The NIPR manifesto for a culturally rooted definition of public relations

Prof. E.S. Dandaura (2025). Redefining Public Relations for Greater Relevance. Abuja: Slide deck presentation

In the crowded landscape of professional literature, most works on public relations (PR) focus on refining tactics or adapting Western frameworks for emerging markets. It was therefore a pleasant surprise to review Efe Obiomah’s book, How to Build a Successful Public Relations Career in Nigeria (BrandSpark Limited, February 2026, ISBN: 978-978-777-865-4, 148 pages), which offers a practice-based definition of public relations from the Nigerian perspective.

This naturally led me to a more ambitious 2025 initiative by the esteemed Vice President of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR), Prof. E.S. Dandaura. His presentation, “Redefining Public Relations for Greater Relevance,” surpasses the usual genre.

Organised as a manifesto for the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations, it currently exists as a mimeographed slide deck. Concise yet profound, the work functions more as a philosophical reflection than a tactical handbook. It boldly advocates for decolonising the profession, embedding it in indigenous wisdom, and repositioning its core purpose around the most valuable and sensitive currency of our time: trust.

Significance

Redefining Public Relations for Greater Relevance by Prof. E.S. Dandaura (Vice President/Vice Chairman of Council, Nigerian Institute of Public Relations) is a deliberate institutional effort by NIPR — Nigeria’s statutory regulatory body for PR practice. Presented as a slide deck and formally endorsed by the NIPR Council on 22 July 2025, it introduces Africa’s first major locally developed definition of public relations:

“Public Relations is a strategic leadership role that builds trust, reputation, lasting relationships, and drives inclusive development through ethical, transparent, and culturally respectful communication.”

Its significance operates on three distinct levels:
1. Decolonial Intent — It explicitly rejects the wholesale adoption of Western definitions (PRSA 2012, CIPR UK, Mexican Statement 1978) as culturally mismatched for African contexts.

2. Professional Repositioning — It elevates PR beyond “messaging” or “reputation polishing” to a strategic leadership and development function, aligning it with Africa’s pressing challenges of trust deficits, nation-building, and inclusive growth.

3. Institutional Weight — Backed by NIPR’s legal charter (CAP N114, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria), the definition carries immediate regulatory, educational, and ethical authority in Nigeria and potential ripple effects across Africa through the African Public Relations Association (APRA).

In the broader PR literature, it joins a small but growing body of Global South scholarship that insists communication professions must be culturally grounded rather than universally imposed.

The African Reality Check

At the heart of Dandaura’s argument is a compelling critique: imported definitions fail because they ignore Africa’s unique communicative landscape — one shaped by oral traditions, the authority of traditional leaders, and communities that “read behaviour, not press releases.”

He identifies the continent’s real crisis not as a lack of technology or messaging capacity, but a profound deficit of trust.

Key assertions include:

• “Without a solid definition, PR becomes anything and everything — which explains why the field is so often misused, misunderstood, and abused.”

• “A definition sets the boundaries of the profession, clarifies the practitioner’s role, establishes ethical expectations, guides policy and regulation, aligns PR with societal needs, and protects the public.”

• “Definition shapes practice; practice shapes reputation; reputation shapes the future of the profession.”

submits that the right definition will enable PR to fulfil its true purpose: “A leadership function that builds trust, strengthens society, and guides institutions with truth.”

He reminds us that “Africa practised PR before PR had a name,” citing powerful indigenous equivalents:

• The Griot — the first crisis communicator
• The Town Crier — the first broadcaster
• The Storyteller — the first leadership coach
• The Masquerade — the first moral regulator, offering anonymous feedback long before burner accounts

All earned trust through truth and cultural wisdom.

Why This Definition Matters

The NIPR definition marks a decisive departure:
• Leadership, not spin: PR as a management advisory function rather than a tactical or reactive tool.

• Trust at the centre: Where earlier definitions emphasised relationships or reputation, this places trust — critically eroded in African public life — at the core.

• Inclusive development: It explicitly links PR to societal progress and nation-building.

• Cultural respect: It mandates “culturally respectful communication” that acknowledges Africa’s rich linguistic, ethnic, and traditional diversity.

Strengths

• Bold cultural reclamation: Dandaura provides historical and cultural legitimacy to the profession by reconnecting modern PR with pre-colonial African institutions, thereby framing the new definition as a rediscovery rather than an invention.

• Rigorous comparative analysis: Clear tables (especially on pages 5–6 and 12) evaluate major global definitions against African realities with scholarly transparency.

• Contextual depth: The “African Reality Check” powerfully articulates how history influences listening, intentions outweigh slogans, and trust remains the genuine crisis.

• Forward-looking relevance: It addresses the “New African Public” — digitally savvy, fact-checking, and intolerant of insincerity — making the definition fit for the social media age.

• Clarity and structure: Short, punchy slides with bold takeaways and strong visual hierarchy make the manifesto highly accessible.

Weaknesses

• Limited empirical support: The work is rhetorically powerful but relies heavily on assertion rather than original data, surveys, or case studies.

• Narrow geographic scope: Despite the broader title, the focus is predominantly Nigerian. Pan-African dimensions (e.g., Ubuntu in Southern Africa or orality in Francophone contexts) receive limited attention.

• Idealisation of tradition: Traditional African communication is presented largely as ethical and trust-building, with less engagement with historical counter-examples in which rumour or oratory served divisive ends.

• Implementation gap: While it offers a compelling philosophical foundation and moral justification, it provides no detailed roadmap for curriculum reform, training, accreditation, or practical application in organisations.

Contributions to PR Literature

1. Indigenisation of theory: It adds a fourth major definitional pole — leadership-driven, developmental, and culturally respectful — to the global conversation.

2. Decolonisation of PR education: It gives African institutions intellectual legitimacy to move beyond dominant Western textbooks.

3. Ethical and developmental turn: By linking PR to conscience, behaviour-shaping, and inclusive development, it aligns the profession more closely with the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the African Union Agenda 2063.

4. Historical recovery: It enriches the literature on indigenous communication systems and counters the myth that PR is purely a Western import.

Overall Assessment

This is not merely another definitional paper — it is a manifesto carrying genuine institutional weight. Its greatest strength is courage: it confronts the post-colonial discomfort that imported PR frameworks often fail in Africa because they ignore culture, history, and trust.

Its primary limitation is that it stops at definition and diagnosis. The next essential step is implementation — translating this vision into training, standards, case studies, and measurable outcomes.

Verdict: Essential reading for every African communications professional. A powerful case study for anyone who believes public relations should be more than a corporate megaphone — that it can, and must, become a strategic force for trust, truth, and inclusive development.