The Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to President Muhamadu Buhari, Mr Femi Adesina and the spokesperson of the Department of State Security Service (DSS), Dr Peter Afunanya were among the recipients celebrated at the annual Security and Emergency Management Awards (SAEMA); and Spokespersons Communication Awards (SCA).
The dual events took place in Abuja on Wednesday.
Adesina who was chairman of the occasion was conferred with an award on Strategic Communication as a Distinguish Fellow of SCA.
In his remark, Adesina, while commending the organisers, lamented that the majority of Nigerians prefer negative reports about setbacks suffered by military and security agencies against terrorists, bandits and other criminals.
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He said: “You that spread the good news about the success story of our troops become the butt of their jokes and their enemy”.
President of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations, NIPR, Mallam Mukhtar Sirajo, in a keynote address, while decrying worsening insecurity in the country, highlighted the importance of strategic communication as a panacea for mitigating all kinds of socio-ethnic tensions.
Sirajo recalled how their Institute recently deployed strategic communication as a tool for enhancing national integration in the contemporary Nigerian State, which he said is divided.
The NIPR boss observed that their ‘Citizens Summit on National Peace, Security and Integration, which was held across the six geo-political zones a few months ago, brought Nigerians from different works of life to harness their diversity for the collective good of all.
“What the SAEMA and SCA convener, Mal. Yushau Shuaib of PRNigeria is doing by annually organizing these auspicious events, is part of the strategic communication needed to re-set Nigeria,” said Sirajo.
While welcoming guests to the ceremony, Shuaib, who also is the Publisher of PRNigeria and Economic Confidential, said that their SAEMA has so much become a household name among security agencies, stakeholders and experts “that we received 145 entries this year, out of which we had to work round the clock to come up with two finalists for each of the categories.
He noted that some winners of last year’s SAEMA and SCA events also conquered Africa and the world.
“Three of our last year winners did not only win awards at the Africa Public Relations Association (APRA) ceremony in Tanzania but they also emerged finalists at the Golden World Award of the International Public Relations Association (IPRA) scheduled to take place in Japan where the book “101 Fake News on EndSARS” emerged a winner.
Individuals honoured at the awards ceremony included Femi Babafemi of NDLEA as the Spokesperson of the Year; Dr Umar Gwandu of Justice Ministry for Public Affairs; Dr. Peter Afunanya of the Department of State Services, DSS, for Crisis Communication; Lt. Col. Ishaya Aliyu for Gallantry; Air Comdr Edward Gabkwet for Crisis Management, Ismail Omipidan for Media Relations, ACP Daniel Amah as the Security Officer of the Year, and Mal. Ibrahim Salim Umar of Daily Trust as Humanitarian Journalist of the Year among others.
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