Some journeys end abruptly. Some ambitions collapse under the weight of institutional power. And sometimes, a certificate is denied—but the idea behind it refuses to die. That is the quiet but powerful message at the heart of Yushau A. Shuaib’s memoir, MNI versus MNIPR in NIPSS: Tackling Institutional Bullying. While the book documents the author’s ordeal at the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), its most compelling chapter—Chapter Nine, “A Blessed Disappointment”—offers a story far richer than conflict. It is the story of a research project that outlived its disruption and found a larger purpose beyond the institution that tried to contain it.

The chapter begins with a simple but profound question: Who truly owns an idea? In Shuaib’s case, the idea was a research study titled Artificial Intelligence and Crisis Communication in Nigeria’s Public Sector: An Assessment. Approved during Senior Executive Course 47, the project sought to examine how AI could strengthen crisis communication across Nigeria’s public institutions. It was ambitious, timely and rooted in the author’s decades-long experience in journalism, public relations and crisis communication.

Then came the interruption.

Following Shuaib’s withdrawal from NIPSS—an episode he describes as emblematic of institutional bullying—the academic scaffolding supporting the research collapsed. The certificate he had hoped to earn vanished. Access to institutional resources disappeared. What had begun as a formal academic project suddenly became a personal struggle.

Many researchers would have abandoned the work. Nigerian institutions are littered with unfinished theses, abandoned dissertations and promising studies halted by bureaucracy, funding gaps or administrative hostility. But Shuaib’s project refused to die. As he writes, the research “outlived the controversy,” surviving not because of institutional support but because of its relevance to Nigeria’s crisis landscape.

That relevance is undeniable. Every major crisis in Nigeria now unfolds on two fronts: the crisis itself and the information war surrounding it. Terror attacks, disease outbreaks, floods, communal clashes—each is accompanied by a flood of misinformation, recycled videos, fabricated statements and manipulated casualty figures. In today’s Nigeria, misinformation is not a side effect of crisis; it is part of the crisis.

Shuaib’s study, anchored on Situational Crisis Communication Theory, Networked Crisis Communication Theory and Diffusion of Innovations Theory, explored how Artificial Intelligence could help institutions respond more effectively. Using a mixed‑methods approach, it surveyed communication professionals across security agencies, emergency management bodies and public institutions, while interviews with key stakeholders provided deeper insight into institutional readiness.

One of the study’s most striking findings is what Shuaib calls Nigeria’s awareness–adoption gap. Communication professionals increasingly understand AI. Many have attended workshops, experimented with generative tools and followed global trends. Yet institutional adoption remains shallow. AI is often used only for drafting statements or monitoring social media, while more advanced applications—predictive analytics, misinformation detection, intelligent crisis response—remain largely unexplored.

Nigeria has never lacked ideas. It has often lacked the institutional courage to implement them.

Ironically, the research that began inside NIPSS found its true life outside it. After the author’s withdrawal, the study continued to grow. Its findings were shared with the Centre for Crisis Communication (CCC) and the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), sparking conversations on integrating AI into Nigeria’s crisis communication ecosystem. Those conversations contributed to the National Symposium on Artificial Intelligence and Crisis Communication at the National Defence College, where government officials, security agencies, academics and technology experts examined the future of crisis communication in Nigeria.

The project eventually evolved into a 200‑page book, AI in Crisis Communication in Nigeria: Challenges and Prospects, endorsed by leading figures in technology, strategic communication and academia. More remarkably, it earned international recognition, shortlisted for the Golden World Awards (GWA) of the International Public Relations Association (IPRA) in Athens, Greece.

This achievement is significant not only for the author but for Nigeria. It demonstrates that research rooted in Nigerian realities can compete globally. A project that could have died in the shadow of institutional conflict instead became an internationally recognised contribution to crisis communication scholarship.

This irony is not lost on the reader: the institution that approved the research also interrupted it. Yet the interruption became the beginning of a wider journey—one that carried the work beyond the classroom into policy discussions, national engagement and global recognition.

Chapter Nine stands out because it reframes disappointment as possibility. It reminds us that institutions entrusted with nurturing leadership must be careful not to silence ideas capable of benefiting society. The real loss in such situations is not always borne by the individual; sometimes, it is borne by the nation.

In the end, A Blessed Disappointment is not merely a chapter title—it is a thesis. It argues that some ideas are too important to remain confined to the place where they began. They find their own audience, their own purpose and, sometimes, the recognition they always deserved.

Shuaib’s memoir is a testament to intellectual resilience. It shows that while institutions may interrupt a career, they cannot stop an idea whose time has come.

Shuaib S. Agaka
Tech journalist and digital policy analyst, Kano

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TECHDIGEST – MacArthur Foundation supports PRNigeria in its bid to advance Humanitarian Journalism for Economic Development.

The grant under the Collaborative Media Engagement for Development, Inclusion and Accountability was initiated by the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism (WSCIJ) to promote media independence and foster accountability and transparency, especially at sub-national levels.

