When I met her, I simply remarked that such an incident was not reflective of our culture, and she laughed it off with grace.

When I received the invitation to speak on crisis communication at the 20th International PR Congress in Lagos and learned that Esther Cobbah, the first African President of the International Public Relations Association, would also be in attendance I was genuinely excited. The annual Congress is far more than another conference; it is a gathering of senior public relations practitioners, academics, institutional leaders, and communication strategists, a forum where emerging professional practices are interrogated and excellence is celebrated.

For me, it was also an opportunity to share practical lessons and present my recent publications, including a research on AI in crisis communication within Nigerias public sector.

My schedule was tight. I planned to return to Abuja the next day to prepare for the National Spokespersons Awards and the Economic Confidential Annual Lecture. Yet, beyond professional duty, the journey carried a personal significance.

My participation at the Congress was made possible through the generous hospitality of a man whose contributions to public relations in Nigeria and Africa remain extraordinary Mazi Mike Okereke, President of BEEC International and Director of The Management School, London. He personally provided my return flight ticket and accommodation in Lagos.

That gesture is typical of a man who has spent decades opening professional doors for others. He was a gateway to international professional exposure. Through his programmes including the International School of Public Relations in London, he did not merely gain access to international platforms; he opened those doors for others. In my own case, Mazi Okereke recommended my nomination for membership of the then Institute of Public Relations (now CIPR) in the United Kingdom, as well as IPRA in the 1990s. Those relationships contributed to my career and continue to influence my work especially on crisis Communication.

His institutional footprints are equally remarkable. He served as President of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR) and the African Public Relations Association (APRA), while also holding leadership roles within the Nigerian Institute of Management and IPRA. Through these platforms, he projected Nigerian public relations practice beyond our borders.

The 20th International PR Congress is itself a testament to his persistence and vision. Sustaining such a gathering for twenty editions across shifting governments, economic uncertainties, and institutional challenges in African countries requires conviction, not just resources. It was therefore natural to be enthusiastic about attending this milestone edition.

Then came the morning of August 11, 2026 a day when a crisis communicator encountered a crisis firsthand. Arriving at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport at 6:30 a.m., two hours ahead of my scheduled Air Peace flight, I found the entrance gates padlocked, the departure hall deserted, and no official notification explaining what had happened or what would happen next.

In my luggage were copies of my publications on crisis communication the very subject I was travelling to discuss. Yet there I stood, books unopened, while stranded passengers milled around the forecourt without seating, information, or officials who could provide clarity.

The irony was not lost on me. Organised labour and major aviation unions had moved to enforce industrial action. Airline counters were inaccessible, gates sealed, check‑in suspended, and airline personnel unable to perform their duties.

Ironically, posters displayed around the entrance communicated the unions grievances more effectively than the airlines communicated with their own passengers.

The issues behind the dispute were not trivial they involved workers rights to unionise and disagreements over statutory financial obligations within the aviation sector. Yet, on a personal level, I frown at actions that jeopardise indigenous businesses and undermine the sacrifices of local investors sustaining our aviation industry.

But the strike exposed a deeper systemic failure: a breakdown in passenger communication. These were people who had purchased tickets, rearranged schedules, left their homes early, travelled to the airport only to discover at the gate that the services they paid for were unavailable.

In crisis communication, one basic principle applies: stakeholders should never learn about a crisis directly affecting them from a padlocked gate.

When I later checked my booking status, my flight appeared on the system but was marked as a past flight, with no option to check in and no explanation. A simple notification would have saved me the dawn trip to the airport.

Customer service channels, overwhelmed by distressed passengers, became unreachable precisely when they were needed most. That was the moment an industrial dispute turned into a communication crisis.

Information about a potential shutdown usually exists within the system long before the first gate is locked. The real question is who ensures that such information reaches passengers promptly. Crisis communication is anticipatory providing timely, credible updates that help stakeholders make informed decisions before the full impact hits them.

Missing the milestone PR Congress and the chance to honour a professional elder who shaped my international exposure would have been deeply disappointing. After nearly six hours without resolution, I booked a later ValueJet flight at almost twice my original fare, simply to secure a realistic chance of reaching Lagos.

Yet my personal inconvenience the wasted hours, extra costs, and disrupted itinerary was secondary to the larger institutional lesson. Some stranded passengers may have had international connections, medical appointments, examinations, interviews, funerals, weddings, court appearances, or business meetings. Disruptions may sometimes be unavoidable, but silence should never be.

Modern aviation possesses the infrastructure for automated alerts, real‑time updates, and coordinated communication. What is required is preparedness, coordination, and respect for passengers.

As I finally landed in Lagos, I resolved that my experience at the Abuja airport would become part of my presentation at the PR Congress. After all, the most memorable lessons in crisis communication are rarely found in textbooks or PowerPoint slides. They unfold before us in real time, among real people, with real consequences.

After my presentation with the aviation strike as my case study I learned that Esther Cobbahs flight from Ghana had also been affected. She arrived much later than scheduled, only to discover that her baggage had not arrived with the airline. It was an unnecessary ordeal for a distinguished guest.

When I met her, I simply remarked that such an incident was not reflective of our culture, and she laughed it off with grace. And on this occasion, the lesson was unmistakable: a crisis may be unavoidable, but communication failure is not.

