 And the Lagos chapter of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations is promoting the importance of building a culture of proper public communications and trust. Public relations experts say this is necessary among public office holders, as well as professionals in the private sector. They pointed this out during the annual Lagos Public Relations Week. Jacintao Buchu has more. The meeting themed Managing Communications, Building Trust, borders on better management of information to Dow station. It is also about inclusive public communications. The toll of the problems that this country has is the issue of trust and that I believe was given back to by the seeming breakdown of communication between the component parts of the country. In our country today, poor or inappropriate deployment of public communications can aggravate ethnic tension, drum of war, hate speech, ethnic profiling. Dangerous innuendos, etc. The Lagos State Governor Babaji Desang Wulu is represented by the Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Wenga Omotosho, who points out that every public communicator is expected to provide citizens with accurate and true information. In an era when technology has made information accessible through social media and the public space, it is inundated with all kinds of information, verified or not, from multiple sources with various agendas. It becomes imperative for government to engage with the members of the public and all stakeholders in the greater interest of all by building the trust and confidence of the people in the motives and aspirations of the government. The panelists speak on building a culture of trust in and between organizations. Trust is the foundation of relationships. And we all know that even in our personal lives, once trust is not there, I mean, everything is in trouble. People don't trust the government, people don't trust you, especially when somebody is coming out to attack you. Consistently when you are transparent, consistently when you are honest, then you see that people begin to believe you. Participants concluded that poor public relations and communications have caused lots of damages in the public space. The same proper communications will lead to equity, transparency and proactiveness in times of crisis. Jacinta Obuco for PLOS TV Africa. All rights reserved.