This was disclosed at a Media Workshop organised by Image Merchants Promotions Ltd (IMPR), the publishers of PRNigeria and Economic Confidential in Abuja for journalists covering security and the economy.

The Editor-in-Chief of PRNigeria, Mr. Yushau Shuaib said that WSCIJ is partnering with 26 organisations to lend uniqueness to collaborative media engagement.

“We at PRNigeria will focus on Sub National Investigative Reporting on Economic sustainability and Security Project (SNIRESS) for positive impact.

“With a background in Public Relations and Fact-Checking, our brand of journalism is anchored on responsible reporting by exposing inactions for timely reactions to influence positive actions by government and other relevant stakeholders.”

Alhaji Ismail Sani of Wonderland TV WTV speaks at PRNigeria Media Workshop on Humanitarian Journalism in Abuja
Alhaji Ismail Sani of Wonderland TV WTV speaks at PRNigeria Media Workshop on Humanitarian Journalism in Abuja
“Apart from investigative journalism, like this workshop, we will continue to organise capacity building on economic and security reporting for media professionals as well as post-training mentorship.”

Also speaking at the event, the Head, Northern Operations of the Nation Newspaper, Mallam Yusuf Alli, a seasoned communication scholar, Dr Suleiman Yau’ Sule and veteran economic and journalist, Mr. Ewache Ajaefu decried the low-level Nigerian journalists engage in investigative reporting.

According to them, investigative reports have since become the ‘missing gap’ in Nigerian journalism.

Mallam Alli expressed dismay over the worrisome trend of several media professionals and journalists in the country, running away from investigative journalism.

He noted that investigative stories can be done by journalists of every kind of beat. He, therefore, commended PRNigeria for championing reports on Fact-checking on fake news, in recent times.

Alli, an ace investigative editor, urged participants at the workshop to be passionate about building their media careers around investigative journalism.

He said: “Build a vast network of sources that will always serve as your contacts. Again, it is imperative you protect your sources,” he said.

his lecture titled, “Humanitarian Journalism: A Panacea for Conflict Prone Area,” Dr. Sule, a senior lecturer at the Bayero University Kano disclosed that amid several crises troubling Nigeria many local journalists pay less attention to practising humanitarian journalism, as a panacea to the nation’s socio-economic woes.

According to him, by engaging in humanitarian journalism, Nigerian reporters and media practitioners will be exploring certain things that affect citizens and the larger society.

He explained that humanitarian journalists are also ‘crisis reporters’.

“As humanitarian journalists, try to understand what can trigger crises. And then engage in reportage that can douse social tension or upheavals,” the lecturer who also is the Chairman of the Board of IMPR said.

A revered broadcaster and media mogul, Alhaji Ismail Sani, stressed the need for young reporters to upskill themselves in various aspects of broadcast journalism.

While speaking on Broadcast Journalism, Sani who is the Managing Director of both Wonderland TV and Platinum FM, promised to offer free training on camera handling techniques and other aspects of the electronic media to the participants.

Mr. Ajaefu who is the Editor-in-Chief of Business International Digest urged participants at the workshop to develop an interest in economic reporting which he said had a direct impact on the well-being of society.

By PRNigeria

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TECHDIGEST – The Nigerian Customs Service is aiding Nigeria’s self sufficiency in food production as it urges importers to embrace the newly introduced E-Valuation for clearing of goods into the country.

The spokesperson of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Deputy Comptroller Timi Bomodi, made the disclosure during a familiarisation visit at the headquarters of Image Merchants Promotion Limited (IMPR), publishers of PRNigeria, Economic Confidential, Politics Digest, Tech Digest, Emergency Digest and other titles.

He said that Nigeria is recording massive progress in its bid to attain self sufficiency in local food production due to the diligent implementation of the ban on rice importation and the defunct order on border closure by officers and men of the Service.

“Every rice smuggler you checkmate you create opportunities for local farmers. People would buy local rice and that would help the country to stand on its feet and that will strengthen food security in the country.

“Many countries who rely on Ukraine for wheat have been rendered helpless by the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine. That is why it is good that we farm to feed ourselves and avoid being stranded one day.”

Speaking on the recently introduced Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) Valuation system, Bomodi said the policy would promote seemless automation, simplification, harmonisation and transparency in valuation of vehicles coming into the country through the borders.

According to him, the e-valuation policy would allow importers to auto-generate tariffs to enable easy and fast assessments necessary to process duty payments. It would also expedite the release of goods out of customs control in shortest possible period.

“VIN-Valuation is an innovation designed to harmonise and make the system transparent by using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to pull together trade data representing a range of values consistent for each car make and model using the VIN,” he said

Bomodi, who resumed office about a month ago, urged agents and importers to embrace the policy. He also called on Nigerians to support the NCS in its determination to sanitise the country’s borders and create opportunities for nationals to boost the local economy.

The Chief Executive Officer of IMPR, Mallam Yushau Shuaib, expressed delight over the visit, saying: “PRNigeria and other publications of IMPR are always ready to make a difference and partner with stakeholders to deliver quality information that is healthy for the overall development of the nation.”

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