Why Public Relations Practitioners and Liaison Officers Need Peace Communication Competence: Integrating Peace Education into Their Training Curricula

Public Relations Executives, Public Communications Experts and Liaison Officers work at the interface between organizations and publics, where conflict, misinformation and social tension can undermine relationships. This conceptual paper examines the case for integrating peace communication competence into their training in Nigeria. It uses a narrative literature review and critical conceptual analysis to connect public relations theory, conflict transformation, peace journalism and peace education. The Ogijo lead poisoning crisis and the January 2025 MAPOLY students–Deputy Governor convoy incident were purposively selected as documentary illustrations because they involve contested institutional–public relationships in Ogun State across contrasting industrial and educational settings. The paper’s conceptual contribution is to connect peacebuilding principles with five areas of professional competence: inclusive stakeholder management, conflict-sensitive crisis communication, responses to misinformation and hate speech, dialogue and trust-building, and organizational responsibility for peace. These connections inform a proposed curriculum comprising a core peace communication module, practical training in dialogue, mediation and nonviolent communication, and integration within existing crisis communication and community relations courses. The paper recommends that the National Universities Commission and Nigerian Institute of Public Relations strengthen explicit learning outcomes and practical assessment in these areas. The cases illustrate communication dilemmas and potential training needs; they do not establish that peace communication training caused particular outcomes.