Mohammed Idris, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, has defended the reform agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as critical to Nigeria’s long-term stability.
He said the government must ensure that the gains of the reforms translate into improved infrastructure, stronger public service and better living conditions for Nigerians.
Speaking at the maiden Bashir Adamu Chedi Annual Memorial Lecture and the Annual General Meeting of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations, Kaduna State Chapter, Idris said the removal of petrol subsidy was a “difficult but necessary” decision to end an unsustainable regime that had drained public resources for decades.
“So the job of government is to make sure that the dividends of reform are increasingly better infrastructure, better public services, more opportunities for economic activity and better living conditions,” he said.
The lecture tagged “Bridging Generations: Strengthening Public Relations Through Mentorship” was instituted in honor of the late Mallam Bashir Adamu Chedi, a former Secretary and Chairman of the Kaduna Chapter, Governing Council member and Fellow of the Institute.
Idris encouraged public relations practitioners to bridge the generational gap through mentorship and uphold truth and integrity in the face of artificial intelligence and misinformation.
His greatest legacy was not in the offices he occupied. “It was the people he inspired, the younger practitioners he mentored and the professional values he personified,” Idris said.
The Minister warned technology is changing the way we communicate, with social media making everyone a publisher and AI making it possible to quickly create fake images, cloned voices and manipulated videos.
In this environment, public relations cannot be reduced to publicity. Our real business is about trust.
Technology will change. Platforms will change. Artificial Intelligence will get more sophisticated.
“But the foundations of our profession must remain. Truth, credibility, integrity, responsibility and respect for the public,” Idris said.
He urged senior practitioners to mentor the juniors and the juniors to value experience and bring in new ideas.
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“Young practitioners should not dismiss experience as old-fashioned, and senior practitioners should not see innovation as a threat.
“Bringing together these strengths is bridging generations,” Idris said.
The Minister of Information said the Tinubu administration’s policy direction is to restore public trust in government communication.
He cited the federal government’s advocacy of Compressed Natural Gas as a cheaper, cleaner alternative for transportation and the constant efforts to fortify security agencies against terrorism, banditry and kidnapping.
Idris also spoke on the national discourse on state policing.
“Nigeria’s security architecture must develop with its realities.
“Closer policing to communities can improve intelligence and response to local threats,” he said.
With another election cycle on the horizon, the Minister cautioned PR professionals against peddling falsehoods for political expediency.
We have to check before we post, and we have to stay with professional ethics, no matter who employs us.
“We must educate without deception, persuade without manipulation, correct misinformation without suppressing legitimate disagreement,” he said.
Idris looked on Chedi as a friend and colleague who had the right professional values to guide the Institute.
He prayed for the repose of Chedi’s soul and praised the Kaduna Chapter for instituting the yearly lecture.
“May it develop into a national platform for mentorship, professional reflection and the advancement of ethical public relations practice.
May the life of Mallam Bashir Adamu Chedi continue to remind us that our most lasting legacy is often not what we achieve for ourselves but what we deposit in others,” Idris said.
The AGM provided an opportunity for senior and junior members of NIPR to review the chapter’s activities and set a new course for the profession in the state.
