NIPR checkmates quackery, extends recertification of members

Nigerian Institute of Public Relations, NIPR has extended the recertification of members from September 30 to November 30, 2015. The extension was necessitated by appeal from members in states who are struggling with salary delay payment and army member officers who are prosecuting different wars including Boko Haram.

The institute president, Rotimi Oladele told BusinessDay recently that that the recertification has become necessary to checkmate quackery in the profession and uphold the integrity of members and the public relations profession.

“With this it will be difficult to impersonate us. We are now in our campaign for advocacy and compliance. There  is window of opportunity which supposed to close on 30 Sept but the opportunity came up from six different states because of the salary challenge and also from the military who are in the war front or terrorism areas now.  Because of that we have extended to November 30” he said.

He said that with the recertification, each practicing member should have trackable identity that is unique to him or her. “There could be different people bearing the same name, but with the trackable number, they would be differentiated”.

He called on members who had not been recertified to use the window of  opportunity of the extension to be recertified.

Oladele who believes that Nigeria needs integrity and reputation say that quackery is  though not pecualiar to PR as is a common challenge to corporate body but to fight it requires courage.

“Every day in our newspapers we read about fake soldiers, fake lawyers, fake doctors and many others. But to fight quackery requires courage. You need courage because quackery as an institution is made up of desperate people. We called them desperados. People who know very well that they are not qualified for what they do; It is the source of their income, and they see you as the enemy, while in the real sense they are the enemy”, he said in a report recently.

According to him, NIPR is also introducing a series of Independence lectures which started this year.

He also said that about 30 members of Nigerian Instititute of Public Relations will  attend the  Global alliance for public relations and communication forum in Nairobi, Kenya mid next month. Nigeria, he said the headquarters of Global Alliance in Africa.

Daniel Obi