In recognition that the communications profession has undergone a fundamental transformation in the digital era, Nigerian professionals in the field have ended a conversation on the future of strategic communications in the country with a call on practitioners to assert their value.

The conversation occurred during a high-level roundtable of industry professionals, institution builders, academics, and founders convened by strategic communications consultant and Founder of Comms54, Rukevwe Dukuye, to interrogate the current state of strategic communications, both in Nigeria and across the global landscape.

The gathering, held under the theme, ‘The Future of Strategic Communications in Nigeria,’ brought together voices from across the profession to discuss a deepening identity problem that has blurred the lines between public relations, marketing communications and the broader discipline of strategic communications.

Guests and attendees on the tables included Sola Abulu, Founder, SA&A Strategy and Communications Consulting and Training Firm; Tolulope Olorundero, Founder and Chair, PRFW, Dr. Beryl Ehondor, Lecturer and Researcher, Pan-Atlantic University; Iretomiwa Akintunde-Johnson, Regional Manager, West Africa, BHM; Victoria Uwadoka, Corporate Communications, Public Affairs and Sustainability Lead, Nestlé; Njideka Agbo, West African Director, IABC and Founder, Glann Media; and Adedoyin Jaiyesimi, Co-Founder, The Comms Avenue.

At the heart of the conversation was a recognition that the communications profession has undergone a fundamental transformation, one that the industry’s own narratives have been slow to reflect.

When public relations was first introduced as a discipline, it served as the singular driver of perception management. However, with the arrival of the digital era around 2010, and the increasingly complex structures of modern organisations, the profession expanded well beyond media relations and traditional public-facing engagement alone.

Today, communications professionals work across a far wider set of tools, channels, and audiences, yet the public understanding of the profession has not kept pace with this evolution.

The roundtable drew a clear distinction: while PR remains a vital and widely used practice within the communications ecosystem and it carries distinct functionalities from strategic communications that must be properly understood, both for practitioners within organisations and by the public.

A notable development highlighted during the session was the transition underway within Nigerian academic institutions, where universities are now beginning to rename and restructure courses under the banner of strategic communications. Practitioners regarded this as a significant marker of the profession’s evolution and a meaningful step towards building a generation of practitioners who enter the industry with a more accurate and expansive understanding of their field.

A strong thread that ran through the day’s discussions was the matter of professional respect. Attendees were unified in their position that communications professionals must be regarded, and compensated, as the architects of reputation: for organisations, industries, political institutions, nations, and leaders alike. The roundtable served as a collective call for the profession to assert its strategic value with greater clarity and confidence.

“The profession has evolved far beyond its origins, yet the conversations around it have not kept pace. This roundtable was about creating a space for honest, informed dialogue so that communications professionals in Nigeria are seen, respected and properly understood for the architects they truly are. We are not support functions but we are strategic partners, and it is time the industry owns that narrative, and this is both a local and global call,” Dukuye said.