WPRD 2025: PRCAN Chair Nkechi Ali-Balogun Urges PR Practitioners to Be Bridge-Builders
As the world celebrated the fourth annual World Public Relations Day on July 16, 2025, the Chairperson of Public Relations Consultants Association of Nigeria (PRCAN), Nkechi Ali-Balogun, has delivered a message urging public relations professionals to serve as the “pulse of public sentiment” and actively build bridges in a polarized world. The theme for this year’s celebration was “Building Bridges & Navigating Polarization”.
Ali-Balogun, a Fellow of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR), stated that public relations has a strategic function to read the state of the world, scanning the environment to make crucial communication judgments.
She described PR professionals as being like heart specialists who monitor the rhythm of society to detect early signs of conflict, such as “erratic spikes of outrage” or “low murmurs of discontent”.
According to Ali-Balogun, the role of a PR professional is to interpret these signals and translate them into strategies that heal and unite. The message highlighted that in Nigeria, the repercussions of polarization are stark, manifesting in political conflicts, cultural clashes, and a proliferation of fake news and digital misinformation. These factors have contributed to the fragmentation of a society once known for its peaceful coexistence, leading to communities becoming siloed and driven by distrust and fear. Ali-Balogun emphasized that public relations is more than just managing an organization’s image; it is the “heartbeat that senses public mood and the architect that builds bridges”.
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The Gaborone Statement from 2018 defines public relations as a strategic management function focused on fostering understanding, building strong reputations, and embracing diversity. This, she said, positions PR as a powerful tool to ease polarization. Public relations at its core seeks to enlighten, educate, and empower individuals and organizations by sharing relevant information and mitigating the impact of negative publicity.
While measuring the pulse of public sentiment is important, Ali-Balogun said it is not enough. She called for professionals to be architects of bridges that reconnect a fractured world through active listening, painstakingly listening to the anxieties and aspirations of different groups through dialogue; narrative countering, countering divisive, simplistic narratives with stories that are more inclusive, unifying, and human; and authentic engagement, leveraging communication and interpersonal skills to bring stakeholders to the table, facilitate constructive dialogue, and create platforms for collaboration. Ali-Balogun cited the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR) as an example of effective bridge-building. In 2021, the NIPR organized a national citizens’ summit on integration, peace, and security, motivated by a growing trust deficit in the country.
The summit was held in all six geo-political zones of Nigeria and engaged Nigerians living abroad. It was facilitated by experienced public relations professionals to identify and address divisive narratives, fostering greater understanding and stronger relationships among diverse groups.
Ali-Balogun concluded by challenging practitioners to be communicators who “step into the divide, armed with the tools of empathy, strategy, and a steadfast belief in the power of communication to build a more connected and understanding world”.
By PRNigeria
