By Shuaib S. Agaka

Some journeys end abruptly. Some ambitions crumble under the weight of institutional power. And sometimes, a certificate is denied, yet the idea behind it refuses to die. That is the 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” — tells a story far richer than conflict. It is the story of a research project that outlived disruption.

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.

Then came the interruption. Following Shuaib’s withdrawal from NIPSS — an episode he describes as emblematic of institutional bullying — the academic scaffolding supporting the research collapsed. The certificate he had hoped to earn vanished. Access to institutional resources disappeared. What began as a formal academic project suddenly became a personal struggle.

Many researchers would have discontinued the work. Nigerian institutions are littered with unfinished theses, abandoned dissertations, and promising studies halted by bureaucracy, funding gaps or administrative hostility. But Shuaib’s project defied the inevitable. As he writes, the research “outlived the controversy,” surviving not because of institutional support but because of its relevance to Nigeria’s crisis landscape.

Every major crisis in Nigeria now unfolds on two fronts: the crisis itself and the information war surrounding it. News of terror attacks, disease outbreaks, floods, and communal clashes, among others, is accompanied by a flood of misinformation, recycled videos, fabricated statements, and manipulated casualty figures. In today’s Nigeria, misinformation is not just a side effect of a crisis; it is part of the crisis.

Anchored on Situational Crisis Communication Theory, Networked Crisis Communication Theory and Diffusion of Innovations Theory, Shuaib’s study explored how AI could help institutions respond more effectively. Using a mixed-methods approach, it surveyed communication professionals across security agencies, emergency management bodies, and public institutions, while interviews with key stakeholders provided deeper insight into institutional readiness.

One of the study’s most striking findings is what Shuaib calls Nigeria’s awareness–adoption gap. Communication professionals increasingly understand AI; many have attended workshops, experimented with generative tools and followed global trends. Yet institutional adoption remains shallow as AI is mostly used for drafting statements or monitoring social media, while more

advanced applications — predictive analytics, misinformation detection, intelligent crisis response — remain largely unexplored.

Nigeria has never lacked ideas. It has often lacked the institutional courage to implement them. Ironically, the research that began inside NIPSS found its true life outside it. After the author’s withdrawal, the study continued to grow. Its findings were shared with the Centre for Crisis Communication (CCC) and the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), sparking conversations on integrating AI into Nigeria’s crisis communication ecosystem.

Those discussions contributed to the National Symposium on Artificial Intelligence and Crisis Communication at the National Defence College, where government officials, security agencies, academics, and technology experts examined the future of crisis communication in Nigeria. 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 communication, and academia.

Two prominent Nigerian communication scholars reviewed the book, describing it as a timely and significant contribution to an emerging field. Professor Abdalla Uba Adamu of Bayero University Kano praised its practical orientation and mixed methods approach, noting that it addresses an important and under-researched intersection between AI and crisis communication. He urged deeper methodological rigour and more critical engagement with AI’s ethical and governance risks.

Professor Abiodun Adeniyi of Baze University Abuja described the work as “a significant contribution to an emerging field,” commending its grounding in Nigerian realities — infrastructure gaps, digital literacy, and institutional readiness — rather than adopting a Western lens. His only reservation was the book’s limited engagement with cultural resistance to digital technology in parts of Nigeria.

The Director General of NITDA, Kashifu Inuwa, and CCC Chairman Major General Chris Olukolade (Rtd) both agreed that the book fills a genuine gap in the literature and holds strong value for government agencies, security communicators, public relations professionals, and policymakers working on crisis preparedness and digital governance.

The most remarkable twist in the story is that the study — born in conflict, sustained in adversity — went on to win the Golden World Awards (GWA) and the Grand Prix of the International Public Relations Association (IPRA) in Athens, Greece. This achievement is significant not only for the author but for Nigeria. It demonstrates that research rooted in Nigerian realities can compete globally.

A project that could have faded away has become a widely acclaimed contribution to crisis communication scholarship. The irony is striking: the institution that approved the research also interrupted it. But the pause became the beginning of a wider journey — one that carried the work beyond the classroom into policy discussions, national engagement, and global recognition. Chapter Nine stands out because it reframes disappointment as possibility and reminds us that institutions entrusted with nurturing leadership must be careful not to silence ideas that could benefit society.

In the end, A Blessed Disappointment is not merely a chapter title — it is a thesis. It argues that some ideas are too important to remain confined to the place where they began. They find their own audience, their own purpose, and sometimes, the recognition they always deserved. Shuaib’s memoir is a testament to intellectual resilience. It shows that while institutions may interrupt a career, they cannot stop an idea whose time has come.

Shuaib S. Agaka, a tech journalist and digital policy analyst, Kano.