NIPR Award: Minister urges Nigerians not to Jeopardize Nigeria’s Unity
In the face of security uncertainty
bedeviling the country which has led to the loss of many lives and properties, Nigerians have been urged not to despair nor allow the current insecurity challenges to jeopardize the unity of the country.
The call was made by Minister of Information and Culture, Mr Lai Mohammed while speaking virtually during the opening ceremony of the 2021 Annual General Meeting of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations(NIPR), held at the Command Guest House in Bauchi on Thursday.
The Minister said that while he is in support of the calls by some citizens of the country for restructuring and true federalism, what is not acceptable is the calls in certain quarters for secessions, pointing out that whatever challenges the nation is facing today can be surmounted.
Lai Mohammed said that “The federal government has set in place the necessary machinery to tackle the challenges of insecurity, therefore, we should not allow today’s challenges whether in the area of economy or insecurity to disunite us.”
He further appeals, “I am appealing to the NIPR, which I consider a key stakeholder on national issues to use its powerful platform to work for the unity of this country as that task has never been more urgent than now against the background of discordant voices in the country and calls for separation.”
He added that “I see NIPR as a capable partner in government efforts to douse the tension in the land and hit the drum of unity rather than the drum of war.”
The Minister also urged NIPR to raise its voice against those fanning the embers of disunity and discord in the country, saying when a country is not peaceful and secured, there can be no development.
Earlier in his address, the NIPR National President, Mallam Mukhtar Surajo, said that the event was coming at a time that Public Relations practice is needed more than ever before to redirect the compass of the nation.
He added that in spite of the great potentials resident in Nigeria, it is still bedeviled by so many challenges ranging from insecurity and social tension occasioned by mutual mistrust and suspicion amongst others, which he noted are avoidable and unnecessary.
Mukhtar Surajo said that “The fabrics that hold the country together are unwittingly stretched to their limits and the diversity which God has endowed the country for the good of all is being misused and abused.”
“This has made it imperative for us, the public relations family to take up with more consciousness and seriousness, the responsibility managing education, building relationships and deepening cooperate best practices,” he said.
In his remarks, Bauchi State Governor, Sen Bala Mohammed Abdulkadir said that the Annual General Meeting of the institute is the first of its kind in the whole of the North-East, adding that he enjoyed the professional bond between him and the NIPR.
The Governor who was represented by his Deputy, Senator Baba Tela expressed appreciation over the cordial relationship existing between NIPR and his administration, stressing that the relationship will not be only maintained, but also strengthened.
Bala Mohammed assured that his administration will continue to engage PR practices in information and communication management in the state through synergy with the institute.
