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Lai Mohammed
Former Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, has warned business leaders and government institutions against failing to build public trust before crises erupt. He recently had his say while speaking at the Guest Lecture Series of the University of Abuja Business School, and Nigerians have been reacting.
According to him, modern organisations now operate under the same intense scrutiny as governments; therefore, they must treat communication not as a public relations function, but as a core leadership responsibility.
Lai added that in the digital age, crises are no longer defined only by events themselves, but by how quickly narratives are shaped around them.
His words, “Communication is not a department. It is not something you outsource to a press secretary or a PR agency. It is a leadership discipline.
The leaders who communicate best in a crisis are those who communicated consistently before the crisis arrived. Trust is not a communication tool; it is the infrastructure upon which communication rests.
A message sent without trust is noise. A message sent through established relationships is signal.
Communication is conversation. We listened as much as we spoke. That helped us adjust policies and strategies in real time.
We knew statements alone would not work. Proof is more powerful than position.
When your organisation is under attack, counter with evidence, not assertion. Open your books, show your processes, invite independent observers.
A grandmother in Katsina may not listen to a minister in Abuja, but she will listen to her imam or community leader. The messenger is as important as the message.
In the social media age, lies spread faster than corrections. The only durable defence against misinformation is the trust you have already built before the crisis.
Misinformation is no longer just a political problem. It is a business risk that belongs on your risk register alongside financial and regulatory risks.”
WOW.
