Chairman National Population Commission, NPC, Hon Nasir Isa Kwarra said today in Karu, Nasarawa state that the media constitutes an important pillar of support for the successful of the 2022 Census, as he expressed that census is a people centred activity as the active participation of the populace is required at every stage of the census process.
Isa Kwarra made the observation at the opening of a two-day retreat on Media/Public Relations and Public Speaking Techniques for Chairman and Federal Commissioners of National Population Commission with the theme: 2022 Census – Getting Involved.
“The support of the media is required in informing the people and soliciting their support for the census. Building the capacity of the top functionaries of the Commission to effectively engage the media is therefore a major step in the right direction”, Nasir Isa Kwarra said and added that the aim of the retreat is to strengthen the commitment and capacity of participants to actively engage the media and relevant stakeholders in relation to the 2022 Census.
Continuing, the NPC Chairman noted the specific objectives of the retreat to include:
• To acquaint participants with the importance of media/public relations and how they could apply the tools to achieve specific objectives;
• To sensitise participants on the strategies and techniques to be adopted in media and public relations engagements for the 2022 Census;
• To develop common understanding on approaches and contents of media engagements for the 2022 Census and;
• Improve the capacity of participants in the deployment of social media in support of the 2022 Census.
According to Isa Kwarra, the field of communication strategies are changing and advancing rapidly, and as such, “We are in an era of digital communication and high-tech social networking and the Commission must move with the tide by adopting a digital approach to publicity and sensitisation of the public on its activities.
“The task of mobilising Nigerians on this sensitive and important national assignment cannot be let to the National Population Commission alone. I, therefore, solicit the cooperation of the State and Local Government especially traditional rulers who are the closest to the people at the grassroots to use their good offices to mobilise and sensitise their subjects on the need to support the census. Let me once more appeal to Nigerians to see the census as a purely statistical exercise whose purpose is for planning”.
