By Barikui Felix
The Vice Chancellor of Rivers State University (RSU), Nkpolu, Port Harcourt, Professor Isaac Zeb-Obipi says the university will partner with the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR), Rivers state chapter in the area of Reputation Management inorder to manage its reputation better as well as improve the professional development interface between the university and the institute.
Speaking at the World Public Relations Day(WPRD) that held in the University, Professor Zeb-Obipi said the reason is to expose staff and students of the university to industry experience that will enhance learning and address manpower deficits.
Obipi went further to say, “this collaboration is long envisaged because it will help us to manage our reputation better and provide professional development for staff and students of the university.
The Vice Chancellor also informed members of the institute that the university would be organizing a Professional bodies interface Day. A date set aside for professional bodies of different discipline to engage with the students, mentor them, develop their skills and competencies to enhance employability for graduates of the Rivers state university.
“ We have also set up a committee to upgrade our Public Relations unit to a directorate of public relations where sub-units such as Publicity, Information, New Media, Protocol and Courtesy have been created.
“We are also going to be involved in corporate and community engagement”, he added.
Earlier in his address, Chairman of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR), Rivers state chapter, Rev. Francis Asuk, told the Vice Chancellor that the institute has come to seek partnership and collaboration in hosting international public relations conferences that will project the university, Rivers state and Nigeria at large in terms of public relations practice on the global scene.
He urged the university to take advantage of the opportunity and become the public relations hub since Rivers state chapter of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations is the energy hub of Public Relations in order to have an edge over their contemporaries.
Speaking on the theme of the World Public Relations Day( WPRD), ‘Building bridges, Navigating Polarization’, the chairman who is also a Fellow of the Institute said: “our role as public relations practitioners have never been more crucial than now; as building bridges between organizations and its publics has become very essential in establishing trust, credibility and mutual understanding which requires active participation, empathy and deep understanding of our stakeholders”.
In his keynote address on the occasion, Professor Walter Ihijirika, Dean, Faculty of Media and Communication studies noted that Rivers state has become a focal point of national attention for reasons of political polarization.
He argued that to align with the elite for the morsel of bread which could fall into our laps, we have to examine if our state is where it is supposed to be, if there is a serious plan to uplift the young teeming population to attain their goals.
Ihijirika who is a professor of development communication maintain that the bridge we need to build in our state is the one that can effectively connect the elite and the rest of the people, so that everyone would get an equitable share in the God-given resources of the land.
In his goodwill message, former President of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations ( NIPR), Amaopusenibo Bobo Brown stated that Public Relations is about telling the truth and using the truth as an instrument of social change.
Speaking on the theme of the World Public Relations Day, Brown who was the 10th president and a Fellow of the Institute advised, that to dismantle polarization and begin to build bridges, the system must encourage the growth of social justice in the nation.
He urged members of the institute to create cohesion instead of polarization and open her eyes to social injustice which is inherent in the society.
Others who gave goodwill messages were the President, Nigerian Institute of Public Relations ( NIPR), Dr. Ike Neliaku, who was represented at the event by Pastor Paulinus Nsirim, the Council member representing Rivers state chapter. Chief Casca Ogosu and Chief Frank Tamuno Koko, all of them, Fellows of the Institute.
In their remarks, Dean, Faculty of Communication and Media studies, Rivers State University and the Head of Department of Public Relations and Advertising, Dr. Justice Njoku, expressed deep appreciation to members of the institute, planning committee of the World Public Relations Day, staff and students of the faculty for their contributions and kind support in making the event most memorable.
