NAF Bags African
NAF Bags African PR Awards for Counter Insurgency,
Professional Development
The outstanding efforts of the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) in
Public Relations (PR) practice and the fight against insurgency in
the Northeast, have been appreciated and rewarded at the just
concluded 2019 Conference of African Public Relations Association
(APRA) in Kigali, Rwanda. At the Annual Conference and Awards
Ceremony, the NAF received a ‘Certificate of Appreciation’ in
recognition of its sterling contribution to PR development and its
invaluable support to APRA activities. The NAF also received a
‘Certificate of Excellence’, in the ‘Public Sector/Government Award
Category’ for its crisis communication campaigns in the counter
insurgency operations in the Northeast.
The awards were presented to the NAF by the President of APRA,
Mr Yomi Badejo-Okusanya, who commended the NAF for its
developmental strides in PR. “The NAF is honoured for its
contributions to capacity building, professional development and
its outstanding PR practices in the African continent”, Badejo
said. Speaking on the Certificate of Excellence in the ‘Public
Sector/Government Category’, the Publisher of The Holmes Report, Mr
Paul Holmes, who is also the organiser of the Annual African PR
Awards, said the NAF was recognised for its robust crisis
communication in the campaign against Boko Haram terrorists in the
Northeastern States of Nigeria. “The Annual African PR award
recognises Superior Achievement in Branding Reputation and
Engagement (SABRE) by PR Practitioners and Agencies”, he said.
Receiving the two certificates at
the event, the NAF Director of Public Relations and Information
(DOPRI), Air Commodore Ibikunle Daramola, appreciated the
organisers of the awards for recognising the NAF’s contribution to
PR Practice. “We must commend APRA as well as The Holmes Report,
the joint organisers of the Annual African PR Awards, for finding
the NAF worthy of the honours. We also acknowledge Image Merchants
Promotion Limited, Publishers of PRNigeria for its support and
nomination of our modest contribution for these great awards”, he
said. He re-emphasized that the NAF, in collaboration with other
security agencies, will sustain the onslaught against insurgents
and armed bandits in the country to ensure that law abiding
citizens can pursue their legitimate aspirations without fear.
Various awards in different categories were presented to
recipients across the African Continent during the SABRE Africa
Awards Night, which was one of the major events of the 2019 Annual
APRA Conference that held in Kigali, Rwanda from 13 – 17 May 2019.
The Conference, with the theme “Africa and Story Telling, Changing
the Narratives”, was chaired by His Excellency John Dramani Mahama,
former President of Ghana.
IBIKUNLE DARAMOLA
Air Commodore
Director of Public Relations and Information
Nigerian Air Force