A former minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has said that he was able to serve as the longest minister of information in Nigeria’s history because he leveraged on strategic communication to project government’s policies.

Mohammed, who spoke in Lagos on Thursday during the book reading and signing of his latest book; “Headlines & Sound bites: Media Moments That Defined an Administration,” described communication as the most strategic tool of governance.

“Governance is not only about making and implementing decisions, it is about explaining the decisions and convincing the people about their implementation,” he said.

In a statement by his Head, Public Relations & Strategic Communications, Nnamdi Atupulazi, Mohammed listed some of the communication strategies he deployed to include town hall meetings, media tours of government projects, interactions with foreign media and global think tanks, the scorecard series, strategic stakeholder engagements, testimony series and regular briefings with the media.

He disclosed that the scorecard series was launched to counter the narrative ahead of the 2023 general elections that the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led Federal Government had nothing to campaign on, and to equip all the candidates of the party with documented achievements of the administration.

“In total, 26 ministers made presentations over a 17-week period,” he recalled, adding that the series, which he described as an unprecedented campaign strategy, concluded just 11 days before the 2023 presidential election and provided a treasure trove of campaign materials for all the party’s candidates.

He said that the recognition of the strategic power of communication informed both the title of the book and his decision to spotlight critical media moments that helped telegraph the achievements of the administration.