Public Relations and Image Management Strategies of Nigeria SecurityCivil Defence Corps After the Infamous “Oga at the Top” Incident

摘要

This paper evaluates the place of public relations in the image management strategies of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) particularly after the infamous “Oga at the Top” interview by the Lagos State Commandant of the Corps. The paper uses questionnaire and the interview schedule as instruments to gather data from members of the public who are familiar with the “Oga at the Top” incident and the public relations officers (PROs) of the NSCDC respectively. From the data gathered, we conclude that the NSCDC adopted different image management strategies to salvage the corporate image of the Corps;that the image management strategies have engendered a cordial relationship between the media and the Corps;and that the infamous “Oga at the Top” incident brought some fame to the Corps as free advertisement as well as questioned the capacity of its officials to discharge their duties effectively. As a fallout of this evaluation, it is recommended that NSCDC management should endeavour to engage only professionals in the field of public relations who would understand and implement public relations objectives and functions in the organisation and that all ranking officers of the NSCDC should endeavour to involve the public relations unit in all their engagement with the external publics to avoid a repeat of the “Oga at the Top” incident that affected the Corps’ image negatively.