Build trust before crisis hits, Lai Mohammed tells business executives

Former Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, has urged business leaders and institutional decision-makers to treat communication as a core leadership responsibility rather than a support function, warning that organisations that fail to build trust before crises arise could face serious reputational and operational damage.

Mohammed made the remarks on Thursday while delivering a lecture titled, “Crisis, Communication and Commerce: What Business Leaders Can Learn From Government,” during a Guest Lecturer Series at University of Abuja.

Drawing from his experiences in government, the former minister examined major national events, including insurgency, the COVID-19 pandemic, civil unrest and digital platform regulation, while outlining principles for crisis communication and stakeholder management.

According to him, organisations that emerge successfully from crises are those that position communication at the centre of leadership and strategy.

“The organisations that survive crises with their reputation and their business intact are those that treat communication as a strategic function, not a support function, not a PR department, not a press release machine, but a core leadership discipline,” he said.

Reflecting on the transition of power after sixteen years of opposition rule in 2015, Mohammed stressed the importance of building trust before crises occur.

“Trust is not a communication tool. It is the infrastructure upon which all communication rests,” he stated.

He explained that early engagement with stakeholders, labour unions, media professionals and indigenous-language newspapers helped establish credibility and strengthen feedback mechanisms for government communication.