For 15 years, I’ve led communication efforts across top NGOs in Nigeria. Over this time, one truth has become impossible to ignore: Development communication is dangerously misunderstood and undervalued.
I have published over a dozen empirical studies on communication theory and practice in respected local and international journals. I currently support three PhD researchers in Development Communication and have served on recruitment panels for communication roles in both NGOs and the private sector.
Yet despite this depth of experience, a troubling pattern persists: to many organizations, communication is still treated as a task, not a discipline.
I’ve seen this firsthand. In August 2024, I served on a recruitment panel for a communication officer role. We unanimously recommended the most qualified candidate. Months later, I visited the organization and discovered that the least qualified applicant had been hired.
When I asked why, the Executive Director told me:
“Highly competent communication professionals bring high standards. They question poor messaging, weak strategy, and lack of impact tracking. I’m not ready for that.”
That wasn’t just a red flag — it revealed a deeper, systemic fear of accountability.
In one organization I worked with, communication had no budget. It was an afterthought — handed to whoever could “handle social media.” Strategy, community insight, participatory methods, and impact analysis were all missing.
This is the deeper crisis.
Communication is not just about publicity. It is the bridge between data, people, policy, and change.