В Нигерии признали: игнорирование культуры и голоса общин губит даже самые дорогие проекты

By Elizabeth Okeowo The Chairman of the Public Relations Consultants Association of Nigeria (PRCAN), Dr Nkechi Ali-Balogun, has attributed the failure of many well-funded development projects in Nigeria to the neglect of community voices, culture and local leadership in project planning and implementation. Ali-Balogun made the submission on Thursday at the 13th Lagos Public Relations Stakeholders’ Conference held at the MUSON Centre, Onikan, Lagos, with the theme, “Communication, Leadership and Innovation for Sustainable Community Transformation in Nigeria.” She questioned why roads, water infrastructure and health campaigns often fail to endure despite funding and technical planning, arguing that development interventions cannot achieve lasting impact when the people they are designed to serve are excluded. According to her, communication must be treated as a strategic component of development because it creates the conditions for communities to trust, participate in and take ownership of interventions. “Whatever we are doing, whether we are campaigning, planning, messaging, or disseminating information, culture is primary,” she said. Ali-Balogun explained that effective communication requires messages, messengers, methods and channels that reflect the cultural realities of individual communities, noting that an approach that works in one part of Nigeria may be ineffective or offensive elsewhere. She identified traditional rulers, women’s groups, youth leaders and religious leaders as important voices that should be incorporated into development strategies. “The town crier and the WhatsApp group are not in competition. The traditional ruler and the community radio presenter are not rivals,” she said. The PRCAN chairman also challenged the perception that innovation must depend on sophisticated technology or imported solutions, citing ajo, isusu, adire, tie-dye and community radio as examples of social, economic and cultural innovation. She said innovations were more likely to survive when communities considered them their own. “The most durable innovations in Nigerian communities are not the most technologically sophisticated; they are the ones most deeply owned by the people who use them,” she said. Ali-Balogun cited Nigeria’s 2014 Ebola response as an example of how trusted traditional and religious leaders helped communities cooperate with public health measures. Supporting her position, Irene Jerry-Iyoha, Public Relations Manager, TotalEnergies Nigeria, said sustainable community development required long-term partnerships and continuous consultation with host communities. Jerry-Iyoha disclosed that TotalEnergies had identified more than 500 priority projects across 64 communities in Rivers State through discussions with residents. She said the approach ensured that interventions reflected actual community needs rather than being imposed on residents. “The communities are happy because we are in communication, we are discussing. We’re not just giving them what we think is necessary for them, but they are also telling us, giving us feedback, this is what we need,” she said. The conference therefore emphasized the need for development planning to move beyond funding and technical execution to include community participation, cultural understanding, institutional continuity and local ownership. Ali-Balogun urged policymakers and development partners to build community ownership into projects from the outset, saying communities should be treated not merely as beneficiaries of development interventions but as architects of the solutions intended to transform their lives.