Evolution of Public Relation in Nigeria Essay Example

World War II as part of the British Army. After Nigeria gained its independence in 1960, the public relations department was transferred to the newly created Federal Ministry of Information (FMI) where it continued with information activities for its various publics. Typical information and public health campaigns focused on the eradication of communicable diseases such as yaws, yellow fever, and tuberculosis, and were often at the request of the WHO (World Health Organization).

The FMI was also used to campaign for the success of government education programs through the cinema and open air ? lm shows which encouraged parents to send their children to school. The ? rst public relations professional body, the Public Relations Association of Nigeria (PRAN), was founded by Dr Samuel Epelle, Director of PR at FMI. Epelle was in? uential for the development of public relations practice in Nigeria and in 1967, he published the ? rst authoritative book on PR in Nigeria, Essentials of Public Relations.

Epelle, as PRAN’s founder, became its coordinator and chairman and worked to recruit colleagues from other governmental departments and private industries to join him in enlarging PRAN’s membership (Oyekan, 1993). In 1969 PRAN was renamed the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR) and several years later, it organized the annual Sam Epelle gold medal in his honour, which in 2008 still continues to be awarded. Public relation started in Nigeria during the colonial era which was before independence during the establishment of the first newspaper in 1854 namely ‘iwe irohin published by henry Townsend (a British missionary).

Through the establishment of the first newspaper in Nigeria which was 'iwe irohin' by

the late Reverend Henry Townsend in the year 1859. The 'iwe irohin' was initially used to announce deaths, births, and marriages. It only had few or no advert in it. The British seized the opportunity to use the newspaper as a propaganda instrument. They were using the newspaper to their own advantage. They did not want Nigeria to become an independent state. The founding contributor to the advancement of public relation in Nigeria was Dr. Samuel Epelle. He was the founder of Public Relations Nigeria (PRAN) in 1990.

The institute of Public Relations Nigeria was established on June 12, 1990 , there were four important periods in the development of modern practices in Nigeria. These include Public relation broadcasting, this also indicates the dominance of four important periods in the development of modern public relations practices in Nigeria which include public relations broadcasting era, political propaganda era, public information era and the professionalization era. This brought up the activities of freedom and self-independence of the British rule.

Public relation had their department in Lagos with units in the northern, eastern and western provinces. This is to tell what the government was doing and to know what they want the government to do, also to publicize Nigeria as a better country and to provide cultural values and educate. This was performed through face to face communication. Many organizations contributed to the growth of public relations in Nigeria and this includes UAC (united Africa Company) 1949 became the 1st company to have a P. R department in Nigeria.

Nigeria institute of public relations was established in June 1st 1990 through the signing into law

of Decree No. 16. Nigeria gained its independence on October 1, 1960. In 1963 it became a Federal Republic The reason was because the British wanted to get to know the Nigerians so they derived different means of getting to create mutual understanding between the people and them but this was done using propaganda. Public Relations is basically about creating a favorable mutual understanding between an organization and its publics; it's getting to understand your publics and getting them to understand you.

Public Relations is over 150 years in Nigeria i. e. from 1849 till date. It started with a public relation unit in UNITED AFRICAN COMPANY IN 1949 ;modern public relations started with the establishment of Rev. Henry Townsend's 'Iwe Iroyin' in 1859. There are four dominant era's in the development of PR practices in Nigeria; public relations broadcasting era, political propaganda era, public information era and the professionalized era. Public Relations tools include marketing PR, media relations, financial and consumer PR.

Public relation is a planned activity i. e. its deliberate and it’s a sustained effort. In Nigeria, as a result of the colonial era, and movements by nationalists for freedom and self- governance from the colonial masters, brought about the advent of public relations in Nigeria. The British administrators were attacked by nationalist actions and activities, as they had published formidable newspapers, and this made the administrators to see the importance of public relations as they usually involved it in major cases in their home town.

This spurred the establishment of a public relations officer to foster a two way communication between the colonialists and the subjects. The colonialists

set up a public relations department in Lagos, with outlets in northern, eastern and western regions.. The Department was to do the following: (a) tell the people what the government was doing and what it (the public) was supposed to do, (b) publicize Nigeria to Nigerians and to the world, (c) provide the people with cultural values and education, especially in the field which the ordinary newspapers have not the facilities.

These functions ere performed through the use of such channels as mobile cinema vans, newspapers, face to face communication and feedback through the same process. When the colonialists left, the message of what public relations can do at war and at peace was clear and Public relation was put to good use in consolidating the socioeconomic and political gains of independence. In the private sector, many organizations have contributed to the growth of modern public relations practice in Nigeria and these include the United African Company (UAC) which in 1949 became the first company to have a PR department.

The aim of UAC was to inform business and commerce about business activities as well as to project UAC as a major Nigerian industrial technical and commercial company. Public relations is a planned and sustained effort in order to create and maintain mutual understanding between an organization and its various publics. Public relations in Nigeria began during the colonial era when nationalists began the struggle for freedom and self- governance from the British.

The nationalists criticized the British rule through newspapers that they set up. The British administrators referred to the success of public relations campaigns which were used by the British

to solve issues such as this in England. This was how the first public relations office was set up. The colonialists set up PR divisions in various areas( North, East, West). The main objective of this was to establish a two-way communication between the colonialists and the public.