Yushau A. Shuaib, Author of “Crisis Communication Strategies” and “MNI Versus MNIPR in NIPSS” www.YAShuaib.com

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On June 13, 2024, an email from Janice Hills of the International Public Relations Association (IPRA) announced a Campaign, “100 Days of Impactful PR at Customs Service, as a Finalist for the 2024 Golden World Award (GWA) in public Relations.

As a finalist, the campaign will now proceed to the second round, where more materials, including documents, relevant web links, images, and videos, will be submitted to enable the jury from various countries to decide on the winning entries.

The campaign, a testament to the strategic leadership of the Comptroller General of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, was previously honoured with a Certificate of Excellence at the 2024 SABRE African PR, a prestigious recognition at the annual conference of the African Public Relations Association (APRA) in Cote d’Ivoire.

The campaign recognised the strategic deployment of public relations (PR) tactics by Adeniyi, in 100 days of acting as Comptroller General, to raise awareness about the New Customs Act and the Reform Agenda within the sector – a testament to his visionary leadership and innovative approach.

Upon assuming the role of acting Comptroller General on June 19, 2023, Adeniyi was presented with a unique opportunity. The immediate past President Muhammadu Buhari had, a week before his handover to President Tinubu, assented to the Nigeria Customs Act, amending it for the first time in over 64 years. This presented a key opening for Adeniyi to use the campaign to raise awareness about the transformative import, value, expenditure, and accountability changes promised by the new Act and the stricter penalties and sanctions for Excise duty violations.

The Act specifies that appointment of the Comptroller General of the service would no longer be open to non-career individuals, as it empowers the President to appoint a CGC from career-serving officers, provided they hold a rank not lower than that of an Assistant Comptroller General (ACG).

As a distinguished Fellow and former Vice President of the Nigeria Institute of Public Relations (NIPR), Adeniyi played a pivotal role in fostering stakeholder collaboration. His efforts were instrumental in aligning the NCS’s core responsibilities with President Tinubus priorities in trade facilitation, revenue collection, societal protection, and cooperation. This demonstrates the NCS’s unwavering commitment to national goals.

In just three months of his acting capacity, Adeniyi had intensified awareness campaigns through capacity-building programmes, stakeholder engagements, and media interactions. One of the other major challenges he faced on assumption of office was managing the trade embargo between ECOWAS states and Niger Republic due to a coup. Despite the public outcry over border closures affecting businesspeople and border communities, Adeniyi’s crisis communication strategies involved consultations with community leaders, youth groups, and business stakeholders towards providing relief, alternatives and legitimate options.

His leadership and managerial skills through strategic communication enhanced stakeholder collaboration ensured border security, influenced the citizenry’s compliance with customs reforms, significantly boosted revenue generation and instilled a sense of optimism and hope for the future. It also considerably contributed to the productivity of his management team. Impressed by the unparalleled feat and strategy deployed, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu approved the confirmation of Adeniyis appointment as substantive Comptroller General from October 19, 2024.

Interestingly, Kabir Abdulsalam of PRNigeria and Maryam NaAllah of Spokespersons Digest, both staff writers at Image Merchants Promotion Limited, studied and documented Adeniyi’s public relations strategies in their forthcoming book titled “Impactful PR in Customs Management.”

With a blurb by Vice President Kashim Shettima and a foreword written by the President of NIPR, Dr. Ike Neliaku, the book highlights well-coordinated PR approaches in leadership and management.

Key aspects covered in the literature include how press coverage and media engagement created required awareness and sensitisation of customs reforms. Similarly, the effect of regular engagement with stakeholders in facilitating interagency collaboration and earning public support is also highlighted. Organised special events through lively interactions and fruitful deliberations have been valuable in promoting the new legislation and other service efforts.

The book emphasises other strategies for engagement and communication during crises and recognises the effectiveness of third-party narratives. It further focuses on primary PR tools in its twelve chapters, such as media relations, event management, crisis communication, stakeholder engagement, press release writing, social media, lobbying decision-makers, corporate social responsibility (CSR), reputation management, in-house publications, employee relations, and media monitoring.

In less than a year in office, through his trade facilitation measures, including 24-hour port decongestion/clearance and removal of multiple checkpoints with dedicated import and export terminals, the Customs Service under Adeniyi has achieved an unprecedented revenue collection of 75%, compared to the previous year.

A humble and detribalised Nigerian, Adeniyi has demonstrated inspirational leadership that motivates staff across all levels and backgrounds to strive for excellence and make sacrifices in the nation’s service. His selfless approach has created a culture of unity and dedication, inspiring others to work towards a common goal of serving the national interest.

His anti-smuggling campaign efforts, through strengthening collaborations, have also led to massive seizures of wildlife products, deadly weapons, and hard drugs, among other contrabands that are injurious to the economy and life of the people.

Adeniyi’s groundbreaking communication approach and proactive strategies have significantly influenced public perception and showcased the tangible benefits of effective PR strategies for excellence. His visionary leadership has transformed the Customs Service, restored trust and elevated its reputation. His exemplary model of effective PR at the management level has the potential to inspire future leaders to harness the power of strategic communication, leaving a lasting legacy in the industry.

The accomplishments of the customs service under Tinubus administration are quite obvious, as the book will be unveiled at the forthcoming annual Economic Confidential Summit in Abuja next month.

Yushau A. Shuaib
Author Award Winning Crisis Communication Strategies
www.YAShuaib.com, yashuaib@yashuaib.com

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