From Kuru To Athens: When Rejection Produced A Global PR Grand Prix,By Yushau A. Shuaib

 In 2016, after our counter‑insurgency communication campaign through the Forum of Spokespersons of Security and Response Agencies (FOSSRA)—a project of the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) executed with PRNigeria and Image Merchants Promotion Limited (IMPR)—we submitted our first serious entries for international professional awards. 

That year, we earned recognition at the African Excellence Awards in South Africa and the IPRA Golden World Awards in Qatar. For a modest Nigerian PR outfit, it felt like stepping onto a global stage we had never imagined.

 Since then, entering our most significant campaigns for competitive international awards has become an annual professional discipline. So, 2026—our tenth year on that circuit—was always destined to carry special meaning.

 For the 2026 season, IMPR submitted campaigns executed for several Nigerian institutions across two of the world’s most respected PR competitions. Our work for the NDLEA on drug‑abuse communication, the CBN on corporate communication, and the Nigeria Customs Service on institutional reputation were shortlisted for the SABRE Africa Awards in South Africa. We also entered separate campaigns for the IPRA Golden World Awards in Athens, Greece.

 Yet the campaign that ultimately defined our tenth anniversary did not come from a conventional client brief. It emerged from an institutional disruption. 

During my participation in Senior Executive Course 47 at the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru, I conceived a research project on the intersection of artificial intelligence and crisis communication in Nigeria. The project was formally approved. But when I was later withdrawn from the programme—under circumstances I have documented elsewhere—the research suddenly became institutionally homeless. 

I had two choices: abandon the project along with the programme, or separate the intellectual work from the disagreement surrounding it. I chose the latter.

 The Centre for Crisis Communication (CCC) endorsed the research and provided the intellectual framework for its completion. The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) offered logistical support. Two distinguished academics—Professor Abdalla Uba Adamu of Bayero University Kano and Professor Abiodun Adeniyi, Vice‑Chancellor of Baze University—reviewed and validated the work.Within three months, what could easily have become another abandoned proposal was completed outside the institution where it originated.

 The study, AI in Crisis Communication in Nigeria, examined emerging threats posed by AI‑driven misinformation, deepfakes and the wider digital information disorder. More importantly, it attempted to move beyond diagnosis by proposing a strategic communication framework for strengthening Nigeria’s crisis‑response capabilities. 

Its recommendations informed the inaugural National Symposium on Digital Innovations in Crisis Communication, which brought together security agencies, government institutions, media organisations, civil society groups and technology experts. The symposium, in turn, provided the conceptual foundation for the proposed Crisis Communication Hub (CCHub)—a 24‑hour, AI‑enabled platform for social listening, deepfake detection, misinformation monitoring and coordinated crisis messaging across Nigeria’s public sector.

 What began as academic research gradually transformed into an institutional reform proposition.Then came another thought: why not submit the entire journey—not just the publication, but the transformation of research into strategy—for international professional assessment?

 At the eleventh hour, I entered the IPRA Golden World Awards with the campaign titled AI in Crisis Communication: From Study to Strategy. It was shortlisted in two categories: AI in Crisis Management and Publications. We were equally delighted that the Comptroller‑General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, was shortlisted for a Special Recognition Award for his leadership in institutional communication. 

With September 25, 2026 fixed for the awards ceremony in Athens, preparations began. Then we encountered the familiar Nigerian passport dilemma. The Greek Embassy in Abuja announced it would not issue Schengen visas to Nigerian applicants until the following year.

 We explored alternatives. Some team members held other valid visas, while our Schengen visas had only recently expired. We attempted renewals through diplomatic channels, including embassies outside Nigeria. Considerable resources went into the process—insurance, flights, hotel reservations. Everything failed.This was not new. Over the years, IPRA has intervened repeatedly on behalf of Nigerian nominees seeking visas to attend ceremonies in Qatar, Bulgaria, Armenia, Japan, Belgrade, Spain and elsewhere. An IPRA official once asked me, with genuine bewilderment, why Nigerians faced such persistent difficulties even when travelling for recognised professional engagements. I had no comfortable answer. 

As the Athens ceremony approached, IPRA and its Greek partners intensified diplomatic efforts. Then I received information that changed everything: our entry was being considered for the Grand Prix—the highest honour at the IPRA Golden World Awards. 

Suddenly, our inability to travel was no longer merely disappointing. Improvisation became necessary. I reached out to two individuals with valid Schengen visas whose professional standing made them fitting representatives: Professor Sule Yau Sule, Chairman of the IMPR Board, and Dr. Abdulaziz Arowona, CEO of Emirate Radio. Both agreed to travel.

 A few days before the event, IPRA Secretary‑General Philip Sheppard requested a fifty‑second appreciation video—just in case. I recorded it without knowing what awaited us. 

On the evening of September 25, 2026, Dr. Arowona streamed the ceremony live from Athens. From my room in Abuja, thousands of kilometres away, I watched representatives from more than fifty countries gather as IPRA President Esther Cobbah presented trophies to winning campaigns. 

Then came the final announcement.

 Philip Sheppard mounted the podium to announce the Grand Prix. He revealed that the winning campaign centred on artificial intelligence and crisis communication. For a moment, I remained uncertain.Then a video presentation about our project appeared on the screen. Immediately afterwards, the fifty‑second message I had recorded in Abuja played before the international audience. 

I will not pretend I remained composed. Shock is an understatement.

 This project began as research at Kuru, became homeless after my withdrawal from NIPSS, was rescued by CCC and NITDA, underwent academic scrutiny, evolved into a national symposium, and matured into a proposal for an AI‑enabled Crisis Communication Hub. Now, it had been adjudged worthy of the Grand Prix on a global professional stage.

 Competing against campaigns from more than fifty countries — many backed by institutions with far deeper pockets and global reach — was already an intimidating prospect. Simply making the shortlist would have been gratifying. Winning our categories would have been memorable enough to celebrate for years. But receiving the Grand Prix took several minutes to sink in. I actually had to pinch myself to be sure I wasn’t dreaming.

 Another symbolism marked the evening. Nigeria’s delegation leader, Comptroller‑General Adewale Adeniyi—a former Vice President of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations—received the Grand Prix on behalf of IMPR, Nigeria and Africa. Earlier that evening, he had received a Special Recognition Award for his leadership in institutional communication. It was a fitting symmetry: a Nigerian communication professional receiving international recognition for his own work, and then standing again to accept the industry’s highest honour for another Nigerian campaign. 

I could not travel to Greece to receive the award. Yet, somehow, the idea travelled. And in the end, that was enough.

 Yushau A. Shuaib is the Author of “NIPSS: MNI Versus MNIPR” and “AI in Crisis Communication in Nigeria” yashuaib@yashuaib.com