Open Letter to Minister of Information on Image Project
Hon. Minister Sir,
I find it necessary as a Nigerian writer with a bias in public relations to share with you pertinent issues on Nigeria’s Image Project. I use this media platform because of its importance to you as the top public officer in charge of information management in the country. Open letter like this convey the importance of the message instead of the usual direct memo which could be lost in a morass of bureaucratic redtapism or appear inconsequential in the heap of mails requiring the attention of ever busy public officers. I am also of the conviction that recent courageous decisions of government are clear pointers that the policy makers read newspapers and study other media sources, unlike their predecessors. I am aware of your background in banking and your last assignment as the spokesperson of one of the political parties in Nigeria. It is not necessary to mention the name of the party because of the feeling it may evoke in the minds of some people. But I must admit that you performed satisfactorily though, cautiously, within the dictate of that environment. It is gratifying to note too that since your appointment as minister, you have discharged your responsibility professionally and in a civilized manner. You have neither made controversial pronouncements nor defended indefensible acts.
You may not be in any of the so-called
JUICY ministries, even though communication is added to your
portfolio, you are in the most sensitive organ of government that
projects the image of our nation. Your ministry is the central mirror
that the internal and external publics look at to assess the health and
stability of our nation.
Hon. Minister sir, since you are yet to
announce publicly, as other ministers have done, your road map and
agenda on information policy and its direction, my points in this memo
may be helpful in formulating your marshal plan.
Let’s start from the ministry’s
headquarters. You may be surprised to learn that staff of the ministry
prefer to be posted out than to remain in the headquarters. If there
could be a Ministry-of-Do-Nothing, many would not mind to be
there than stay in the Ministry of Information. The reason is not far
fetched. Some staff presently have not received their salaries for
months due to the introduction of online payment process called IPPIS.
Yet some are ill-motivated without tangible schedules of
responsibilities. As it happens in some establishments there is a
problem of excessive interference from political appointees and
consultants in running the core civil service routines. Add to these
predicaments is occasional pressure for postings without regard to
professional competence in terms of qualifications and experience.
Because of the conservative thinking of average civil servants too,
there is this self-inflicted malaise resulting from their failure to
acquaint themselves adequately with the latest professional thinking and
in the application of modern technology for information management.
One of the missions of the ministry is to
conduct research, surveys and studies to enhance better understanding of
the relevance, impact and approach to public information and their
implications for public policies and programmes. The problem in this
cardinal responsibility is that of ill-trained staff and lack of
logistics to execute some of the projects. A situation where there is no
mobility for staff to cover outside assignment and/or conduct regular
survey research on the impact of government policies needs to be
urgently addressed. Past experiences have shown that some projects with
outrageous expenditures made less if not negative impact as they lacked
economic sense for overall national interest. To block such loopholes,
the budget of the ministry should be prioritized and tied to tangible
and result oriented programmes, which should also have the capacity to
carry the staff along.
As the official public information outfit
responsible for gathering, processing, packaging essential information,
the platforms for displaying and distribution of the packaged services
should go beyond its existing webportal and services of its agencies in
the electronic media like FRCN, NTA, VOA and NAN to include rich
publications and well-researched journals with timely frequency of
delivery. This is necessary because the ministry has a statutory
responsibility to provide general printing and publishing services to
all ministries for effective public administration, education and
business. Apart from its glossy Nigeria Monthly magazine and elitist
Tender Journal for contract-seekers, other publications under its
stables are not so regular. There is a fear that the Tenders Journal
may soon be taking over with the establishment of the Bureau for Public
Procurement unless that agency realizes that the ministry is responsible
for printing such materials. The installation of modern and latest
printing machine by ministry of information is necessary for general
printing of newsletters, journals, magazines, cards, calendars and other
seasonal printing for ministries and agencies. The idea of
public-private-partnership should not be at the detriment of
government’s responsibilities in job creation and cost effectiveness of
services.
Since the vision of the ministry is to
create an informed and properly oriented citizenry; the people in a
democratic setting must be involved in policy-making through effective
and accurate information. So far your office seems to be enjoying a
healthy and rosy bond with the press, a relationship usually associated
with new governments. It is also gratifying to note that the
administration of President YarAdua is disposed to public discourse,
dialogue and consultation as it gauges the public tempo in addressing
the teething problems bedeviling our nation. May I therefore suggest
that you should sustain the tempo by engaging the members of the Fourth
Estate of the Realm to partner with you in constructive engagements for
the sake of participatory democracy and sustainable development of our
dear nation.
The functions of the ministry should go
beyond just information management to other strategic aspects of public
relations principles: reputation management, issues management, conflict
resolution and tactical lobbying at home and abroad. It can partner with
relevant professional bodies like Nigeria Institute of Public Relations
(NIPR) Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Nigerian Guild of Editors and
APCON in its attempt to develop and institutionalize appropriate and
generally acceptable public information and communication policies which
will promote our cultural values, investment climate and uniqueness of
our people in a prosperous and united nation. In fact the NIPR needs all
the support to strengthen its legislation to effectively oversee actions
and inaction of information practitioners towards ensuring the existence
and maintenance of civilized and orderly and ethical behaviours in
consistent with acceptable cultural and conventional norms.
The Ministry’s Heart of Africa Project
introduced by the last administration to promote Nigeria’s national
brand assets and businesses needs modifications for strategic effect. As
good as the project is towards promoting economic advancement and
enhancing the international perception of Nigeria, it requires inward
approach by engaging Nigerians and local media to focus on encouraging
developmental issues which could influence the external media by which
their audiences will receive the right information on the positive
growth. That process is possible if the government addresses the
teething problem bedeviling the nation like the cases of insecurity,
poverty level, power generation and illiteracy, which can be tackled
with vigorous pursuit of the Yar’Adua’s Seven Point Agenda.
Our nation’s new positive international
profile resulting from development at home is an indication that we are
moving in the right direction. The forthcoming first Global
Communication Summit being packaged by Timex Communication Limited would
further enhance and promote the country’s image going by the caliber of
respected international PR and communication experts billed to attend.
With the recent nomination of ambassadors to foreign missions, it is
high time that the government reopened some of its strategic Foreign
Information Centres, which were closed down in the past because of
shortage of funds. Some have argued that with surplus funds in Excess
Crude and Foreign Reserve Accounts, redeploying Information Attaches to
our missions, as conventional with other nations, can made economic in
international image building.
Hon. Minister Sir, it is necessary to
reiterate that the Freedom of Information Bill is very dear to majority
of Nigerians more especially your constituency, the press. It is
therefore incumbent upon you, not to shy away from your responsibility
to influence the re-presentation of the Bill to the National Assembly to
strengthen press freedom, engender transparency and accountability in
governance.
I think the right steps and actions taken
by the government in the areas of popular policies and its desired
commitment to the rule of law, is drawing the public attention away from
perceived faulty electoral process that allegedly brought in the new
administration. Your task is eased, as all that is required of you is to
look inward and take the best initiatives to make a difference in the
information management and be amongst the best of the ministers of
information we have had since our Independence in 1960.
Please accept my best wishes as you
combine information and communication (juicy?) in your schedule of
duties.
Yushau A. Shuaib
National Press Centre
Abuja
|