…As varsity inducts scholars
The Vice Chancellor, Nasarawa State University, Keffi (NSUK),
Prof Sa’adatu Hassan Liman, has said the Institute of Strategic and Development Communication (ISDEVCOM) has since 2018 placed the university in an enviable position as a pacesetter in the area of strategic and development communication in Africa.
Liman stated this at the Inaugural Lecture and 2024 Alumni Engagement, and Induction of Scholars with the theme: “National Security, Patriotism and Strategic Communication,” weekend in Keffi, Nasarawa state.
“ISDEVCOM has continued to set the pace in the area of strategic and development communication scholarship and practice in Africa.
“The inaugural lecture we are launching today is designed as an annual event where distinguished personalities will be invited to share ideas that shaped their practice.
“I am happy that the event has today brought together experts and professionals to share their knowledge and experiences.
“The Lecture theme: “Strategic Communication, Patriotism, and National Security” is timely and crucial, given the current security challenges facing our nation. I am confident that our participation today in this engagement will positively impact our university’s commitment to advancing academic excellence and the deployment of research for social impact.
“As is characteristic of ISDEVCOM, we have a triple package. Firstly, we are formally graduating a total of 3840 postgraduate and undergraduate students from the faculties of Agriculture; Natural and Applied Sciences; Communication, and Media Studies; who went through the special training in Science Communication programme during the 2021/2022 and 2022/2023 sessions.
“Secondly, we are inaugurating the ISDEVCOM annual Lecture Series and thirdly, the inauguration of the ISDEVCOM Alumni Executive Committee and onboarding of new ISDEVCOM scholars which will end in the 2024 Alumni Engagement,,” she stated.
Liman assured of her commitment to ensure staff and students were engaged in a mutually beneficial atmosphere devoid of vices, such as extortion, examination malpractice, sexual harassment and other acts capable of delaying timely graduation of students.
On his part, the Keynote Speaker and former Presidential Spokesperson, Segun Adeniyi, stated that strategic communication involved helping to find solutions to difficult problems, ensuring stability of the polity, and guiding the society to prosperity through the spoken or written words.
“Strategic communication means knowing what to say or not to say on any issue or occasion and possessing the requisite expertise to convey such a message to your target audience.
“This implies two things. One, whether one is in the civil/public service, the media, business or politics, we are all in the business of strategic communications in our daily interactions with others. Two, silence could also be a form of strategic communication. Afterall, one cannot be held accountable for what one did not put on record, either verbally or in written words,” he stated.
Adeniyi, who is the Chairman Editorial Board, ThisDay Newspapers, further stated that strategic communication must be the watchword of any serious government willing to make meaningful impact.
He noted that, “… the security sector could also benefit from strategic communications that come from their theatres of operations. And that also speaks most eloquently to the interconnection between patriotism, national security and how information is accessed and processed.”
Accoriding to him, “In this era of invisible enemies, it is important that all the stakeholders come to terms with the reality that we need one another. Stabilising the crisis environment, assisting traumatised populations, and rebuilding societies and institutions are essential to achieving national security.
“And all these cannot be done without the buy-in of the professionals in strategic communication who have a sacred duty to promote peaceful co-existence without which there can be no meaningful progress.”
Similarly, the Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle, said there would be no compromise on national security, even as the assured that government would continue to support the armed forces.
Also, speaking, ISDEVCOM Director, Professor Emmanuel Dandaura, said the institute was established to strengthen the understanding of communication and development.