FOREWORD

Since financial institutions play leading roles in the economic life of any nation, the emergence of Financial Public Relations (FPR) should be viewed as a good development in financial reporting and communication. This subject, no doubt, is an innovation in public relations and it is treated generally as such, but it has definitely recommended itself to be examined as a distinct field of enquiry because of its relevance in our present times.

The writeup is to date and reflective of the ever evolving and dynamic nature of public relations all over the world. It makes this book a friendly companion for every public relations practitioner, scholar and employer of PR skills.

The concept of financial public relations which is basically the application of the public relations principles by financial organisations to establish and maintain goodwill and mutual understanding between them and their publics could be said to be a relatively recent concept in Nigeria. However, due to the changing nature of the economy, the high competition among financial institutions and the growing media involvement in financial reporting, interest in this subject by financial experts is naturally rising.

Financial Public Relations- The Nigerian Approach, written by Mr. Yushau Abdulhameed Shuaib, addresses contemporary public relations practice in Nigerian competitive financial environment and sets a new agenda for further scholarly work on the subject.

The book is exploratory, practical and prescriptive. It examines the intricate financial environment of Nigeria which FPR activities take place. It has also painstakingly identified key players in the country’s financial environment.

Reputation management has in recent dominated in PR parlance where image used to be the catchword. The exposition of this concept could not have been more apt in terms of its current application by corporate bodies than the way the author has presented it in this work.

This, in addition to his treatment of other issues like media selection and the various approaches to ease the task of the public relations practitioner, marks out the book as a valuable read for journalists, researchers and students.

Professor Jerry Gana, FNIPR

Hon. Minister of Information and National Orientation

Federal Republic of Nigeria