Nigeria’s food security challenge took centre stage at the 2026 National Public Relations Week (NPRW), bringing Vice President Kashim Shettima, Kaduna State Governor Senator Uba Sani, and leading experts to confront the growing divide between government food policies and their delivery to ordinary Nigerians.
The event, themed “Nigeria’s Food Security: From Policy Paper to Public Plates,” featured Brylyne Chitsunge, CEO of Elpasso Farms and pan-African food security expert as the keynote speaker. She warned that Nigeria’s agricultural struggles are rooted less in poor planning and more in a failure to communicate. In her words, “The real obstacle is not a lack of policy, but the gap between planning and implementation. Effective public relations is key to bridging that divide.”
Vice President Shettima described public relations as a “strategic function of governance,” warning that technical policy language alienates citizens. According to Shettima, “Governance cannot afford to be distant. Policy cannot afford to be opaque. Leadership cannot afford to speak a language the people no longer understand.”
Governor Uba Sani, formally honoured as NIPR Fellow, declared that Kaduna is “repositioning agriculture from the margins to the centre” of its development agenda to ensure food security is continuous, not seasonal.
Beyond the immediate discussions, NIPR President Dr Ike Neliaku announced that Nigeria will host the 37th Conference of the African Public Relations Association alongside the World Public Relations Forum in Abuja from November 15 to 21, 2026, marking the first time the global summit convenes in West Africa. He added that “Nigeria is rising, and the world will see us at the centre of responsible communication.”
