IDENTIFICATION AND ANALYSIS OE KEY REASONS FOR THE UNDERVALUATION AND UNDERUTILIZATION OF PUBLIC RELATIONS PROFESSION IN NIGERIA

Abstract

It is no longer in doubt that public Relations

is an officially recognised profession in Nigeria.

At least Decree No. 16 of 1990 gives this official recognition. But what is contestable is whether the profession is being utilized and valued as is the case with its contemporaries. This is what the study sets out to establish. 0

The researcher collected both primary and secondary

data. It was discovered that the profession suffers under utilization and undervaluation for a number of factors which include the performance of the practitioners, lack of wholehearted commitment by the Nigerian Institute of public Relations to control entry requirement, enforcement of decree 16 of 1990, lack of commitment on the part of government and lack of many -institutions of higher learning offering courses, among others. However, the undervaluation and under utilization is more in government establishments which incidentally promulgated the relevant degree on the practice of the profession.