PUBLIC ENLIGHTENMENT STRATEGIES IN CASE OF EMERGENCY

1. PUBLIC ENLIGHTENMENT STRATEGIES IN CASE OF EMERGENCY The word enlighten means passing across specifically packaged messages to selected individuals or groups, through various ways to achieve pre – determined goals, including better understanding of the message. It can be simplified by saying letting individuals or groups understand an issue better , by going into details of the matter , using specific skills and different ways to achieve already determined goals. When you now add the word public, then it means trying to let members of the public understand an issue better, using specific skills and employing different ways to make this happen. Members of the public is defined here as all members of society, using the simple classification of the poor or the masses, the middle level and the rich big men. So, it includes everyone from the danfo driver, mechanic, clerk or messenger in the office, the food seller, prostitute, students in primary, secondary , polytechnic and University, to pastors, Imams, bank manager, senior government officials, to Governors, Ministers, Vice President and even the President.

2. KEY ELEMENTS IN PUBLIC ENLIGHTENMENT • The important elements in public enlightenment can simply be divided into five - the Message , Medium, Audience , Skill and Sender. • The Message is the issue enlightenment is being shed on. Now it is the Ebola issue which government wants every member of society to understand very well and respond accordingly. Just before now, was and is still the issue of security challenges and need for proper conduct of elections. • The Medium involves how government believes it can best pass on the message of Ebola virus disease. This involves you seated before me to carry the message down to society, radio, television, newspapers, magazines, social media – facebook, twitter, youtube etc, flyers, posters, mobile public enlightenment vans with Information Officers, churches, Mosques, schools, associations, social groups etc.

3. Audience involves those government wants to fully understand this Ebola virus matter, the way it wants them to. This of course is all members of society as mentioned earlier. • Skill here refers to highly trained and informed personnel like you, using methods carefully planned in terms of language, studying the environment, body language, use of specifically packaged education materials etc. • The Sender of course are you people I am addressing, Information Officers, doctors, nurses, Commissioners, Special Advisers, Permanent Secretaries, Senior Government Officials, Principals, Vice Principals, teachers, pastors, Imams etc.

4. TYPES OF PUBLIC ENLIGHTENMENT • Public Enlightenment can be carried out on a routine or emergency basis. • Routine public enlightenment is carried out on a daily basis , as Health Officers, ( “ WoleWole”) do. Here there is no urgency and the enlightenment is done less passionately. • Emergency public enlightenment on the other hand , is done for unusual circumstances, usually when there is a crisis, epidemic etc. For instance when the state experienced the Bird Flu, Unusual smoke that took over Lagos, poisonous beans incident, the Ikeja Bomb blast and now the Ebola outbreak. Here , there is the urgent need to reach many areas, talk to many individuals and groups and visit them on a continuous basis. The enlightenment is intensively done with much passion, lots of facts must be put across, numerous wrong information corrected.

5. ESSENCE OF PUBLIC ENLIGHTENMENT Why do we undertake public enlightenment either for routine or emergency situations as we find ourselves now. 1. To correct mis-information. 2. Correct dis-information. 3. Disabuse minds of the public of traditional notions. 4. Disabuse their minds of religious notions. 5. Listen carefully to why they hold whatever views and then re-educate or re – enlighten them them. 6. Provide scientific information , that is whatever you tell them is same they will hear anywhere. 7. Use of the credibility/integrity of office, government at any level, international organization, to educate and enlighten them. 8. Inform, educate, and enlighten them. 9. Add their held facts/view points to your scientific ones.

6. NOTE CAREFULLY AS YOU GO OUT ON ENLIGHTENMENT, THAT : • People you are visiting did not invite you and might not necessarily welcome or entertain you. • They will not willingly dump their held views for yours . • They want to tell you they are well informed on the subject matter. • They want to showcase before others that they too are opinion leaders. • They want to tell you they are current / up to date on the subject matter. • They want to show they are no pushovers. • Some are prepared to inform , educate and enlighten you too on the subject matter.

7. STRATEGIES TO ADOPT • Humble yourself before them, so they can voluntarily open their minds to receive your information and gradually disabuse themselves of their held views. • Don’t criticize their held views. • Destroy held views scientifically and skillfully. • Listen very well to them when putting their views across, don’t interrupt them. • Emphasis that you are not coming to change their minds, rather you want to share what you have with them. • Boost and massage their ego, make them feel important. • Go with as much written information. It builds confidence in them that you know what you are saying. • Ensure that what you put on in form of clothing, has some inscription of government or any credible authority to give credence to what you want to pass across. • Cite as many known authorities – W.H.O, UNICEF, Ministry of Health, NAFDAC, etc.

8. Harp a lot of importance/benefits of information being passed on to them, their communities, the state and the nation. • Exhibit extreme patience. • Scare them skillfully with figures and ugly developments while immediately re0 assuring them things will change if they tow the path you are putting forward. • Watch the environment you want interact as it will determine how to go about your business. • Environment you are, should determine the language you will use. • Watch out for ethnic, religious, gender sensitivity. • Remember, the emergency situation might be long or shorter than expected. So be well prepared for both and note that your little contribution as you might see it, when added to those by others, will save the lives of millions of people.

9. THANK YOU AND GOD BLESS AND I WISH YOU SUCCESS IN YOUR LIFE SAVING ASSIGNMENT