CONSCIOUS of the misconception that has, over the years, been attached to the practice of Public Relations, participants rose last week from this year's All Africa Public Relations Conference in Mombasa, Kenya, with a renewed commitment to foster ethical responsibility and professionalism among practitioners in the continent.Organised by the Africa Public Relations Associations (APRA), the conference held at the Mombasa Continental Resort, Shanzu Beach, Mombasa, Kenya, drew participants from more than 15 countries, both in Africa and the world.Countries represented included Uganda, Tanzania, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Mozambique, Botswana, Rwanda, The Gambia, Ghana, South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe, the Republic of Ireland and the United States of America.With Public Relations and Communication Management in a Regulated Environment: The Opportunities , as theme, the conference through paper presentations and engaging interaction as well as shared insights , sought to highlight opportunities brought about by the 21st Century dynamics in the context of business regulation.The opening ceremony on Thursday, November 24, 2011 had, among other dignitaries, two Ministers of Information in attendance.They were Minister of Information and Communications, Kenya, Mr. Samuel Phogisio and Mr. Labaran Maku, Minister of Information, Nigeria.However, Mr. Maku was represented by the President of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR), Mallam Ahmed Abdullahi Mohammed, who was accompanied by Mr. Samuel Ajayi, a director in the Information Ministry, Registrar of NIPR, Stephen Adebayo and Chairman, Bauchi State chapter of NIPR, Mallam Kabiru Garba Aminu.Dwelling on the theme of the conference, Maku acknowledged that 'every human environment is under some form of regulation. However, it takes the creative, imaginative and strategically oriented PR practitioner to see the existing opportunities or create one for himself in a regulated environment.'The opportunities, the minister said, 'are legion.'In Nigeria, he recalled that government had 'thrown the gates of new opportunities open with the enactment of Freedom of Information Act, which seeks to promote good governance and openness in the way issues are tackled. This reinforces the already established fact that the media in Nigeria is perhaps the freest in the world.'Maku specifically tasked participants 'to pay attention to the need to work with the African Union to support good governance, transparency, accountability, anti-corruption, genuine democracy and development in all ramifications in the continent.'The Information Minister assured APRA that appropriate organs of the African Union 'and indeed other stakeholders would be willing to work with you in achieving these lofty goals.'We need to adopt the culture of constructive engagement to step to another level. We in Africa have the option to lead the way in the promotion of Public Relations, through mutuality of co-existence and goodwill. The time is now for us to dialogue, discuss and take steps to our destination as a power in public relations practice.'After exhaustive deliberations and engaging discussions on the various presentations by internationally acclaimed facilitators, it was resolved that APRA should create an environment of ethical responsibility and professionalism; open up channels of open, honest and free-flowing communication. while leading by example.Participants were specifically charged to expand knowledge to other areas of the profession. They were tasked to be proactive about suggesting strategies and recommendations to emerging continental developmental issues. Not only that, it was asserted that public relations associations/societies should be committed to behaviors consistent with the codes of ethics in addition to investing in training and retraining of public relations professionals. Here, emphasis was placed on the need to fast-track the establishment of a continental accreditation system.Other resolutions reached at the conference include the need to creatively employ social media to enhance professionalism and communication management; organisational leaders should ensure that public relations professionals are engaged strategically at management level to enable them perform effectively. The argument was that when they are fully involved, everybody benefits and crisis reduced to the minimum.It was also argued that professional self-regulation would require a greater deal of self discipline and honesty, public relations practitioners were therefore urged to know the limits and make this an asset. They would also need to cultivate the support of key stakeholders early in any programme campaign .The consensus was that the practice of Public Relations would become more ethical when it was channeled towards the cause of public interest, promoting concerns of the vulnerable and minority groups in the society e.g. the disabled, the women and children.As usual, Nigeria had the largest number of delegates (35) beside the host country, Kenya. This tradition of participating in APRA conference in large numbers has more or less become a trend since 2003 when Ghana hosted the rebirth of the continental PR body after many years of inertia.And this gesture of Nigeria was duly appreciated in 2007 in Kampala, Uganda as the country was asked to host the headquarters of the body.In 2008, it was registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), Abuja, and through the Ministry of Information, Nigerian government has been supporting the activities of APRA.From 2003 to 2006, Mallam Kabir Dangogo, as Secretary General , laid a solid foundation for the organization which was then known as Federation of African Public Relations Association (FAPRA).Its registration with the CAC in 2008 necessitated a modification in nomenclature.By then, Dr. Wole Adamolekun, General Manager (Corporate Services), Petroleum Product Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) had taken over as Secretary General. He was actually elected in 2006 in Johannesburg, South Africa.Since then, Nigeria as the host country has dtrived to properly establish the association as a self-sustaining, self-financing professional group, especially now that it embarks on the establishment of African Public Relations and Communication Academy in Abuja.'Plans are at an advanced stage in securing a piece of land in Abuja for this purpose,' Adamolekun told the gatheringat the Annual General Meeting (AGM) that drew the curtain on the conference.The Nigerian government had, last year at the APRA conference to mark Nigeria's golden anniversary, promised to provide land for the association to build its secretariat in Abuja.Instructively, when changes were effected in the leadership of the association, Nigeria retained the position of the Secretary General,now in person of Yomi Badejo-Okunsanya, the managing director/CEO of CMC Connect, a leading PR firm in the country.
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