Sanusi, PR Team and Strategic Engagements

The Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mallam Lamido Sanusi is a man that has controversies trailing his path. Almost all his reforms and actions, since he was appointed to head the country's apex bank, have generated passionate public debates.

From the sack of some banks' chief executives to the purpoted liquidation of such banks and to the more recent one, the introduction of the non-interest banking, also known as Islamic banking, Sanusi has always been in the eye of the storm and he seems not ready to drop the toga.

One thing that is going for him is the enthusiasm and passion that he brings to the discharge of his duties. You only need to see him speak to discover the infectious drive to effect revolutionary changes in the country's banking landscape. To Sanusi, the industry has not fulfilled its mandate of being a key driver of the country's economy. To redirect it, certain changes are imperative, he maintained.

As much as I appreciate his consuming enthusiasm and justification for banking reforms, it seems to me that deep thoughts are not given to these policies, particularly their impacts on various stakeholders. I believe Sanusi places more emphasis on the global view rather than the processes and consequences.

The introduction of the Islamic banking is a good case study in this regard. Without prejudice to the benefits that its proponents have advanced, I believe that the feelings of people of other faiths were not taken into considerations. Years of mistrust between the two leading faiths; Christianity and Islam, should have suggested to him that a rash of opposition would attend any policy that seems to give any of the religious beliefs an undue advantage. As expected, the christian community has been vocal in their criticisms of the new banking model. If the issue had been the other way round, probably, the muslims would have reacted exactly or more fiercely.

Adopting a more engaging strategy could have saved him all the bricks thrown at him and his "baby". Regular, honest, exhaustive and reassuring engagements with critical stakeholders, prior to its introduction, would have been appropriate. I will expatiate on three of the key targets: christian community, press and the public.

Going by the sensitive nature that faith plays in our multi-religious setting, reaching out to the christian community makes a whole lot of sense. During such engagements, Sanusi ought to have intimated them on the details of the policy; magnified the benefits and dispel their fears about any concern . Securing the buy-in of some respected christian leaders and key influencers would have given the policy a soft landing.

Aside the christian community, the Nigerian public, the target of this new banking system, needed to be sufficiently and exhaustively informed about it. Pushing the policy to the public domain without necessary enlightenment programmes accounts for the scathing criticisms. They needed to know about the system's processes, principles, benefits, competitive advantage over conventional banking and every other relevant details that will not only turn them into potential customers, but also, enlisted them as unsolicited brand ambassadors of non-interest banking. A partnership with relevant agencies like National Orientation Agency (NOA) and Federal Ministry of Information would have been a wise idea.

Another critical stakeholder that could have made all the difference is the press. I am not sure if any meaningful efforts were made by CBN to constructively engage the media on the development. The media would have been a dependable ally in conveying the message of change. Providing the media with the thinking behind, and justificaton for its introduction, as well as its anticipated impacts on the country's economy and businesses would have attracted media sympathy and support. The media would have been in the appropriate position to correctly inform the public,  with attendant subtle change in their perception.

The obvious shortcomings of the CBN governor and its attendant plunge in public rating, particularly calls to question the competence and relevance of the bank’s Public Relations (PR) team. Long gone are the days when the PR men’s duties were restricted only to writing and pitching press releases and distributing “envelopes” to reporters. Being a corporate “errand boy” will no longer deliver value.

The dynamics of the current economic, marketing, religious and political realities make it imperative for PR practitioners to raise the bar in delivering strategic approaches to managing the image of their CEOs and their organisations. Creative thinking must be shown in the ideas that PR practitioners deploy. This is the only way they can gain the respect of the CEOs, who will be compelled to seek and trust their judgment.

Even with Sanusi's obvious shortcomings in the introduction of the Islamic banking, the way out, in my own view, is that he should come off the grandstanding platform and listen to sound counsel. He needs to address the fears of the policy’s critics and disabuse their minds of a hidden aggenda. Going forward, I suggest he makes more demands on his PR team.

Muyiwa Akande, a PR practitioner and a blogger, Mediacraft Associates, 21A, Ogunsiji close, Allen Avenue, Ikeja, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , www.duduskee.blog.com