The project eventually evolved into a 200‑page book, “AI in Crisis Communication in Nigeria: Challenges and Prospects,” endorsed by leading figures in technology, strategic communications and academia. More remarkably, it earned international recognition, shortlisted for the Golden World Awards (GWA) of the International Public Relations Association (IPRA) in Athens, Greece.
Some journeys end abruptly. Some ambitions collapse under the weight of institutional power. And sometimes, a certificate is denied — but the idea behind it refuses to die. That is the quiet but powerful message at the heart of Yushau A Shuaib’s memoir, MNI versus MNIPR in NIPSS: Tackling Institutional Bullying. While the book documents the author’s ordeal at the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), its most compelling chapter — Chapter Nine, “A Blessed Disappointment” — offers a story far richer than conflict. It is the story of a research project that outlived its disruption and found a larger purpose beyond the institution that tried to contain it.
The chapter begins with a simple but profound question: Who truly owns an idea? In Shuaib’s case, the idea was a research study titled “Artificial Intelligence and Crisis Communication in Nigeria’s Public Sector: An Assessment.” Approved during Senior Executive Course 47, the project sought to examine how AI could strengthen crisis communication across Nigeria’s public institutions. It was ambitious, timely, and rooted in the author’s decades-long experience in journalism, public relations, and crisis communication.
