Report of a month long public opinion carried out by Business Hilights Intelligence Unit (BHIU), has been released, showing that the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), and Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) are in distant lead amongst all other federal ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) in driving industry awareness and service education.
The survey chiefly considered agencies’ total number of campaigns on one hand and their regularity on the other. There are about 45 MDAs that do not have at least one form of awareness or education programme.
Whereas respondents are drawn from the 36 states and Abuja, questionnaires were limited to adults between the age bracket of 20 and 60 years.
Out of over 96 federal agencies and departments, NCC scored 78 per cent in regularity of awareness creation on industrial issues of national and consumer importance. FRSC followed with 69 per cent while National Bio-Safety Commission (NBSC) and 11 other agencies scored below 10 per cent.
Some of the listed educational programmes that earned NCC the high score include the age long Consumer Parliament which many respondent noted that the regularity is dropping in the last five years, Year of telecoms Consumer programme, and the recently introduced Consumer Conversation forum.
Also, it was discovered that 2442 DO NOT DISTURB Short Code that enables consumers to manage unsolicited telemarketing messages they receive on their devices; as well as the provision of the 622 Toll Free Line through which consumers can escalate issues already reported to their service providers but which have not been addressed satisfactorily, did a strong magic in pushing NCC to the top in the survey.
On the online awareness division, NCC also lead the pack as little or no other agency was found raising awareness using online platforms for now. NCC currently leads in Facebook, tweeter and other social media platforms in driving its official activities on a daily basis.
On the FRSC statistics, respondents said the agency’s awareness drive is momentary and mainly during festive seasons and little or nothing is done by the agency in explaining troublesome issues on accessing Drivers’ licence.
Pairing on the third position are the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. Respondents’ noted that awareness on the ongoing Digital Switch Over (DSO), since the emergence of Mallam Is’haq Modibbo Kawu as DG structured the Commission to drive awareness which earned it 61 per cent with the Agro Ministry which earned its marks based on the Minister’s regular education and explanation of new policies of the government to make farming the best option for diversification of the economy.
The National Identity Management Commission (NMIC), the agency in charge of harmonizing all national biometrics, came a disappointing 41st by scoring 28 per cent. Respondent stressed that Nigerians are not carried along by the agency in its supposedly ongoing registration for National Identity Number (NIN).
According to them, NIMC has no known campaign of any kind either on TV, Radio, print and any other electronic systems to particularly promote NIN even though the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) has said that effective 2018, no applicant for new International Passport or renewal will be entertained without his or her NIN number.
Apart from other forms of education, many respondents across the federation could not remember when last NIMC had carried out any form of outreach programme to enlighten Nigerians on their activities on a state basis.
BHIU expressed shock as the number one agency in charge of national awareness creation on government policies, the National Orientation Agency (NOA), scored 13 per cent, meaning that it has failed in its duties.
Respondents further traced the collapse of the first supposedly national rebirth campaign tagged “Change begins With Me” flopped to the inadequacies of NOA and to some extent, the supervising Ministry who introduced the campaign towards the end of last year.
According to the founder and publisher of Business Hilights, Prince Stan Okenwa, the report released on Tuesday in Lagos, will be formally presented to the public in an event to be planned for the first quarter of 2018 either in Abuja or Lagos.
