The Nigerian Institute of Public Relations has urged the Federal Government to urgently start a process of rebuilding the reputation of the country to attract foreign investments.
President of NIPR, Malam Mukhtar Sirajo, made the call in Abuja at the monthly meeting of the Federal Capital Territory Chapter of the NIPR.
Sirajo who used the occasion to launch the official bus of the FCT chapter noted that kidnapping, banditry, terrorism and general insecurity had already affected the country’s image at the global level.
He, therefore, called for a reputation summit to discuss the situation.
“What the national body is thinking of doing at the moment is to organise a reputation summit for the country.
“Where Nigerians of all hues, all shades will gather, talk to one another in a very honest but respectful manner, ask the necessary questions to know where we missed it.
“From this, we can begin to retrace our steps and go back to that Nigeria we used to know, with a view to making things better for ourselves,” he said.
According to Sirajo, the country needs to discard every divisive tendencies and element at this trying moment, and focus on the unifying factors, if it must remain as one.
“As I am talking to you right now, we are worried about the reputation of this country.
“We need to tell ourselves the truth that we need to do something about our own reputation and where do we start from, from telling ourselves the home truth.
“How do we get back to that cohesive Nigeria that we used to have in which we all believe that we are one; we did not care what religion we professed, what tribal or ethnic groups we belonged to.
“There was a time this was the main thing in the country, but today you hear this crisis here, that crisis there; this stereotype here, that stereotype there; it does not do any good for our reputation.
“When a country does not have a good reputation, even investors are afraid to come there, because according to capitalists, capital is a coward, it does not go where there is no security.
“We need to work on our reputation, so that capital will not continue to flee from us.
“We should rather have a reputation that would be pulling capital into our country,” Sirajo said.
(NAN)
