Olusegun McMedal is the chairman, Nigerian Institute of Public Relations, Lagos Chapter. In this interview with GERALDINE AKUTU, he talks on President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration communication strategy and suggests ways to improve it.

Buhari’s strategies on communication
I am not sure there is one. The only thing one is sure of is the ‘change’ mantra that started during the electioneering period. Nigerians bought the vision for change. Although, the change is happening government is not communicating enough yet. Nearly one year in office and we are still in the dark as per the thrust of the communication strategy. The picture we are getting appears like this government is ill prepared. The perception was like Buhari did not plan to win the elections hence there is no communication thrust.

Communicating with the public
The government of President Buhari is under-communicating in my opinion, which of course is creating opportunity for conjectures that could either be right or wrong depending largely upon the information available to the decoder.

For instance, the war against corrupt public officials, the government is yet to tell us, in concrete terms, how much has been recovered. Sometimes too, you have conflicting messages from the president’s media team, Ministry of Information and party apparatus.

Remember how long it took the administration before the appointment of ministers. In reaction to that, people started speculating and different kind of lists started surfacing in the media, which compounded the confusion. This remained for weeks without comments from the media team.

When the authentic list finally came out and the screening by the Senate was completed, the ministers remained without portfolio for weeks. The argument was that the late announcement/appointment was due largely to the delay in formation and inauguration of the Transition Committee.

On his (Buhari’s) several foreign trips, what you often read is that the President is planning a state visit to Britain for instance, the objectives of the trips and the outcome of such visits are sometimes not well articulated. People now thinks that the trips are unnecessary, and a waste of scarce resources. But I understand that some of these trips are sometimes on the invitation and expense of the host countries.
Buhari’s electoral promises to unemployed youths

The government of President Buhari is under-communicating in my opinion, which of course is creating opportunity for conjectures that could either be right or wrong depending largely upon the information available to the decoder. For instance, the war against corrupt public officials, the government is yet to tell us, in concrete terms, how much has been recovered. Sometimes too, you have conflicting messages from the president’s media team, Ministry of Information and party apparatus

He promised to give them monthly stipends. On assuming office and with the drastic drop in income as a result of international price of crude oil, it became glaring that that promise will have to be postponed or cancelled. Then everyone in the presidency and party apparatchik started giving conflicting remarks. Eventually, one of the media advisers actually reassured the Nigerian youths that the President would live up to his electoral promises.

We believed him because he speaks for the President. But several weeks later, the President announced, while abroad that he cannot fulfill that electoral promise because of the present economic realities.

We understand the situation but it took too long for the President to clear the air. The pertinent question for me, as a perception manager then, was on whose authority did the media adviser made the announcement? That has eroded the trust quotient of the adviser. Why you may ask. The government is creating rooms for assumptions because it under-communicates and sometimes gives conflicting information because too many people are talking. Information from the government to its citizens, which constitutes hard news, must be deliberately planned and sustained over a period.

It also appears like there is no feedback loop or government wants to be deliberately slow in its responses, which would be courting chaos. They should always bear in mind that Nigerians are more discerning than ever before and demand quicker responses from the leadership.

How to improve
One person should be government’s spokesperson. Two media advisers, for the office of President Buhari, are too much, in my opinion. It can be counter-productive because it has the tendency to slow down communication flow, if duties are not properly assigned. Too many people shouldn’t be speaking for the government. There should be constant engagement with stakeholders although I see a lot of town hall meetings are happening in recent times led by the supervisory ministers. What people need is timely information and to be carried along as partners in progress.

President’s media team
The President’s men are professional journalists and I have high respect for them but there’s the urgent need to inject public relations professionals in the team. Take for instance the botched two days State visit to Lagos State. The Lagos State Government circulated a press release announcing the visit on Saturday May 21, which went viral. Lagosians were excited and hopeful by the milestone the visit would create but unfortunately, President Buhari cancelled it less than 24 hours after that news, less than 24 hours to the flag off of the event without any concrete reason. Again, people started speculating why it was aborted. At any rate, the huge financial loss to the State is nothing when compared to the reputational damage to President Buhari.

One person should be government’s spokesperson. Two media advisers, for the office of President Buhari, are too many, in my opinion. It can be counter-productive because it has the tendency to slow down communication flow, if duties are not properly assigned. Too many people shouldn’t be speaking for the government

Government’s performance in the last one year
President Buhari has done well in some areas. He has scored high marks in the areas of security. For the first time, government is winning the war against the dreaded Boko Haram, professionalism and morale of the Nigerian Army is higher and still growing. Nigeria is much safer now under Buhari.

Also, his drive for fiscal discipline in the civil service should be applauded. The enforcement of Single Treasury Account (TSA) coupled with the merging of some ministries has drastically reduced financial waste. His leadership has restored the confidence of the international community and there’s increasing respect for Nigerians abroad. But his performance in the areas of economy and ensuring fundamental human rights is comparatively low.

Proactive measures
Government should inaugurate a of think-thank team made up of technocrats who will constantly advice the President on major policy decisions. Government needs to engage and connect better with the youths. There should be more funding for sports programmes. Things can go wrong even with best intentions. Public relations professionals are best trained to prepare and manage crisis. It is important for the government to realise that one size doesn’t fit all. So there should be better stakeholders mapping and engagement. I strongly recommend constant engagement in order not to give room for conjectures by the public. Having said that, government also needs to involve the people in proffering solutions to the myriad challenges plaguing the nation. Government should also create something for Nigerians in the Diaspora and constantly encourage them to repatriate their earnings to their home country to shore up our forex market.

How to get a good media team
Government already has a media team in place. What it urgently needs is the injection of public relations professionals in the team to manage its reputation and prepare for crisis communication.