There is a purpose for the emergence of every profession in any given society and environment. So also is the public relations practice in Nigeria, which started before the country’s independence. According to Fassy Yusuf, (2000) public relations practice commenced in the country in the early 1940s as a result of World War II. The country, which was then under the British colony, participated in the execution of the war.

Knowing the importance of  information to Nigerians on happenings in the war front, the government created a Special Information Centre for that purpose. With this, there was better understanding between the colonialists and the colonised Nigerians, especially, when the citizenry realised the necessity of their independence. The centre later metamorphosed into the Public Relations Department in 1944, when Nigerians were employed to manage it for better and further information dissemination. 

In the private sector, the first company to establish a public relations department was the United African Company, popularly known as UAC. The unit was known in 1949 as Information Department. The Nigerian Railways Corporation, a government parastatal, also established its own unit in 1956 where Dr. Sam Opelle served as the first public relations officer. The Shell Petroleum Development Company, then BP, created its own outfit in 1969.

It was the effort of people like Sam Opelle, Chief Olu Holloway, Alhaji Ade Thani, Adewale Fashanu and Mr. Malafa that the first umbrella organisation of public relations practitioners was established in1963, known as Public Relations Association of Nigeria (PRAN). The association was renamed Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR) in 1969. It was later legally empowered by the Decree 16 of 1990. The decree made NIPR a chartered body and empowered to determine what standards of knowledge and skills are to be attained by all persons seeking to become registered members of the PR profession. The decree was signed through the efforts of past presidents of the institute, which include Chief Alex Akinyele, Chief Bob Ogbuagu, Mr. Mike Okereke and Alhaji Sabo Mohammed.