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Research and Marketing Services (RMS), a leading marketing
research company not only in Nigeria but also within the West Africa region,
recently released a survey tagged ‘Pulse of the Nation’, which reflected the
opinions and views of Nigerians on socio- economic and political issues.

The survey is an eye opener as it revealed the desires of the
people with specific regards to governance, citizen empowerment, elections, and
leadership. It is one survey that reflects the wishes of the people for a
government to focus on delivering value to the citizenry.

The importance of such perception surveys cannot be
underestimated, especially in an environment such as ours. The survey comes as
a critical reference point in this column due to the recent decision of
government to close schools for over three weeks because of voter registration
exercise.

Even though RMS is a private entity, I think government
parastatals saddled with information and civic orientation should, on a
consistent basis, engage in public perception research to touch base with the
citizens. The recent uproar resulting from the schools’ closure bears testimony
to the fact that we do not have a listening government. A key ingredient of the
re- branding campaign is the desired need to re-tool government machinery to be
more virile and responsive to the needs of the citizens.

I find this a very commendable effort because perception is a
key and Nigerians are living up to their civic responsibilities. Some other
bodies like a group of educators went to meet the education minister while
others utilised media to publish their grievances.

It thus becomes crucial for Nigerians to embrace every channel
of communication to make their opinion and perception count on key government
policies. The media also has a critical role to play in ensuring that the
public perception and views on key issues of national discourse are given
prominent attention. The same was accorded the public outcry that greeted the
legislators pay.

Public perception should not also be taken with levity, as it
constitutes a groundswell of public opinion on issue. Gauging public perception
on a consistent basis helps in moulding and reshaping government policies for
better impact. Public perception helps the government to perform better and
focus on key parameters to provide good governance.

It thus becomes essential for government to embark on public
perception survey to assess people’s response to government policies and
initiatives. This is due to its effectiveness in evaluating the thought pattern
of the people as it enables government to focus on areas that can improve the
lot of the entire citizenry.

It has become expedient for government to attach high importance
to public perception.

This sounds strange in our clime and it should not be so. It is
high time the government do away with unpopular policies.

There should be a sustainable and consistent process to gather
opinions, feelings and views of the people. When the government fails to do
this, it meets with resistance from the people and thus reverses unpopular
decisions.

This is also a clarion call to Nigerians to shed all garments of
docility when it comes to public issues. We should also make our opinion count
and let the government listen when we talk.

Ayopo, a communication
strategist and public relations practitioner, is the chief executive of
Shortlist Limited.