2019 Presidency: Why Atiku will lose to Buhari in Court – Sagay SAN

Prof. Itse Sagay (SAN), Chairman of the Presidential Advisory
Committee Against Corruption (PACAC); has advised Atiku Abubakar to
accept defeat in last Saturday’s presidential election and refrain
from challenging the outcome in court.

Sagay said aside losing the elections, Atiku who is the
presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), would
also lose in court because the election complied substantially with
the rules of elections as noted by both local and foreign
observers.

He urged him to maintain his dignity and earn the respect of
Nigerians and the world by congratulating Buhari just as former
President Goodluck Jonathan did in 2015.

Sagay said: “My advice to Atiku is that it’s not advisable for
him to go to court for political and moral reasons.

“He should be mature politically and accept defeat with
dignity.

“By rejecting the result, what he is doing is to drag himself on
the ground and lose all the little dignity that he has left. At the
end of the day, he will be a double loser.

“On the legal side, you can only upset a declaration of victory
of an election if you can establish that the process of the
election did not comply substantially with the rules of the
election.

“So, if there is failure to comply in some areas, it has no
effect on the validity of the election. It has to be
substantial.

“There is no way anybody can say that this election does not
comply substantially in electoral rules. All the various observers
and monitors have written their reports and they have said it was a
well organised election with hitches here and there.

“What this means is that they are saying it substantially
complies with the rules. So, legally, Atiku will fail, morally he
will fail, and so, it’s not just good for him.

“Today, the only claim to fame that Jonathan has was in
accepting defeat and phoning President Buhari.

“After we have blamed him for his misgovernance and all the poor
things he did, then we remember that aspect and then we respect him
and the world also respects him for it.

“So, I think.”

PR is Beyond Creating Self-image – Kabir
Dangogo

The profession of Public Relations, according to Mallam Kabir
Dangogo, is not primarily concerned with only creating a fantastic
self-image for individuals or corporate entities. But rather, it is
more about doing things logically, persuasively, strategically, and
professionally so as to achieve clearly set-out predetermined
objectives.

Mallam Dangogo, an award-winning PR Practitioner and a former
Scribe of the African Public Relations Association (APRA), bemoaned
the terrible state of Public Relations in Nigeria.

Speaking with Mass-Communication on an internship programme at
the PRNigeria office in Abuja, Dangogo said that the influx of
brilliant writers and articulate speakers who masquerade as PR
Practitioners, in a way, also dented the image of the noble
profession.

Mr Dangogo who clocked 70th birthday recently noted that many of
the so-called exceptional writers and eloquent speakers, are
inexperienced in the art of persuasive communication and
establishing goodwill between their principals or organizations and
the general public.

“Public Relations, I must say, goes beyond just writing in
superb English grammar, or speaking English in a cockney accent. PR
is more about marketing and outstandingly branding oneself or an
organisation through effective, methodical, and persuasive
communication. And the strategy to be applied must be devoid of
unprofessional conducts,” he said.

A fellow of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations, Dangogo
advised Public Relations experts to first identify and put crises
in their right situational context, then brainstorm and proffer
necessary solutions.

He said the reason why many PR officers find it difficult to
deal with journalists is because they lack requisite skills on a
robust and vibrant PR-media relationship.

Amid complex problem, the veteran PR guru admonished PR
practitioners to maintain their calmness and avoid reacting
harshly.

He also stressed the need for every PR officer to endeavor to
establish goodwill and build a friendly rapport with members of the
press.

Meanwhile, President Muhammadu Buhari has felicitated with
veteran PR specialist  and trainer, Malam Kabir Dangogo on the
occasion of his 70th birthday.

The president expressed the felicitation in a statement by his
Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu,
in Abuja.

While celebrating the public relations specialist, who rose to
become President of the Federation of African Public Relations
Association (FAPRA), President Buhari wished and prayed for his
good health and longer life.

The president, in a congratulatory letter to Dangogo, said: “I
wish to join your family, associates and colleagues in the
communications industry in wishing you a Happy 70th birthday.

“Your reputation as a consummate professional imbued with a high
sense of integrity is widely known by many who have had
interactions with you while you practiced journalism at the New
Nigerian and the Nigerian Television Authority, and while you were
in Public Relations at the Bank of the North Limited and Union Bank
of Nigeria Plc.

“Your tenure as the founding president of the Association of
Corporate Affairs Managers of Banks (ACAMB) also comes highly
regarded.

“You also made Nigeria proud as the Secretary General of the
Federation of African Public Relations Associations (FAPRA) from
2002 to 2006.

“My prayer is that Almighty Allah will continue to guide and
guard you and keep you and your family under His care.”

By PRNigeria