. How, Obaigbena wondered, could they be talking of sacrifice when those in government are revving up their lifestyle? How could the leaders be feasting when the led are fasting? Mr Obaigbena concluded with ‘the way those in government conduct themselves does not show that we are in trouble’.

The veracity of Mr Obaigbena’s statement is self-evident. The President who announced the removal of fuel subsidy is the same man who allegedly authorized the purchase of a luxury yacht. He is the same man who has allegedly purchased a presidential jet when his government is borrowing money just to balance the books. A presidential jet might be desirable. It might even be necessary. But it is not at this point, affordable and should therefore, not be a priority. Many countries, including those that are richer than Nigeria, don’t have a Presidential fleet. Only a foolish businessman borrows money for consumption. Only an unfeeling father goes to a restaurant for a meal with friends when his children are starving at home. Only a man in denial of his reality will buy a new TV set for the football season when he is behind with the payment of his rent.

The President should lead by example. Nothing that is not, or cannot be produced in Nigeria should be encouraged. That should include every vehicle in the presidential fleet. That should include many items at the Villa – I would even have loved to see him wear ‘adire’. Our appetite for foreign things should be stemmed and it starts with the presidency. Somebody should tell the President that the optics surrounding his recent purchases are not good. And if it is true that he just bought a couple of cars to the tune of billions of Naira at this point in time, then it is saddening. Worse, it might yet come to haunt him when it is time to give an account of his stewardship to the people. These purchases don’t help his image or the image of the government which he leads. The image right now is of a government which indulges when the people are starving. The government said it has had to make painful decisions to reset the economy. That may be true but the pain should be shared by all. Besides, the indulgences of the political class reflect its mentality which unfortunately is about consumption and greed. It also reflects how it wants its legacy to be shaped. The visibility and involvement of the President’s older children in businesses that have links with government reflect a different kind of mentality. That of ‘awa l’okan’. Somebody close to the President should be able to tell him to ‘fi owo omo e bo aso’ which translates roughly to mean ‘control your children’.

The Intriguing thing is that life has many ways of showing us that none of these things we acquire and indulge in really matter at the end of the day. Pastor Adeboye put it very succinctly in his Thursday devotion “Destiny is not measured by how much money you have or how powerful you become. It is measured by the degree to which you are doing the will of God in your life. For example, someone might have seen Joseph as the Prime Minister of Egypt and concluded the guy had made it because of the exalted position he attained. But if Joseph did not save his family from famine as God destined him to do, he would have been a failure. There will be many rich people who will finish their races here on earth, and rather than being told ‘well done, good and faithful servant, they will hear ‘thou wicked and slothful servant’. I pray this will not be your portion in Jesus name”

Those who have ears, let them hear and heed.

Vanity upon vanity, says the Preacher.

Update news