Not many have heard of the Phrase “Strategic Communications” until now, except those in the Academics cycle.
For emphasis, Strategic Communications is that field as the name implies “Communications” the parent of anything but encoding and decoding, including deciphering of intended messages to the public and the masses respectively to achieve a set purpose whether personal or organisational. Few weeks ago, Alhaji Mohammed Idris Malagi, The Kakaki Nupe and Chairman Bifocals got appointed into the 2023 Tinubu/Shettima Presidential Campaign Council (PCC) under the post of Director in charge of Strategic Communications Directorate; the Directorate in laymen words is that department that deals with communications and information of the entire campaign organisations, alas there’s more to this.
In a world that has turned information and communication driven, creation of positive image has become imperative especially for groups and political parties aiming to partake in National elections, hence the creation of Directorate of Strategic Communications as APC did. I stand to be corrected, this Directorate aside the Directorates of Finance Management and Mobilisations, is the most important in any Party there can be; more so if it’s being manned by core Professionals in the field. Strategic Communications Directorate is not part of the whole but is in itself the whole there’s in campaigning. This is where the positive image the Party wanted the voters to get is going to be formed; Here as well lies the Managers of Communications and “opinion formers” of the Organisation, the Party respectively. This Directorate will concept the image of the Party they wanted to sell to the public. Here as also is where communications activity is going to be coordinated albeit internally and externally through mediums, messages and all communications channels, these channels, (1)Traditional Media (Print,Televisions, Radios, Cables) and (2) the New Media(Social media) Songs, critical essays,skits, jingles, bulk SMS’, organising world press conferences, films, documentaries vettings, forms part of the Directorate assignments too. To simply put, this is the coherence forming and aligning group of the Party along and across mediums, multiple languages and divergent styles of communications that would sell the Party to the electorate, chiefly put this is the Brand management Directorate.
That Malagi had being appointed to Head The Strategic Communications department is no surprise at all for one who is a Media Entrepreneur and Guru. He has built career and connections spanning decades in communications sector; He has established media houses, electronic and traditional. A Newspaper proprietor who knew all the politics and inner workings of Communications Nationally and Internationally, a complete gentle Man and a most successful Media Business Man ,certainly this is akin to fitting a round peg in a round hole. The APC PCC has made a very good choice by sourcing out Malagi to handle its imaging through communications and information that’s the difference between contenders to winning general elections and the lousy, thuggish running media pretenders of the other divide. This isn’t all that Malagi is bringing to the table, he also had other advantage of political experience that shall made the difference for APC PCC by virtue of being a top contender during the 2022 APC Primaries in Niger State with a very mammoth following not only in his State but across the Nation, a shining Star of Niger to the world. Malagi’s medas touched shall reveal more when the campaigns start, a bright comet on the firmament of the Niger is going to make us proud; He’s the other “trump card” the the APC is playing on its way to victory in 2023, if you dont know, this is the meaning of “Malagi the beautiful Bride anytime anyday” , let the games begin.
Jibrin Bala Jibrin Yikangi,B.A.ED, Eng, MISD,PhD(In-view),is a Poet, A Teacher and a Social Activist.He writes from Gbako.
