PR Experts Disagree over Bishops’ Appearance at Shettima’s Unveiling Ceremony
PR experts have continued to debate the propriety or otherwise of the appearance of some men seen in cassocks on Wednesday attending the unveiling of Kashim Shettima as the 2023 vice presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The argument is coming days after the umbrella body of the profession preached Trust and Transparency at at World PR Day event last weekend.
The issue was debated among PR Practitioners and Communication Scholars, at an online platform for PR & Marketing Communication experts in Nigeria.
While some PR professionals swiftly condemned the strategy deployed by Tinubu/Shettima campaign team as self-sabotaging, others saw it as a choice of the clerics since they acted on their own volition.
Mr. Muhammed Ibrahim while commenting on the issue, argued that the condemnation is an infringement of the constitutionally guaranteed rights of the clergymen to support any candidate of their choice without hindrance.
Another member, Mr. Nnamdi Onuzulike, said: “It is an act of denigration of another person’s religious ethics and values. This kind of manipulative strategy can not work this time around. Videos have appeared on social media showing these people dressing up at a Car Park.
“The crafting of this kind of PR strategy could only come from a poorly trained and amateurish PR professional,” he said.
In another view, a member don’t want his name on print, argued that ‘as PR profession, we should learn how to act responsibly and within limit. “PR is not a publicity stunt and does not represent such,” he said.
“The desperation to assemble and specially acknowledged Christain Bishops in a political occasion where such recognition was not emphatically accorded our Muslim Clerics is a sign that something is wrong somewhere. The publicity packaging was so obvious and embarrassing,” he added.
By Kabir Abdulsalam
