The Missing Link: Public Communication in Nigeria and the Crisis of Empathy, Audience Insights, and Political Servitude.
By Musa Sunusi Ahmad:
In any thriving democracy, public communication is not a monologue. It’s a dialogue, a social contract between leaders and citizens, shaped by empathy, cultural intelligence, and a genuine understanding of audience needs. In Nigeria, however, this contract is repeatedly broken. Government officials too often speak at the people, not with them. This failure isn’t simply a matter of tone, it reflects a deep structural flaw in how communication is understood and practiced by political elites.
At the heart of this dysfunction is a communication culture driven less by public service and more by sycophancy. The result is a crisis of empathy, one that alienates citizens, erodes trust in institutions, and amplifies the distance between policy and public sentiment.
Sycophantic Communication: The Illusion of Public Engagement
In Nigeria’s political landscape, the loyalty of appointees is often measured not by performance or innovation, but by how loudly and unquestioningly they defend their principals. Ministers, aides, commissioners, and spokespersons rarely address the public with authenticity. Instead, they communicate with a single audience in mind, their political master.
This leads to performative messaging: exaggerated praise of government efforts, hostile dismissals of criticism, and blind deflection of accountability. These are not strategies rooted in communication theory or audience psychology; they are rituals of survival in a system where job security is earned through praise-singing, not public impact.
Take the case of disaster response communications. When citizens cry out over flooding, insecurity, or rising costs of living, the typical official response is either silence or gaslighting. Rather than acknowledge suffering, most statements aim to reshape the narrative in favor of the administration. Empathy is substituted with denial, and genuine concern with empty rhetoric.
Understanding the Audience: A Forgotten Discipline
One of the most egregious failures in Nigeria’s public communication is the complete disregard for audience segmentation. In PR and communication practice, we understand the need to tailor messages to different demographics, psychographics, and regional contexts. Yet political communication in Nigeria remains woefully generic and often tone-deaf.
The Nigerian populace is not monolithic. A message that resonates in Lagos may be offensive or irrelevant in Kano. A communication strategy that works for young urban voters may not translate in rural communities. But political communicators rarely do the work of research, analysis, or message testing. Instead, they rely on one-size-fits-all messaging, often in elite language, completely disconnected from the realities of the average Nigerian.
This results in public outrage, mistrust, and apathy. A population that feels misunderstood stops listening. And when people stop listening, governments lose their most powerful tool for shaping behavior and managing crises: credible, consistent, and empathetic communication.
The Absence of Empathy: A Strategic Failure
Empathy is not a weakness; it’s a strategic tool. The ability to understand and reflect the emotions, needs, and fears of the public is fundamental to effective communication. But in Nigeria’s political culture, empathy is perceived as weakness or defeat. Admitting fault is seen as a political liability, rather than a leadership virtue.
Contrast this with global examples: when Jacinda Ardern addressed the Christchurch mosque shooting in New Zealand, her words and body language conveyed genuine grief, solidarity, and action. That moment solidified public trust. Nigeria has seen multiple national tragedies, from security crises to fuel price hikes, but rarely are they met with empathetic, human-centered communication.
Too often, Nigerians are left with sterile press statements or combative spokespeople more interested in silencing critics than comforting victims. The absence of emotional intelligence in our public communication isn’t just a PR problem; it’s a leadership crisis.
What Needs to Change?
To rebuild public trust and enhance civic engagement, Nigeria’s public communicators, especially political appointees—must reorient their roles. Here’s where to begin:
- Serve the Public, Not Just the Principal
The primary audience of any government communicator should be the people, not the person who appointed them. Effective PR is about creating value for stakeholders, not just protecting your boss’s ego.
- Institutionalize Audience Research
Invest in audience analysis and feedback mechanisms. Understand what people care about, how they consume information, and what language or tone resonates.
- Empathy as Policy
Make empathy a core pillar of all communication strategies. In times of crisis or change, acknowledge hardship and offer hope, not spin.
- Train and Empower Spokespersons
Appointees and communication teams need continuous training in crisis comms, media relations, digital engagement, and inclusive messaging. Nigeria can’t afford amateurs in charge of national narratives.
- Reframe Accountability as Strength
Transparency doesn’t weaken leaders; it strengthens their legitimacy. Public apologies, acknowledgments of shortcomings, and clear plans for redress build trust, not ridicule.
A Call for a New Communication Ethos
Nigeria’s democratic future depends not just on free elections or institutional reforms, but on how leaders speak to and with their people. Public communication must evolve from a tool of flattery and defense to a vehicle for empathy, connection, and change.
As PR and communication professionals, we must advocate for a new communication ethos, one that prioritizes people over power, truth over propaganda, and empathy over ego. Anything less is not just a betrayal of our craft, it’s a betrayal of the public we are meant to serve.
