By Patrick Wemambu
President, Chairman of Council, Nigerian Institute of Public Relations, Dr. Ike Neliaku, has described reputation as a relay race which is highly delicate and easily perishable.
Making the remarks Tuesday during the Unveiling of the Nigeria Reputation Management Group (NRMG) at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Abuja, Neliaku maintained that as important as reputation is, it is not easily attained.
Hear him; “It comes with a lot of hard work, careful design, deep foresight, skillful planning, and strategic implementation of well orchestrated programmes and actions…While it takes a long time to build, it takes a short time to be damaged. In sharing his journey of life, Warren Buffet reveals that it takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things differently.”
Rapsodizing about Nigeria’s biggest possible Transformation Pillar and Driver – The Reputation Project, the NIPR helmsman expressed optimism that the unveiling of the professional, private sector-led platform would harness and manage Nigeria’s reputation capital as one of its most valued assets. On the NRMG platform, attendees learnt that it was designed to be very inclusive with the NIPR Young Practitioners Hub (YPH) already initiating the STRIVE peer review Campaign – using online and offline activities to boost reputation.
Commenting on the three important tripods on which the core trajectories of the reputation journey rests, Dr. Ike Neliaku mentioned the Honourable Minister of Foreign Affairs and his Information and National Orientation counterpart who both oversea the respective foreign and domestic reputation assets of the nation.
He continued; “But there is another component, perhaps even more potent. Research has shown that private sector entities have contributed so much in promoting and enhancing the reputation capital over the years till present. Be it in the academia, technology, entertainment, sports, banking, finance, fashion and even culinary arts, Nigerians and Nigerian companies have excelled and in some cases, become the main reason that Nigeria is respected. These are assets that must be carefully harnessed and harvested for the benefit of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
Harping on the critical role played by the private sector in enhancing the corporate reputation of Nigeria, the consummate public relations practitioner stressed that the choice of a highly respected, charismatic, unassuming, influential and successful personality in the person of Dr. John Momoh, OON, NPOM, to chair the very important event was very strategic.
He further said the nomination of Engr. Mansur Ahmed, FNIPR, former Director General of Nigeria Economic Summit Group and Immediate Past President, Manufacturers Association of Nigeria; as well as other private sector reputation pillars present was deliberate.
Dr. Neliaku ended on an informational note; “As we unveil this high profile vehicle for Nigeria’s reputation renaissance, may I quickly use this opportunity to draw attention that the NRMG will need a befitting operational base. We wish to be called, ‘Nigeria Reputation House’…I wish to appeal to the Hon Ministers of Information and National Orientation, his brother of Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and any other organisation or individual, to support us to secure a befitting building for this important purpose.”
